Closure of music venue granted £10,000 by council less than a year ago ‘disappointing’

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

A key decision-maker at Cardiff Council said it is “disappointing news” a music venue it granted £10,000 to less than a year ago will soon close.

Cardiff Council’s cabinet member for culture, parks and events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, made her comments after The New Moon in Womanby Street, formerly The Moon, announced it will close at the end of October.

The announcement comes just eight months after the live music venue and bar reopened with the help of a grant from Cardiff Council’s grassroots venues fund.

In November 2024 the previous owners of The Moon announced the immediate closure of the venue due to the “burden of the cost of living crisis” and the “mounting costs of running a business where survival always runs on a knife edge”.

Slow trade

The venue’s current team cited slow trade, rising expenses, and an unsecured tenancy as the reasons behind its decision to close.

Cllr Burke said: “Independent grassroots venues are the lifeblood of our music scene.

“That’s why we do so much work to support them and it’s why the closure of the New Moon will be a loss.

“The New Moon was one of many venues to receive support in our first round of grassroots venues funding last year and officers have been in regular contact with the venue since it opened to ensure they were aware of all potential opportunities for further assistance from the council but the simple truth is that we don’t have the power or the financial means to protect every venue from all the challenges faced by music venues across the UK.

“Ultimately customers need to come through the doors in large enough numbers to make them viable businesses.”

‘Huge potential’

The current team behind the venue said they believe the venue has “huge potential” but are now deciding to shift their focus to other projects.

Current owner Matt Cutrupi is also behind Bunkhouse Hostel and DnB Bar in St Mary Street.

The struggle many grassroots music venues face was brought up by the previous owners of The Moon in their closure announcement last year.

In a statement posted on social media at the time they said: “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.”

Grass roots venues

Cardiff Council’s grass roots venues fund offered grants of up to £10,000 to independent venues in 2024.

The council recently opened applications for a second round of grants. This year grants of up to £7,500 are being offered to venues.

A number of grassroots venues have called for levies on big ticket fees charged by promoters and event organisers as a potential funding solution.

The Music Venue Trust has long advocated for a £1 ticket levy that could be used to support independent venues.

Cardiff Council said it received a fee on every ticket sold at the Blackweir Live gig series which saw major acts like Stevie Wonder, Alanis Morissette, Slayer, and Noah Kahan perform at Blackweir Fields in Bute Park on select dates over June and July 2025.

The local authority said a proportion of the money from this is reinvested in things like Cardiff’s grassroots music venues and talent development schemes.

However when the council was asked for the amount of money it made from Blackweir Live it refused to say.

‘Positive’

Cllr Burke added in her reaction to The New Moon’s recent announcement: “Despite this disappointing news there is a lot to feel positive about in Cardiff’s music sector.

“Right now we have the Cardiff Music City Festival in full swing, bringing audiences into venues across the city, we have new independent venues like The Canopi and Paradise Garden thriving, spades in the ground on the new arena in Cardiff Bay, St David’s Hall’s future secured, our Little Gigs talent development scheme is going from strength to strength, and we’ve just announced a second round of grassroots venues funding thanks in part to income from the summer concerts at Blackweir Fields which brought thousands of additional music fans to Cardiff.

“What this closure really highlights is that if we don’t use our independent venues we will lose them.

“Supporting venues is as simple as buying a gig ticket, buying a drink – and the good news is that with so much brilliant music in the city right now it’s the perfect time to do just that.”