Photo Credit: The Jazz Station (@jazzstationeugene on Instagram)
Live Music Society announces the recipients of its third annual Music in Action grant, with $765,500 awarded to 26 small venues across the country.
Live Music Society has announced the recipients of its third annual Music in Action grant. This year’s grant awarded $765,500 to 26 small venues across the country to support bold, community-driven live music programming.
These grants have been designed to give venues the freedom to take programming risks, presenting shows and festivals they might not otherwise be able to host due to the costs involved. Music in Action empowers venues to prioritize outreach and audience development—with the aim of welcoming new communities and strengthening their business through innovative programming.
Small venues—many of which are vital cultural anchors in their towns or cities—are closing at an alarming rate. This funding provides critical support to spaces that operate on razor-thin margins. These are the same stages where emerging artists get their start, grow their audience, and hone their craft. Live Music Society’s Music in Action grant helps ensure they not only survive, but thrive.
The 2025 grantees include venues presenting everything from youth jazz jams to Broadway mentorships, Appalachian seminars to hip-hop showcases. Highlights include:
Ashkenaz Music & Dance (Berkeley, CA): A global music series and stream team outreach effort spotlighting underrepresented immigrant communities.
Indexical (Santa Cruz, CA): Residencies for local experimental artists, complete with stipends, workspace, and production support.
Crowbar (Tampa, FL): Church Sessions—a monthly all-ages celebration of hip-hop with music, dance, and community vendors.
The Jazz Station (Eugene, OR): In-school jazz clinics with small-group mentorship and public performances.
Pie Shop (Washington, D.C.): Free, all-ages monthly showcases for local acts, including live recordings to help launch their careers.
Spire Center (Plymouth, MA): Sunday matinees welcoming older and retired audiences back into the live music scene.
Floyd Country Store (Floyd, VA): Traditional Appalachian music seminars in collaboration with local colleges.
54 Below (New York, NY): A performance and mentorship program supporting early-career Broadway composers and lyricists.
This year’s Music in Action brings Live Music Society’s total giving to $4.8 million across 201 venues since 2020—supporting both nonprofit and for-profit spaces that form the bedrock of independent music.
Live Music Society also launched a new national initiative this year, called One Night Live. A first-of-its-kind 14-city tour pairing emerging artists with grassroots venues, One Night Live was produced in partnership with Salt Lick Incubator and D-TOUR. The tour modeled a more sustainable and collaborative future for independent music.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.