PRS for Music has named the latest regional winner of its Back to Live Music Venue Prize. Bangor venue The Goat's Toe has been announced as the winner for Northern Ireland, with plans for the £10,000 prize money to go towards upgrades to the stage, PA sound system and backline for touring artists.
The nationwide competition was launched by PRS for Music to give independent live music venues across the UK the chance to win one of six regional prizes and inject much-needed financial support into venues who are dedicated to improving live music experiences in their local communities. Open to independent live music venues who are not part of a national brand, and whose offering included music prior to pandemic closures, winning venues were determined by a judging panel made up of leading representatives from across the music, arts, and hospitality sectors. The final two UK regional Back to Live Music Venue Prize winners will be announced next month.
The Goat’s Toe has a reputation for promoting live, original music from Bangor’s home-grown talent pool and hopes to entice bigger bands and support more varied genres of music over the coming year. It is also keen to host more festivals within the region. On winning the prize, manager Mark Ennis says, 'The Goat’s Toe is thrilled to be awarded the PRS for Music Back To Live Prize. The venue has come on leaps and bounds since it opened its doors in 2011, with a focus on live music. The Goat will continue to support and showcase original, up-and-coming, and established musicians across the board. With the much appreciated support from PRS, we will grow and expand our ideas and our facility. We are excited to see where the journey takes us. Bangor as a city has a lot to offer, may we continue to shine!'
Andrea Czapary Martin, chief executive officer PRS for Music, says, 'Venues that promote up and coming talent like The Goat’s Toe are vitally important to the health and growth of music in the UK. The Back to Live Music Venue Prize has emerged as a catalyst to support the teams behind local venues who play a real part in developing talent across the UK.'
Tony Barton, head of writer relations at PRS for Music, says, 'I’m very impressed with The Goat’s Toe and the talent it supports in the UK. Their enthusiasm and support for emerging talent is exactly what the UK music scene needs as it recovers from the pandemic. We wish the team there many more years success in enabling fresh talent to follow their musical dreams.'
