Liverpool’s grassroots musicians have paid tribute to an iconic city centre pub and gig venue following news that rising costs have forced it to close for good.
The Caledonia, situated in the Georgian Quarter, announced its closure on March 7 following the news of rising business rates due to be implemented next month.
In an Instagram posting announcing the closure, landlady Laura King wrote: “I have been at the helm of The Caledonia for almost 15 years and I’ve watched the venue blossom into a true community hub for music and arts in Liverpool.
“I am very proud of the thousands of hours of free access to music we’ve been able to provide for our community and the employment we were able to create for local grassroots performers.”
Former performers at the venue, The Hermit and Howlin’ Ric and the Rocketeers, have paid tribute to The Caledonia following the news of the closure.
The Hermit said: “The closure of The Caledonia is a monumental loss for Liverpool’s musicians, creatives and punters.
“It’s a personal loss for us, having developed much of our craft and met so many of our community there, as well as being indicative of a larger societal problem. We are increasingly living in a world where soulless cash power can often take away the institutions that give a city its character, that is certainly the case here.
“Liverpool has traditionally been a city of character and grassroots incentives, this is a stark reminder to not be complacent in our identity.”
Howlin’ Ric and the Rocketeers have also paid tribute to the venue, saying: “The Caledonia will be a sore miss. Grassroots music venues that support local and touring bands are essential to providing a unique vibe to a town or city. The Caledonia did just that.
“It was the first place in Liverpool to support us and in our down time when we visited the city, we always went there knowing that they would have good music on.”
Ms King has blamed the cost of living crisis for the closure of venues that support grassroot musicians, labelling the crisis as ‘crippling’.
She said: “The cost of living crisis is crippling community venues, we are seeing compounding costs. This coupled with a loss of customers because our community is struggling too.
“We are not the first to go and without change, we won’t be the last.”
Liverpool has long been recognised as a city of culture and music, with venues like The Caledonia supporting and promoting local grassroot musicians. As a result, it has UNESCO City of Music status, recognising the importance of creativity to the region’s economy and culture.
Kevin McManus, head of UNESCO City of Music for Liverpool, spoke of the importance of small music venues and the support available to them.
He told Mersey News Live: “For me grassroots venues are always at the heart of any city’s music ecology. We are really lucky that in the City Region at the moment we have an incredible range of venues run by people who are passionate about music and understand their vital role in the local music community.
“They are vital because they give emerging talent a chance to learn their craft and develop an audience. At the moment its a really challenging time for grassroots venues across the UK and part of my role and that of the Music Board is to see what we can do to support them at what is a really difficult time.”
Photo credit: User Rept0n1x at Wikimedia Commons. Published under creative commons licensing
