It’s no secret that the UK’s grassroots music venues (GMVs) are in a dire place amid the worsening cost of living crisis. 30 venues permanently closed their doors and a total of 6,000 jobs (around 20 per cent of the industry workforce) were lost in 2025, while more than half of the UK music scene’s grassroots venues failed to turn a profit.

That’s why, for the first time since 2024, The Independent is relaunching its Main Stage initiative with the Music Venue Trust. Throughout the summer, we’ll be highlighting the work of grassroots venues from across the UK, speaking to the people in charge about what it takes to run an independent music venue in 2026, and what makes it worth it. The series is continuing today with the atmospheric Pealie’s Barn in north Yorkshire.

Each of the eight venues to feature in the Main Stage series will be the subject of an article in The Independent, £5,000 worth of ad inventory, and design assets that they can use in their comms and marketing, highlighting that they’re a Main Stage picked venue.

When we picture grassroots music venues, we tend to imagine dark rooms next to, above or below a pub. Those spaces are great, but some of Britain’s GMVs are in far more remote locations. One venue that’s really putting the grass in “grassroots” is Pealie’s Barn. Pealie, the man who gives the venue its name, grew up on a farm near Northallerton, dreaming all his life of turning it into a music venue. When he took ownership of the run-down and derelict buildings that made up the farm in 2015, Pealie decided to turn his dream into a reality.

Pealie didn’t have much of a plan, but in 2021, he met musician Sass Lafferty, who was looking for a venue in which her band could shoot a music video in. The band started rehearsing in the barn, and provided the music industry experience to turn Pealie’s Barn into a proper venue. “What came next was a few years of hard work and dedication to the idea that North Yorkshire needed a home for live original music, art and culture,” Lafferty tells The Independent.

How would you describe Pealie’s Barn to someone who has never been there?* *

Lafferty: Pealie’s Barn is a calm and natural environment set within sympathetically converted 18th-century farm buildings, surrounded by the beautiful rural landscape of North Yorkshire. Blending rustic charm with creativity and community spirit, we love to think of it as a special place away from normal and chaotic life. Guests can enjoy carefully curated events, a locally sourced and affordable bar and excellent food from the kitchen, all within a welcoming atmosphere that celebrates music, art, nature, and connection.

What are your plans for the venue’s future?* *

Lafferty: Our next big step is our first own festival, Origin Festival, hosted and curated by the Pealie’s team on 12 September. This is set to be a massive celebration of independent live music and bring together everything we love and worked on since 2021. Origin Festival is built around a passion for original music, community, quality experiences and is set to be our biggest and best event yet!

We’re very excited about the future of Pealie’s Barn. We never have a lack of ideas and we’re always making plans to develop the site further and improve the Pealie’s experience. As being on an old rural farm isn’t always the most accessible of places, we want to continue trying to improve the venue and its accessibility to make it an even space for everyone to enjoy.

What are some of the biggest challenges facing the venue and sector at large?* *

Lafferty: Running a music venue in 2026 is full of challenges – we see news every other day that other venues are at risk of closing down. The live music sector isn’t what it used to be. It’s an ever-changing landscape and we find ourselves needing to adapt and change all the time just to keep up. It’s definitely harder to pull an audience in, especially for a new act they’ve never heard of. When most people are having to stretch their payslip further and further, live music just isn’t often a priority. We really feel the effects of this being a rural venue where our customers have to make the extra effort to get to us, but in turn we work harder to make the extra effort and loyalty worth the trip.

What makes being in charge of a music venue feel worthwhile?* *

Lafferty: There’s a whole host of things that make running Pealie’s worthwhile. Supporting live and original music, providing opportunities for young people to perform on stage for the first time, providing a place for people to discover new music and artists, seeing smiling faces at every event, creating a safe space where people make connections and the opportunity for us to make Pealie’s Barn truly unique and original.

When I was a teenager, there wasn’t a lot for young people to do that, and there certainly weren’t many places that would provide gigging and working opportunities. It’s heartwarming to provide such an inclusionary space that can introduce the next generations to live music whilst we are already supporting established artists.

*Tell us about one of your favourite recent gigs at Pealie’s Barn. *

High Fade, the funk rock band from Edinburgh, was definitely a highlight for me, as they were one of the first touring acts to give us a chance and play a show here! They’re such an entertaining band and they’re fiercely independent in the way they do things, which really rings true for us. They sold out the venue and had the whole place jumping; it helps that they’re a lovely bunch too.

Butterfly Effect Festival also deserves an honourable mention. Curated by Stephen Gill of Butterfly Effect Label, the whole day brings together a massive community of musicians and creatives into an eclectic day of amazing music and great people.