Festivals and live performance venues receive €25m funding from Minister Martin

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, has announced the recipients of the €25 million in funding for applicants of the Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS).

The funding will assist commercial venues, producers and promoters to plan live performances across the country over the summer months, with a total of 237 organisations benefitting from the scheme. Some of the events will be online, others a hybrid and some, fingers crossed, mainly live with punters there.

Notable recipients include Body & Soul who've been awarded €423,135 for a new event called Equinox, which will "showcase exemplary Irish practitioners of music, comedy, spoken word, set design, cross-pollinating practices, creating new authentic performances."

The same amount was granted to Fuel for a virtual Kaleidoscope Festival and to the Pod for an outdoor socially distanced Meadows festival that will include music and comedy.

MCD get €264,460 for "a music event across multiple genres such as rap, R&B, drill and pop."

Aiken Promotions have been awarded €581,811 for a series of Vicar St performances over the summer "to support artists and bands and backroom staff."

Electric Picnic promoters Festival Republic pick up €423,125 for "live music and theatre shows, comedy acts and arts in Stradbally Hall and Olympia Theatre."

Cherrycool get €264,460 for a "series of live outdoor shows over the August Bank Holiday in Tullamore" while Indiependence receives the same amount for "PaircLife, an outdoor concert series in Cork City at Tramore Valley Park."

There's €264,460 for the 3Arena who are planning a "Rock the Docks Summer Season."

Other festival promoters receiving grants include Vantastival, Another Love Story, Forever Young, It Takes A Village, Cat Laughs and Life.

From Monroe's in Galway, De Barra's in Clonakilty and Dolan's in Limerick to the INEC in Killarney, Mike The Pies in Listowel and the Dublin Olympia, the country's leading live venues are well represented.

The Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS) is part of €50 million worth of measures to support the live entertainment sector and follows the €5 million pilot Live Performance Support Scheme.

According to the Department, there was a high level of interest in this scheme, which comes with the mission statement of "supporting the creation of employment and wellbeing opportunities in the live performance sector – and the generation of high quality artistic output…

"Over 400 imaginative and diverse applications submitted for consideration, once again reflecting the resilient, talented and innovative nature of this sector," they continue. "The Department acknowledges and appreciates the work and effort that went into preparing these applications, however given the volume of applications received, it was not possible to allocate funding to all eligible applicants."

Recipients of this funding range from small to large venues, producers and promoters, supporting live events in every county, including festivals, concerts, theatre productions, comedy and outdoor events.

“I am very pleased to announce this funding, which will encompass and support a wide range of performances over the coming summer months," Minister Martin said. "I know this funding will assist in the employment of performers, artists, technicians, creative and performance support staff across the sector, bringing much-needed employment to many who have not had work for many, many months. I look forward to the high quality artistic output, as demonstrated in the pilot, which has been so important and enjoyed by so many.”

“I have recently provided a further €5m under the Local Live Performance Programming Scheme for local authorities to engage local performers and crew to stage live performances in their areas, creating further employment opportunities over the coming months.”

Read the full list of LPSSS recipients at https://www.gov.ie/en/service/ca5d7-live-performance-support-scheme-2021 or check out the venues below: