‘UK’s largest competition’ offers Brits likelihood to see bands the place they stay
The National Lottery and Music Venue Trust have joined forces for Everywhere At Once and have projected iconic song lyrics onto beloved grassroots music venues across Britain
Tinie Tempah is part of the UK’s biggest festival(Image: BAFTA via Getty Images)
Iconic song lyrics have been beamed onto grassroots music venues to mark Everywhere At Once – the UK’s largest festival. Cherished independent venues from London to Belfast, Fife to Worcester were thrust into the limelight, celebrating their contribution to launching the careers of countless home-grown artists.
Over 400 grassroots music venues will host hundreds of live music events under the Everywhere At Once banner, making it the UK’s biggest festival.
In London, lyrics from London-born Tinie Tempah’s breakthrough hit ‘Pass Out’ were beamed onto 229, a performance venue which has welcomed the likes of Biffy Clyro, Razorlight and Florence and the Machine.
In Fife, lyrics from Scottish artist KT Tunstall’s anthem ‘Suddenly I See’ were illuminated onto Carnegie Hall, near to where she was raised, which has received £77,000 in funding from The National Lottery.
The project, realised through a collaboration between the Music Venue Trust and The National Lottery, will forge a national moment to honour the grassroots music ecosystem. It is sheduled for what would have been the Glastonbury Festival weekend of June 26 to 28, 2026.
Over £1 billion has been generated for music-related projects throughout the UK, supporting venues, festivals, up-and-coming artists and community groups – all enabled by National Lottery participants. This investment remains crucial in safeguarding grassroots venues during a period when many encounter mounting financial challenges despite their tremendous cultural significance.
Tinie Tempah said: “Seeing the lyrics to Pass Out projected onto 229 brought back a lot of memories. I performed there the night the track went to number one, so it’s a full circle moment. Grassroots venues play a massive role in giving artists those early opportunities and help build confidence before anyone really knows your name. Every major artist starts somewhere, and it’s important we keep supporting the venues that give new talent a platform.”
Further projections nationwide feature lyrics illuminating venues including Empire Music Hall in Belfast which welcomed The Divine Comedy during their formative years; and Worcester’s The Marrs Bar where Becky Hill took to the stage as a teenager and is returning to perform for Everywhere at Once.
Becky Hill said: “At 16 I played my own compositions and had friends and family down to Worcester’s Marrs Bar. In these early days it was venues like this that allowed a very young me to begin to learn how to perform, sing and play guitar on stage, gaining my confidence & broadening my experience as a teenager.
“I look back on those times very fondly and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity that places like Marrs Bar provided. It saddens me greatly that grassroots venues are at risk as I believe that homegrown music is key to our country’s culture. I’m honoured to be working alongside The National Lottery and Music Venue Trust for their Everywhere At Once festival, 16 years later at the same venue but with far more experience!”
Neil Hannon, from The Divine Comedy, said: “Every artist starts somewhere, and grassroots venues are where so much creativity and musical culture is born. It’s incredibly important that these spaces continue to be supported, protected and recognised and initiatives like this help shine a light on exactly that.”
Alastair Ruxton, Chief Impact Officer at Allwyn, operator of The National Lottery, commented: “Across the UK, people feel a strong sense of connection to artists from their local area, with hometown success stories becoming an important source of identity and celebration. Grassroots venues are at the heart of these stories, providing essential spaces where emerging talent can develop while bringing communities together through shared live music experiences. These projections capture that spirit, they celebrate not just iconic artists and lyrics, but the grassroots venues and local communities that supported them from the very beginning. Because of National Lottery players, more than £1 billion has been raised for music related projects across the UK, helping these vital venues continue to nurture the next generation of talent.”
Everywhere At Once will unfold across hundreds of venues nationwide, featuring over 2,000 artists performing across a wide spectrum of genres, including headline shows from Becky Hill returning to her hometown venue, Marrs Bar in Worcester, Tinie Tempah playing gigs in Newcastle, Norwich and Southampton, The Lathums in Wigan, and Rizzle Kicks in their hometown of Brighton, amongst numerous others. As one of the most significant backers of grassroots music, The National Lottery is helping fuel this extraordinary weekend, championing independent venues, backing emerging talent, and highlighting the bedrock of the UK music scene.
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