A music guru says the lack of music venues in Oxford following closures and threats of closureis 'really bleak'.
While Oxford has a number oflarger venues including the O2 Academy, the New Theatre and The Bullingdon,anumber of smaller live music venues in the city centre have closed in recent years, mostnotably The Wheatsheaf and the Cellar.
Ronan Munro, editor of Nightshift Magazine, said Oxford is 'way behind what it used to be' and that the situation is 'getting worse and worse'.
This comes after Ed Sheeran raised a number of issues surrounding the music industry, including the lack of grassroots venues across the country.
Spearheading a call to the Government for the funding of music education to repair 'decades of dismantling music', the British singer-songwriter, 34, said the UK is at a 'critical point'.
Ed Sheeran wrote a letter to the prime minister (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA) "As a young music student and aspiring artist, I benefited from opportunities in and out of school to learn andgrow," he said.
In hisletter to the Prime Minister he included a quote from singer songwriter MylesSmith, which said:“How many more venues need to close, how many music programs need to be cut before we realise that we can’t just celebrate success, we have to protect the foundations that make it?”
His letter was also signed by a number ofmusicians including Coldplay and Sir Elton John.
The former Cellar (Image: Newsquest)
"My friends, colleagues and I have signed this letter calling for action from the government to save music education. Read our letter and share this post with your followers (tagging @Keir_Starmer) to help us protect and grow music education in and out of schools.… pic.twitter.com/aLOpepsZ3r
— Ed Sheeran HQ (@edsheeran) March 23, 2025
Mr Munro said: "If you think about the city centre, there isn’t a single music venue left since the Cellar and Wheatsheaf closed down.
"We’ve got some fantastic promoters who are just great at locating new venues, but its almost like they are being chased. They find somewhere new, it gets closed down.
"That’s what we’re seeing with Common Ground."
Common Ground in Jericho is one of the last remaining venues in the city, but its future remains uncertain due to plans for an Oxford University development.
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"Its back to square one, but we’re not even back at square one,we're way behind what we used to be."
Bands like Radiohead, Supergrass, Foals, Stornoway, Glass Animals and South Arcade were all born inOxford, and Mr Munro said 'these are exactly the sort of bands who are going to miss out for the next generation'.
"Oxford has done well beyond what it should have done. But it's also the community side of it – for every star, band you get, there’s 100/200 who will never make it – but they are all equally valid.
"There's a huge community of musicians and music fans in Oxford who are just losing their homes."
"It's being eroded and slowly dying, with the people who have got the power to change it either not noticing or not caring."
In January, The Bullingdonconverted itsfront bar into a venue called 'Little Bully', which hasa capacity of over 100.
There are also plans to turn the former Atik into a 'flexible space' involving a 'live music venue'.
Atik on Park End Street closed last year (Image: Oxford Mail) Mr Munro said: "There are little grass shoots of hope, but the overall picture in Oxford and far beyond is really bleak.
"Lets not wait until everything is gone before anyone decides something needs doing about it."
Paul Wightman, director of community benefit society Causing a Scene, said grassroots venues are facing a 'perfect storm of challenges'.
He said: "For decades, Oxfordshire’s music talent has punched way above its weight, placing our county firmly on the world culture map every bit as much as the university.
"Despite some notable losses in recent years, we are lucky that we still have some brilliant grassroots venues here."
However, he said with souring costs and increased overheads, grassroots venues have reached a 'crossroads'.
Heis calling on the Government to 'be bold' in helping the music industry.
"At a local level, Oxford City Council could also be bolder, by introducing a visitor levy on overnight hotel stays and tourist coaches, and ploughing the money raised (estimated at around £2.5 million a year) into a ring fenced music and culture fund," he said.
"If Manchester, Bournemouth and Edinburgh can do it, so can Oxford.
"Give music the space to breathe and we all win."
A spokesperson for Oxford City Council said: "The city council seeks to protect and retain existing cultural and community facilities through the Local Plan.
"Planning permission will not be granted for developments that result in the loss of such facilities unless new or improved ones can be provided at a location equally or more accessible by walking, cycling and public transport.
"In principle, applications to extend capacity, improve access and make more intensive cultural/community use of existing sites will be supported."
