Much-loved Welsh music venue announces it is to close
David Owens
It is a grassroots music venue that has been at the forefront of the city’s music scene for many years, but today The Moon has announced it is to close.
The venue situated on Womanby Street posted a heartbreaking message on its website and on its social media channels detailing the issues it has faced, stating, ‘the burden of a cost of living crisis and the mounting costs of running a business where survival always runs on a knife edge have proven too difficult for us to continue.’
The news comes as grassroots venues across the UK face a constant fight for their survival, with an average of two venues a week closing.
Back in 2017 the venue closed its doors, but eventually reopened after staff launched a crowdfunding campaign to help them resurrect the much-loved live music venue.
Then a ‘Save Womanby Street’ march attended by thousands of music fans took to the streets of the city to protest at the closure of Dempseys pub (now Gareth Bale’s Elevens bar) and The Moon, as well as potential threats from a Wetherspoons Hotel, a noise complaint filed against Fuel Rock Bar, and a proposed seven-storey residential and commercial development next to Clwb Ifor Bach.
Fuel Rock Bar and Clwb Ifor Bach, are now the only two remaining music venues on Cardiff’s ‘music street’.
The Moon statement in full:
THANK YOU FROM THE MOON
Every week on average two UK grassroots live music venues close. Sadly it’s now our turn. As of today we’ve handed our keys back to our landlord and The Moon will be closed.
Despite our best efforts to keep going during the past few years, the burden of a cost of living crisis and the mounting costs of running a business where survival always runs on a knife edge have proven too difficult for us to continue. Every time we think we’ve overcome a hurdle, another five appear and there are so many factors involved, not one particular reason but dozens. We’ve fought so hard and are so proud that we’ve kept The Moon alive for this long, especially during the most difficult times that no-one could have predicted back when we reopened the space in 2017.
We cannot thank you enough for helping us through the years, for helping us to re-open the venue in 2017, for coming to us week in and week out, for getting us through the good times and the bad, for supporting us when we were closed in 2020-21 during the pandemic and coming back in droves again after that time. We loved the diversity of our audiences and musicians who walked through our doors and will take so many happy memories forward of brilliant and life changing nights.
Thank you to our brilliant staff throughout the years who have worked tirelessly on the bar, behind the sound desk and DJ decks, security team keeping us safe, flyerers getting people through the doors, and the hard working bands and promoters putting the gigs on – we wouldn’t have survived so long without you putting your all into it, night after night. You made The Moon and we will always be grateful.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to the entire music community around us, it has honestly been the best time of our lives, and we have thousands of great memories. From the thrill of booking exciting bands who go on to bigger things, to hosting events that couldn’t find a home, artists who were getting overlooked or brand new first timers, to proudly adding CARDIFF to that tour poster. All the friendships made, relationships built, people who got engaged, married, celebrated, remembered. Having the best parties, discovering the best music.
Womanby Street is losing a vital part of its live music heart, but we firmly believe that Cardiff is getting exciting again and has so much potential, so much to offer. Please don’t think the answer is simply to replace us quickly and hike up the number of small venues. We don’t need too many small venues all doing the same thing, we need great quality venues that are supported, celebrated, protected and USED. Venues that create legacies, bringing people together for years to come, full to the brim with events and audiences, a wide spectrum of genres and events, affordable, accessible and inclusive.
We are gutted that we weren’t able to carry out all our plans we had, do something about the toilets, stage height, backstage area, redo the décor, furniture, artist murals, fix basically everything all over again and expand into all sorts of exciting adventures.
Grassroots music venues need constant support, and we are a prime example of what happens without that help. The financial pressures put on independent music venues are extreme, and the support we receive just isn’t enough to match that. We have appreciated the grants and funding provided by Creative Wales and Cardiff Council in recent years, but the support can’t come only in emergencies or through special projects.
Music venues need constant support through levies on the much more profitable parts of our industry. These insignificant amounts on huge ticket prices would provide a significant benefit to independent venues around the country. We also feel the pressure of business rates and taxes that burn through any small profit we make and leave us barely breaking even on the most popular of nights. Increasing the business rates in Wales on music venues and continuing to charge VAT on ticket sales is going to close more and more music venues in the years to come. We ask the government to reconsider these charges and question where music will be without independent venues like us in years to come.
Finally, for the really horrible but important bits of admin:
We’ll be working with the promoters and artists at all upcoming events to try and find alternatives. Please keep an eye on your emails if you’ve bought tickets for any updates on changes, cancellations etc – all cancellations will be refunded.
Please bear with us as we work through all the difficult processes and be patient as we do. We have all now lost our livelihoods and are absolutely heartbroken to lose the biggest thing our lives.
Thank you again, see you at the next gig
From all of us at The Moon
Reacting to the news of the closure of The Moon, Mark Davyd – the founder and CEO of Music Venue Trust told Nation Cymru: “Sadly, despite all the positive direction that government and industry seems now to be heading in, and everyone trying to get to grips with the challenges being faced by our grassroots music ecosystem, it isn’t happening fast enough to save vital spaces that are much loved and valued by their communities and essential to artists.
“The Moon is the perfect example of one of those spaces; incredibly important to local artists and music lovers, run by a dedicated and passionate team who have pulled out all the stops trying to keep the doors open, doing everything they could together as a community to keep music live.
“The external pressures on these venues cannot be met by these operators alone, and we must, urgently and without further delays, have a comprehensive action plan from the very top of the live music industry down to the very beginnings of people’s passion for live music that delivers real change and saves our venues from closure.
“We have consistently warned the Government that financial burdens from things like poorly conceived and delivered Business Rates was placing too much pressure on venues like the Moon. Not enough action has been taken quickly enough and now another venue has been lost. We’d like to thank the whole Moon team for everything they’ve done for music in Cardiff and for being such an active part of this community during incredibly tough times.”
The Moon announced it has launched a Staff and Freelancer Support Fund.
The venue said: “If you would like to donate something to help our staff and freelancers while they seek other employment (or to say thanks) to help them get through the next couple of months, please consider donating here: https://crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-the-moon-cardiffs-staff
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