Marshall has launched a new UK touring initiative that will put money directly into independent music venues, with Cancer Bats leading a 16 date run alongside Ignite and Knives this October.
The Made Of Loud Tour is about more than getting bands on the road. Marshall is funding improvement projects at venues across the tour, with money going towards dressing rooms, green rooms, backstage areas, stage backdrops, venue branding and infrastructure. The idea is that the investment stays with the venues long after the bands have packed up and left.
It comes at a difficult time for the UK grassroots circuit. According to Music Venue Trust’s 2025 Annual Report, 30 grassroots music venues permanently closed during the year, while 175 UK towns and cities no longer receive regular touring shows from professional artists.
Among the venues receiving support are The Joiners in Southampton, The Cavern in Exeter, The Fleece in Bristol and The Craufurd Arms in Milton Keynes, with projects being chosen around what each venue actually needs.
“Grassroots venues are closing faster than they are opening,” said Nick Street, CMO at Marshall Group. “The Marshall ‘Made of Loud’ Tour funds real improvements in the venues, upgrades that will still be there long after the tour ends.”
Cancer Bats will headline the run following the release of their new album Give Me Dirt, with Ignite and Marshall Records band Knives joining them. For Knives in particular, the initiative hits close to home after Moles in Bath, one of the first venues they ever played, closed in 2023.
“We would never be in the position we’re in without playing independent venues,” the band said. “These are the places where we learnt how to be in a band, what type of music we wanted to make, and met so many people who have been integral to our journey.”
The tour begins at The Booking Hall in Dover on October 12th before travelling across the UK, including Brighton, Exeter, Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Leeds. It finishes with a Halloween show at Electric Brixton in London on October 31st.
Marshall says its involvement will continue after the final date, with the company planning to revisit venues and look at the longer term impact of the investment.