'Days in the life of a grassroots music venue'
The film was instigated by the news that The Railway Inn, Winchester, may be closing and was using crowdfunding to keep the doors open. It was filmed between November 2018 and March 2019.
The Railway Inn brings an invaluable cultural asset to the city of Winchester, despite financial and legal difficulties and the lack of public money. If their problems are ignored today The Railway Inn could well disappear and be dearly missed by the community.
This is a nationwide issue that has been brought to the political agenda by the Music Venue Trust, musicvenuetrust.com/, 'a charity which acts to protect, secure and improve UK Grassroots Music Venues for the benefit of venues, communities and upcoming artists'.
The MVT has shown interest with the film and is planning to screen it to Parliament in support of their cause.
Initially used by the Winchester Folk Club, The Railway Inn venue started being hired by (among others) local music promoter and writer Oliver Gray, in 1980. Since then the venue has been a platform for Winchester talents who came to international fame (Kate Stables & Rozi Plain (This is the kit ), Andy Burrows (Razorlight) who are featured in the film and Frank Turner). It has attracted and showcased international artists like Laura Veirs and The Delines, featured in the film; and british talents the like of Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, John Parish and PJ Harvey at the start of their careers.
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