Sister Midnight Records are vying to turn the Ravensbourne Arms into Lewisham’s first community-owned venue – an initiative which could pave a new way for grassroots music venues to battle growing debts post-pandemic.

The Ravensbourne Arms pub in Lewisham, where Sister Midnight Records are hoping to relocate to help nurture South East London’s vibrant music scene.

The fight for grassroots music venues to pay their rent and survive is nothing new. In fact, it’s an all-too-frequent setup: creatives versus the council, artistry versus commerce, rundown sites that are much loved versus pristine, cold-hearted buildings.

Yet the current situation is increasingly stark. Following the impacts of the pandemic, the Music Venue Trust has revealed that grassroots music venues are in debt to the tune of £90million, with each venue emerging with between £80,000 and £120,000 in costs on average.

It’s meant even steady-growing, popular local venues have struggled, such as Sister Midnight, which began in 2018 and quickly became a staple for Lewisham’s thriving music scene, notably its DIY punk lovers.

This community-share offer gives everyone the chance to invest in the venue

That was, of course, until lockdown. Facing issues with their landlord, the cost of making their venue COVID-secure and a hampered ability to bring in revenue, Sister Midnight were forced to move, setting their sights on Lewisham’s disused Ravensbourne Arms pub. And now: you have a chance to become part of their initiative too.

Lenny Watson, Sophie Farrell and Verity Hobbs, the three women who proudly run Sister Midnight, are hoping to turn the venue into a community-owned venue that will help continue their mission to support local talent.

‘This community-share offer gives everyone the chance to invest in the venue and become a co-owner and member of our society,’ Lenny explains to whynow.

(L-R): Sophie Farrell, Lenny Watson, and Verity Hobbs of Sister Midnight Records.

‘Our society will be run democratically, so everyone gets voting rights, giving them a say in how things are done and making the Ravensbourne a space that’s owned by the community, run in their interests and with their input.

‘And we can then continue doing what we’re doing with Sister Midnight – platforming emerging talent in the area and creating spaces that nurtures bands, musicians and artists in those very early stages.’

The trio are seeking £500,000 through their community share offer, and aim to enter the revamped space in 2022, when Lewisham celebrates its status as London’s Borough of Culture.

Our society will be run democratically, so everyone gets voting rights, giving them a say in how things are done

Demonstrating both the desire for the project to succeed and Sister Midnight’s respect from other music bods, the community share offer has been endorsed by bands like Goat Girl and Fontaines D.C., as well as industry leaders like the Music Venue Trust’s Mark Davyd, and Amy Lamé, London’s first ‘night czar’.

And if such an illustrious crowd of supporters isn’t enough, consider this. Without the opportunity to experiment at venues like Sister Midnight’s, your favourite acts wouldn’t get the chance to cut their teeth.

The Ravensbourne Arms may be in Lewisham, but without venues like it operating, our national conveyor belt of musical might will cease to function.

‘You wouldn’t have the Beatles or Oasis or Blur without venues like ours platforming people in the first instance,’ Lenny adds, ‘Even when these bands aren’t necessarily commercially viable or going to draw a massive crowd that’s going to make you loads of money.

‘Grassroots venues recognise that, and that’s why they’re not really profit-oriented institutions, because these bands need somewhere to perform in the first instance, the chance to hone their craft and experiment and take risks.

‘And that’s what’s beautiful about these spaces, but we’re being punished for it because it’s not profitable.’

You can be guaranteed that what we’re doing will benefit the community far more than any high street bank

Lenny is keen to stress too that far from asking for a charitable donation – though the support so far received has been hugely appreciated by Sister Midnight – this is ultimately a business opportunity.

With 3% interest due to be offered to shareholders from the second year of operations, and the opportunity for social investment tax relief for any investor, ‘there are a lot of financial incentives.’

And what’s more, Lenny adds, ‘you can be guaranteed that what we’re doing with the money will benefit the community far more than putting it in any high street bank’.

A fundraising event put on by Sister Midnight Records.

The team have already raised £40,000 and if unable to reach their target through fundraising, Lenny defiantly says Sister Midnight ‘will do everything we can to find other sources of funding to make this happen. The key takeaway is that we know that what we’re doing is too important to stop.’

Indeed, the fight to save the UK’s grassroots music venues is well and truly kicking thanks to Sister Midnight’s initiative.

For more information on how you can get involved with the fundraiser, click here.

The Fight to Create a Community-Owned Music Venue

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