A Cumbrian music venue is in the running for a prestigious award – and needs your help to win.
Ennerdale Gather has been nominated for a Countryside Alliance award for its music programme.
The awards are the Countryside Alliance’s annual celebration of British food and farming, enterprise and heritage through small hard-working businesses.
Ennerdale Promotions CIC was set up to bring high quality live music to the rural community. The gigs were christened ‘great artists – small venue’ to encapsulate its aims.
Music from Upstairs@TheGather in Ennerdale started in March 2020 and have been going ever since, even during the COVID lockdowns. Staff and volunteers developed the skills of filming and streaming music and during lockdown streamed 41 gigs, one every Tuesday, before returning live at the venue in July 2021.
Since then the audience has either been live at The Gather or has been watching on the YouTube channel and over 46 per cent of YouTube viewers are based outside the UK.
Peter Maher, of Ennerdale Promotions CIC, said: “We are delighted to have been nominated for an award. Music is at the heart wellbeing and we have been successful in demonstrating that a small rural community can build and sustain an audience for music and the arts.
“Our audiences come from West Cumbria, but people also travel from all over the UK to stay in Ennerdale and attend our music gigs.
“For those who cannot get to The Gather Ennerdale, then a stream ticket gives them access to watch the gig live via YouTube, or to relive those great musical moments by watching the YouTube video repeatedly afterwards.”
Emma Shepherd, of Ennerdale Promotions CIC, said: “We would encourage all our audience members and followers on social media to go on-line here and nominate us again and again. Only the best supported nominees stand a chance to get through to the final.”
Nominations can be made online at https://www.countryside-alliance.org/rural-awards/caawards.
