Press release: Nigel Price's UK tour rescued!

© John McMurtrie

Nigel Price is once more embarking on a colossal 46 date tour of UK grassroots jazz venues, thanks to funding by UK charity Music Venue Trust’s Liveline Fund. 

Commencing on September 15 and running through to December 11, the tour is the second national tour, and first in the jazz scene, to be funded by the Liveline Fund. Liveline was created by Music Venue Trust (MVT) and live music advocates Save Our Scene (SOS) to distribute funding directly to grassroots venues, artists and promoters with financial support raised by contributions from arena and stadium ticket sales. Artists including Sam Fender, Katy Perry, Coldplay, and Enter Shikari were early adopters of the Grassroots Levy and have enabled Liveline to begin fuelling the future of UK grassroots music.

 

On most of the dates Price will be performing with his regular powerhouse band, the Nigel Price Organ Trio featuring Ross Stanley and Joel Barford, but there are international guests too.  The legendary Lorne Lofsky, who cut his teeth playing with the likes of Oscar Peterson, Joey DeFrancesco and Chet Baker, has always wanted to visit Scotland, and Nigel has made it so! They will then be heading down to London to play the 606 club in Fulham for the London Jazz festival. That gig will be recorded with a view for a 2026 release.

 

From Genoa, Italy - Guitarist Alessio Menconi, one of the most impressive guitarists you’ll ever hear, is coming to London for a short run in early November. Nigel and Alessio will be recording their gig at the Bull’s head in Barnes on November 5, where they will hopefully be creating their own fireworks! Czech guitar supremo Libor Smoldas, who recently toured with James Morrison, is also coming over for three dates in October.

 

This is without doubt the biggest event on the UK Jazz calendar of 2025.  More information, as well as links to tickets can be found at Nigel’s website - https://nigethejazzer.com

 

Speaking about the tour Price said, “It has become increasingly hard over the last ten years or so to take a band on the road in the UK, and it’s pretty much impossible to make it happen without some kind of funding. The Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant system is extremely competitive and the likelihood of success is not high. When my ACE bid was turned down the whole tour was in jeopardy. 18 months of work!

Although I was familiar with the fantastic work that MVT have been doing, I was not aware of the Liveline Fund, so to be the first recipient of that support on the jazz scene is not just an honour - right now it actually feels like nothing short of a miracle! I cannot thank MVT and Save Our Scene enough for rescuing this tour. It feels like we are welcoming in a new era of much needed support for the grassroots arts here in the UK.”

The Liveline Fund is committed to delivering the best live music into the UK’s towns and cities. Working with artists, venues, and promoters, Liveline is building models of best practice to revive live music in communities right across the country.
 

Rebecca Walker, Live Projects for Music Venue Trust, said, “We are delighted to be able to support this incredibly extensive tour which is visiting all parts of the country bringing exceptional live music to our towns and cities. With Liveline we are determined to bring a huge range of fantastic artists from all genres of music right to people’s doorsteps, keeping music live in our communities.”