Treasured London music venue saved from closure after community campaign
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Good news for London’s music fans as the popular Matchstick Piehouse in Lewisham is re-opening its doors for the first time in two years. The iconic and self-proclaimed ‘anti-capitalist’ venue has hosted talent from Kamasi Washington, frequent collaborator with rapper Kendrick Lamar, Mercury prize winners Ezra Collective, and drummer Moses Boyd, to name just a few.
![[Much loved south London music venue is re-opening]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233865269-312f.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The Covid pandemic left the venue in £36,000 of debt to its landlord, meaning it had to close down towards the end of 2023, leaving frequent attenders devastated. This is despite a fundraising campaign that raised £30,000 to try and pay the rent. ‘Matchstick Piehouse is exactly the kind of intimate venue that helps build connection, community and allows us to share collective joy. Please bring it back’, said Shim Vereker when the fundraiser was launched.
![[Much loved south London music venue is re-opening]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/SEI_233865268-bb41.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
But the ‘Piehouse Co-op’, a group of former staff and artists from the Matchstick and workers from other local venues, have successfully negotiated a £15,000 capital grant from the Lewisham Council. Alongside this financial help was support raised by the Music Venues Trust (MVT) and celebrities such as Kate Nash, whose ‘Butts for Tour Buses campaign’ brought awareness to hardships faced by venue owners and emerging artists.
This growing momentum helped the group to successfully negotiate a new lease with their landlord, at the same site in Deptford. This can be considered a major victory in the grassroots music scene, as the MVT revealed, ‘two grassroots venues close a week in the UK.’.
