Mann, Edgar & Pleasance/Venue Stories, 10. 'Nothing Comes Easy': Small Venue Concerts with the Wedding Present

David Gedge (The Wedding Present) and Jon Stewart (Sleeper) reflect on almost four decades playing small and medium-sized grassroots music venues. Between them, both have probably played every room of this type in the UK and a good portion of those in the EU, too. This chapter will compare their experiences gigging in such spaces from 1980s / 1990s to the 2020s. How have smaller venues changed over the decades and what elements remain the same? Which have survived and which are missed? What makes these gigs work so well for artists, and what challenges do they present? What is gained when you move on from the circuit, and what is lost? Unique insights from the small venue dressing room ... if you're lucky enough to be in a gig that has one.