A Co Down bar has won a £10,000 live music prize for Northern Ireland.
PRS for Music, a UK organisation that represents the rights of over 160,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers around the world, has announced The Goat’s Toe in Bangor as the winner of its 'Back to Live Music Venue' prize.
The recovery-focused nationwide competition was launched to give independent live music venues across the UK the chance to win one of six regional prizes of up to £10,000 and inject much-needed financial support into venues that are dedicated to improving live music experiences in their local communities.
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The Goat’s Toe has a reputation for promoting live, original music from Bangor’s home-grown talent pool and hopes to entice bigger bands and support more varied genres of music over the coming year.
Mark Ennis, Manager of The Goat's Toe, said: “The venue has come in leaps and bounds since it opened its doors in 2011, with a focus on live music.
"The Goat will continue to support and showcase original, up-and-coming, and established musicians across the board. With the much-appreciated support from PRS, we will grow and expand our ideas and our facility.
"We are excited to see where the journey takes us. Bangor as a city has a lot to offer, may we continue to shine!"
The Goat's Toe is also keen to host more festivals within the region and is planning venue upgrades to the stage, PA sound system and backline for touring artists. Expanding their in-house system will allow the shows to be viewed from the beer garden.
The devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the live music sector has been well-documented - between 2019 and 2021, PRS for Music saw an 84% decline in the number of live performance setlists reported to the organisation, falling from 124,000 in 2019, to 19,300 in 2021.
Mark and Amanda Whittaker, marketing manager for Wolf Inns, will also use the £10,000 to host more original music competitions, whilst investing money into a marketing and social media campaign to help promote events.
Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO of PRS for Music said: “Venues that promote up-and-coming talent like The Goat’s Toe are vitally important to the health and growth of music in the UK.
"The Back to Live Music Venue Prize has emerged as a catalyst to support the teams behind local venues who play a real part in developing talent across the UK."
The Back to Live Music Venue Prize competition launched in March 2022 and was open to independent live music venues that are not part of a national brand whose offering included music prior to pandemic closures, winning venues were determined by a judging panel made up of leading representatives from across the music, arts, and hospitality sectors.
Tony Barton, Head of Writer Relations, PRS for Music, said: “I’m very impressed with The Goat’s Toe and the talent it supports in the UK. Their enthusiasm and support for emerging talent is exactly what the UK music scene needs as it recovers from the pandemic.
"We wish the team there many more years success in enabling fresh talent to follow their musical dreams."
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