Legendary British singer Rhoda Dakar is among the latest artists to join the lineup for The National Lottery’s United By Music Tour with Music Venue Trust. As a Patron, Rhoda has been a long-time supporter of Music Venue Trust and will perform nine special shows in intimate venues across the country, to support Grassroots Music Venues amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. She joins the lineup with Michael Aldag and VLUR, who have also announced tours of GMVs.
Rhoda’s career began as lead vocalist with all female 2Tone band, The Bodysnatchers in 1979. She went on to record with The Specials, The Special AKA and Madness, along with her solo work. She has seven gold albums and one silver covering these and other recording projects. Rhoda is also a respected DJ and toured the Americas and Europe as support to The Selecter in 2019 and The Specials in 2016 as special guest and recently released her critically acclaimed Version Girl album. https://orcd.co/versiongirl
With one grassroots music venue closing each week, the tour will see acts including Blossoms, Cat Burns, Metronomy, Bloc Party and Sam Ryder returning to their roots to highlight the importance of these local venues in artists’ careers, as part of the music ecosystem, and as important local cultural hubs.
The United By Music Tour, organised by the charity Music Venue Trust and funded by The National Lottery started in June and is running until late September. Rhoda Dakar, alongside other established acts including Sleeper and Newton Faulkner and a host of new acts, are touring the country playing 150 gigs at 130 grassroots music venues across the UK. Every ticket buyer can take a guest with them for free (just by showing a lottery product) which makes the already cheap tickets even more affordable. See unitedbymusic.live for all tour dates and tickets.
Speaking of the tour, Rhoda said, “I go to a lot of gigs and though the grand stage provides a spectacle, nothing beats the palpable emotion of looking into a performer’s eyes and knowing they mean it. This is what happens in a grassroots music venue. You can feel the music. The same is true of performing. When you’re looking an audience in the eyes, you know whether you’re getting through, there’s no faking it!
“Currently, one grassroots music venue is closing every week. This is like slowly and deliberately stripping a layer of culture from our society. I saw David Bowie at The Marquee in Wardour Street, London, back in 1973, up close and personal. Nobody will have that experience again, as both are no longer with us. It’s at those venues that you connect with an artist. Sometimes forever! And this is why I’m taking part in the United By Music Tour. I’m out to make friends. Are you with me?”
Rhoda will be performing on the following dates:
OCTOBER
18th: King Tut’s – Glasgow
AUGUST
30th: Moon- Cardiff
31st: Cobblestones-Bridgewater
SEPTEMPER
1st: Esquires- Bedford
2nd: Railway – Winchester
5th: Ferret- Preston
6th: Stereo-Glasgow
7th: Polar Bear- Hull
14th: Horn – St Albans
15th: Headrow House- Leeds
Get tickets here:
United By Music Tickets | 2023-24 Tour & Concert Dates | Ticketmaster UK