Born, in 2018, out of our obsession with musical discovery, we celebrate the best in new grassroots and independent music, with a particular focus on the UK.
Beats To The Bar is a one stop shop for discerning music lovers. We bring together information on the best artists, labels, venues, events and record shops into one convenient source. On the website this comes via music reviews, interviews, features and guides.
There are so many great people who contribute to the over all community, some who simply do not get the recognition they deserve. Why keep any of this amazing culture locked up, unattainable and untapped when you can share it?
In 2019 and 2020 we brought our DIY, Why Not? Festival to The Victoria, Dalston, showcasing some of the best artists in the UK.
About DIY, Why Not? Festival
Not long after starting Beats To The Bar in 2018 some music loving friends were planning to visit from abroad at the end of the year. They were hoping to experience the UK music scene during their visit.
So, rather than relying on an exciting gig to crop up on the calendar we thought we may as well do it ourselves choosing the best line-up!
Having approached The Victoria, Dalston for the venue they suggested “Why not take the weekend?”
Running over the Friday evening and Saturday of the first weekend after New Years it felt like a risk. What if nobody came?
Apprehensively, having never organised something of this scale, we said yes(!) and the DIY, Why Not? (mini) Festival was born.
Despite our worries of failing it was a rousing success, thanks to all the great artists who played at the festival and amazing DIY devotees who attended. Buoyed by this, we were asked back for 2020 and put together another fantastic line-up with great DJs too! We all know how that year ended up but we were fortunate to put the Festival on before the world turned upside down.
The ethos is for our shows to be as affordable as possible for the audience while really looking after the artists and making sure they receive the lions share of the proceeds. Knowing how expensive going to gigs can be, we want everyone to be able to enjoy themselves and create a great atmosphere. Music shouldn’t only be for the privileged, it should be a privilege for all.
