Bristol music venue calls for support after 'very difficult' year

An independent Bristol music venue has called for support after a 'very difficult' year following a fire.

The Jam Jar in St Jude's is an informal music venue and arts space for a growing community of Bristol creatives and serves as a melting pot for grassroots projects.

The independent venue focuses on promoting independent artists and doesn't have corporate sponsors.

The Jam Jar was forced to close for three weeks in October 2022 due to a fire in the adjoining building that cut off their power supply, including fire alarms and emergency lighting. The timing (over the Halloween period) meant they lost almost 25% of their yearly turnover.

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The owners say that after 18 months of negotiations, the final settlement will pale in comparison to the loss incurred, leading the venue to face a challenging time and even possible closure.

On their website, they shared: "To survive until now, we have had to take out some substantial loans. Sadly due to the current economic climate, our interest payments have been staggeringly high. We have paid tens of thousands in interest in the last year, and a huge percentage of our revenue has gone straight to finance companies. All of the above pressures combined have made things very difficult for the Jam Jar this year."

The Jam Jar is reaching out to the wider community to help them keep going through donations, buying tickets to their shows and merch or simply spreading the word.

For more information on how to support The Jam Jar go here.