Matty Healy Champions Seed Sounds Festival

Matty Healy, frontman of The 1975, is championing the Seed Sounds Weekender, a new UK-wide festival scheduled for September 26-28, featuring over 2,000 performances across more than 1,000 pubs, bars, and hotels. The festival, presented by Gigpig and supported by major hospitality groups, aims to highlight the critical role of grassroots venues in launching the careers of influential artists. Healy warns that the closure of these venues could lead to cultural erasure and a music industry where only privileged or highly profitable artists can succeed. Organizers and venue operators emphasize the ongoing economic struggles faced by the hospitality and live music sectors, with hundreds of pubs closing each year due to rising taxes and costs. The event seeks to unite communities and raise awareness about the urgent need to support grassroots music spaces. Healy stresses that music culture is rooted in small, independent venues, not large arenas.