(Hypebot) — Live Music Society has announced a new round of grants to 26 small performance venues. Recipients of these Music in Action Live Music Society grants will cumulatively receive $765,500 to support innovative li programming.
The 2025 Live Music Music In Action grant recipients represent a spectrum of small non-profit and for profit venues across the U.S. With this latest round, LMS has granted $4.8 million to support 201 small non-profit and for profit venues across the country through 236 grants.
The programing funded by the Music In Action grants transcend genres including jazz, experimental, global, Appalachian music to hip-hop, punk, indie rock, musical theater, and more.
Funded by 2025 LMS grants Ashkenaz Music & Dance in Berkeley, California will host a global music series that will bring underrepresented international artists to their stage. Greenwood Social Hall in Kansas City, Missouri will program in-school concerts paired with free family matinees and evening performances to encourage youth attendance at their venue. Pie Shop in Washington, D.C. will offer a monthly showcase for local emerging acts that welcomes all-age performers, and No Name Bar in Winona, Minnesota will program a series of free and low-cost events featuring local artists and educators that serve marginalized communities in rural areas.
2025 Music in Action Grantees and Projects
- Ashkenaz Music & Dance (Berkeley, CA): A global music series and street team effort to connect with new audiences and bring underrepresented international artists to the stage.
- Indexical (Santa Cruz, CA): A residency program providing local experimental artists with stipends, workspaces, and production support.
- Sam First (Los Angeles, CA): Six performances by nationally recognized jazz musicians in an intimate venue setting to grow visibility and reach.
- SJZ Break Room (San Jose, CA): A monthly free and inclusive jazz jam for all ages, fostering mentorship and musical connection.
- World Stage Performance Gallery (Los Angeles, CA): A revived Saturday concert series spotlighting new talent in jazz and indie music.
- eTown Hall (Boulder, CO): Immersive residencies led by acclaimed artists featuring performances, workshops, and youth engagement.
- Pie Shop (Washington, DC): Free all-ages monthly showcases that include live recordings for local emerging acts.
- Arden Gild Hall (Wilmington, DE): Relaunch of the Shady Grove Music Fest and a new monthly emerging artist series.
- Crowbar (Tampa, FL): Monthly Church Sessions that celebrate hip-hop culture with music, dance, visual art, and community vendors.
- Cobra Lounge (Chicago, IL): Development of an artist incubator space for emerging local musicians in a small performance room.
- Color Club (Chicago, IL): Weekly shows supporting local talent, paired with internships for students from Columbia College.
- The Venue (Aurora, IL): A quarterly masterclass and live event series in partnership with Delmark Records and Fox Valley Music Foundation.
- State Street Pub (Indianapolis, IN): A series of zines, tapes, and live shows that spotlight Indianapolis’s underground scene.
- Spire Center for Performing Arts (Plymouth, MA): Sunday matinee programming designed to welcome older and retired audiences.
- No Name Bar (Winona, MN): Free and low-cost events led by artists and educators that serve marginalized communities in rural Minnesota.
- Greenwood Social Hall (Kansas City, MO): In-school concerts paired with free family matinees and evening performances.
- Flat Iron (Greensboro, NC): A monthly series that pairs emerging local acts with national headliners to address artist development gaps.
- 54 Below (New York, NY): A mentorship and performance initiative supporting early-career Broadway composers and lyricists.
- Towne Crier Cafe (Beacon, NY): Free summer concerts designed to engage the region’s African American, Latino, and Hispanic communities.
- Tubby’s (Kingston, NY): Saturday afternoon shows throughout the summer that feature local and regional talent.
- OPOLIS (Norman, OK): A community-driven cooperative model that supports music, education, and inclusion in rural Oklahoma.
- The Jazz Station (Eugene, OR): In-school jazz clinics with performances and small group mentoring for student musicians.
- AS220 Main Stage (Providence, RI): A weekly free local showcase that helps emerging artists step into live performance.
- Old Quarter Acoustic Cafe (Galveston, TX): A three-day festival with workshops, showcases, and local business involvement in downtown Galveston.
- 5 Points Music Sanctuary (Roanoke, VA): Accessibility and inclusion training for regional venues and festivals.
- Floyd Country Store (Floyd, VA): Seminars and performances focused on traditional Appalachian music in partnership with area colleges.
To learn more about the 2025 grantees and their projects here.
One Night Live
“artists need places to play, places to stay, people to listen”
Live Music Society has also partnered with the Salt Lick Incubator and D-TOUR to explore a new touring model for emerging musicians dubbed One Night Live.
The first 14 date tour of Ellie Williams, Sofia Lafuente, and Farayi Malek recently wrapped in Nashville. Each artist performed their own set nightly while also serving as the backing band for the others, a creative model aimed at fostering community and efficiency on the road.
The tour also spotlighted locally owned, independent venues, their importance to their communities and role as essential launchpads for emerging talent. Among this year’s tour stops were previous LMS grant recipients Crowbar in Tampa, Jilly’s Music Room in Akron, and Flat Iron in Greensboro.
“Artists need places to play, places to stay, and people to listen,” said says Cat Henry, executive director of Live Music Society when the tour launched. “and with our partners in One Night Live,,we can help make this happen and demonstrate a model that might increase the odds of success for all involved.”
Live Music Society plans to continue this important new initiative,
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency.
