🔗 Share this article

The star has given the full amount of his twenty-five thousand pound award cash to the trust for venues, which functions to protect the Britain's grassroots concert spaces.

He was awarded the cheque on October 16 as his new release the album was chosen as the outstanding release of the last 12 months.

Fender has opted to give the cash to the MVT, in recognition of the crucial part grassroots venues fulfilled in his beginning days.

"I wouldn't be doing this success if it hadn't been for all the gigs I performed around the North East, and beyond, when I was beginning," said Sam Fender. "These spaces are renowned, but they are facing challenges."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these venues have permanently closed – about 16 percent of the entire UK sector.

In the last year, major artists such as Pulp, the group Coldplay, Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all backed the Music Venues Trust in its efforts to help venues survive, by adding a modest fee to their admission fees, which benefits smaller concert halls.

Fender also took part, collecting more than £100,000 on his 2024 arena tour to help numerous grassroots venues across England, Scotland, and Wales.

The donation helped locations that were facing potential shutdown due to difficulties arising from floods, fire incidents and bereavements, as well as regulatory hurdles, court cases and noise complaints.

Additional spaces received funding support in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that helped performers and concertgoers.

"The concept that funds from concerts in large arenas supports the local stages, where it begins for artists like me, is just common sense," Sam Fender has commented.

Fender is among several artists to give his award prize money to worthy causes.

Back when the band received the prize in 1996 for their album the album, vocalist the singer stated that the group would give their winnings to the charity War Child.

That year, artist she shared her bounty between multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also contributed a grand to the center, to their gymnastics class, because I trained in gymnastics when I was growing up and they needed updated gear," she told outlets.

In recent years, they gave their funds to the local youth club that nurtured their band, as well as other local music groups.

Additionally winners that year they gave their winnings to a multiple sclerosis charity after a close contact was identified with the illness.

"The victory was sufficient," remarked artist Small. "The money was the extra but we didn't require the cherry, because we had the honor. So our success touched another person's life."

Recently, the Music Venues Trust announced it had rescued a couple of grassroots venues in south-east England, by transferring them to community ownership.

One venue in Southampton and The Croft in Bristol were acquired under the public acquisition initiative, which is supported by a national body and supporters who purchase "ownership units" in the venues.