The musician donates twenty-five thousand pounds cash award to grassroots concert halls

Sam Fender has handed over the full amount of his £25k Mercury Prize winnings to the Music Venues Trust, which works to protect the United Kingdom's grassroots live music spots.

The star was presented with the prize on mid-October as his new release People Watching was chosen as the best record of the previous year.

The musician has decided to hand the money over to the MVT, in acknowledgment of the vital role local spots fulfilled in his beginning days.

"As an artist couldn't be pursuing what I am doing today if it hadn't been for all the gigs I did around the area, and beyond, when I was starting out," stated Sam Fender. "These spaces are legendary, but they are in difficulty."

From early 2023 onward, more than 150 of these spaces have permanently closed – about one-sixth of the entire UK sector.

Recently, major artists including the band Pulp, Coldplay, the singer Katy Perry and Ed Sheeran have all aided the trust in its efforts to keep the scene afloat, by applying a modest fee to their admission fees, which goes to help smaller concert halls.

Sam Fender also took part, raising more than £100,000 on his recent tour to help numerous grassroots venues across Britain.

These funds supported spaces that were dealing with possible closure due to difficulties stemming from flooding, blazes and family tragedies, as well as regulatory hurdles, conflicts and neighbor objections.

Other venues were granted funding support in upgrading infrastructure and technical equipment that directly benefitted performers and concertgoers.

"The notion that money from shows in major spaces supports the local stages, where it kicks off for performers like me, is just sensible," Fender has stated.

He is not the first artist to contribute his Mercury Prize prize money to worthy causes.

When Pulp earned the trophy in 1996 for their album Different Class, vocalist the singer declared that the band would give their winnings to the charity the charity.

During 2002, musician Ms Dynamite divided her prize across multiple organizations, including the NSPCC and a Sickle Cell organization.

"I also donated a £1,000 to the center, to their gymnastics program, because I practiced gymnastics when I was a child and they lacked new equipment," the artist shared with the media.

In recent years, Ezra Collective donated their winnings to the youth organization that supported their group, as well as other local music groups.

Additionally the 1994 recipients M People donated their prize to a multiple sclerosis charity after a acquaintance was diagnosed the disease.

"Receiving the award was sufficient," said singer Small. "The prize was the extra but we could do without the bonus, because we had the honor. So our success impacted another person's life."

Recently, the trust announced it had rescued two local spots in south-east England, by bringing them into local control.

One venue in the city and the second in that location were purchased under the public acquisition program, which is supported by Arts Council England and enthusiasts who acquire "shares" in the venues.