​WOMAD Festival to donate 15% of ticket sales to Bristol music venue The Jam Jar

WOMAD, the annual music festival held at Charlton Park near Bristol, has partnered with grassroots music venue The Jam Jar for its 2024 edition.

This year’s edition is due to take place from July 26 – 28, partnering with the grassroots space to help support and give back to the local community.

The Jam Jar, which operates in St Jude’s, Bristol, runs regular events spanning jazz, folk, reggae, and dance music. The venue has previously hosted the likes of Radioactive Man, A Guy Called Gerald, Auntie Flo, and more.

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In October 2022, the venue suffered a “catastrophic fire” cutting off all power supplies, forcing it to close for three weeks and causing a subsequent loss in income.

“This was due to a fire in the adjoining building that cut off our power supply, including our fire alarms and emergency lighting,” the venue explained.

“It was a relief that no one was hurt and property damage was minor, but as a seasonal venue, these 3 weeks, over the Halloween period (our busiest) represent almost 1/4 of our yearly turnover!”

Following the fire, The Jam Jar began fighting a year-long insurance battle where they claimed to explore “all possible options”. “The result is truly devastating,” they explained. “To survive until now we have had to take out some substantial loans.”

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“Sadly due to the current economic climate, our interest payments have been staggeringly high,” they said. “We have paid tens of thousands in interest in the last year and a huge percentage of our revenue has gone straight to finance companies.”

They added that with the combined pressures they’ve faced so far, things have become “very difficult for The Jam Jar” in 2024.

WOMAD has now stepped in to support the venue by offering a 15% cut of all ticket revenue from this year’s event to The Jam Jar’s support campaign.

Find out more about The Jam Jar’s campaign here, and grab your tickets to WOMAD 2024 here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter