Singer and rapper Tinie Tempah has said he is “super excited” as he prepares to take part in a festival which celebrates grassroots music venues.
Tempah will be in Southampton on the weekend for the Everywhere at Once festival, which will see thousands of artists perform at hundreds of venues nationwide.
The festival takes place on what would normally be Glastonbury weekend and venues in Hampshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire and Berkshire are all taking part.
Tempah whose hits include “Pass Out” and “Written in the Stars” has performed at Glastonbury’s Pyramid stage twice but told BBC South Today’s Sophie Law that a festival celebrating grassroots music venues was important to him.
This weekend he will take to the stage at The 1865 and The Brook in Southampton.
“The reason that I love grassroots venues is because you can really look into the white of a person’s eyes and build a way more solid connection,” he said.
“These venues are the venues that house you initially.”
He added: “When I look back on those memories, that was my moment when I was gaining my confidence, doing my 10,000 hours but also building a real core fanbase that has stuck with me all these years, even decades.”
He said he was worried for the next generation of artists and how they will build up “a long sustainable career where they are also able to earn a basic living off of their art”.
‘Gateway for artists’
Everywhere at Once is funded by the National Lottery and delivered by Music Venue Trust, Save Our Scene and The Association of Independent Promoters.
Artists including Fatboy Slim, Becky Hill and Rizzle Kicks will take part in the festival across the country.
“We’re all kind of feeling the same thing, these venues have been a part of our lives,” Tempah said.
“It would be a shame to lose institutions that have almost been a gateway for artists like me to get as far as I have done.”
According to the Music Venue Trust there are more than 800 grassroots music venues in the UK and 53% showed no profit at all in 2025.
The Everywhere at Once organisers said: “With Glastonbury taking a fallow year in 2026, we saw an opportunity to create a national moment that shines a spotlight on the places where live music begins – the venues on our high streets, in our towns and cities, that give artists their first stage and audiences affordable unforgettable experiences.”
