The indefatigable self-starting guitarist and entrepreneur Nigel Price has organised a mammoth 46-date UK tour this autumn for his organ trio and guest lineups. Titled the UK Grassroots Tour 2025 and running 15 September to 11 December, it relies on a new redistributive funding source which holds promise for UK jazz touring in general.
Nigel was unsuccessful in his application to Arts Council England and his tour was in doubt, but it was rescued by the Liveline Fund, a scheme created by the Music Venue Trust (MVT) and Save Our Scene (SOS), that invites major artists to contribute a percentage of ticket sales to the funding of grassroots music. Among those stars who have so far signed up for the so-called Grassroots Levy are Sam Fender, Katy Perry and Enter Shikari (donating £1 of every ticket sold) and Coldplay (donating 10% of tour proceeds). Liveline also invites companies (in and out of the music business), brands and premises to support grassroots music through donations, sponsorship and partnerships.
The scheme may pre-empt legislation designed to redistribute mainstream wealth to specialist and grassroots endeavours. A rhetorical question on Liveline Fund’s website asks “Is this what the government is making compulsory?” To which Liveline reply: “The Liveline Fund is currently an entirely voluntary scheme … It is our hope that the live music industry adopts a model of contributions from arena and stadium tickets to support the Live Trust voluntarily, before it is enforced on a government level.”
This isn’t the first time Nigel Price has engineered blanket tour coverage of the UK. Over the years he’s organised 17 UK tours in total, setting a personal record in 2016 with a 56-date jaunt. His efforts and his playing – blending bebop lines, a deep blues sensibility and chord mastery – have been recognised in various awards, and he has also been a promoter, directing the Swanage Jazz Festival in 2018 and running Shepperton Jazz Club for two years. He is a Fibonacci guitars endorser, the luthier’s Londoner archtop made to his exact specifications, and has made more than 600 appearances at Ronnie Scott’s jazz club. There’s more information about Nigel on his website.
Speaking about the tour, which is the first in jazz to be funded by the Liveline Fund, Nigel said “It has become increasingly hard over the last 10 years or so to take a band on the road in the UK, and it’s pretty much impossible to make it happen without some kind of funding. The Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant system is extremely competitive and the likelihood of success is not high. When my ACE bid was turned down the whole tour was in jeopardy. 18 months of work!
“Although I was familiar with the fantastic work that MVT have been doing, I was not aware of the Liveline Fund, so to be the first recipient of that support on the jazz scene is not just an honour – right now it actually feels like nothing short of a miracle! I cannot thank MVT and Save Our Scene enough for rescuing this tour. It feels like we are welcoming in a new era of much needed support for the grassroots arts here in the UK.”
On some dates the Price trio will be joined by international guests – the guitarists Lorne Lofsky (Canada), Alessio Menconi (Italy) and Libor Smoldas (Czechia). The tour features various configurations, as follows:
Nigel Price Organ Trio
Nigel Price – guitar
Ross Stanley – Hammond organ
Joel Barford – drums
Nigel Price Organ Trio
Nigel Price – guitar
Ross Stanley – Hammond organ
Joel Barford – drums
Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
Lorne Lofsky – guitar
Nigel Price – guitar
Jeremy Brown – double bass
Joel Barford – drums
Alessio Menconi/Nigel Price Quartet
Alessio Menconi – guitar
Nigel Price – guitar
Julie Walkington – double bass
Rod Youngs – drums
Libor Smoldas/Nigel Price Quartet
Libor Smoldas – guitar
Nigel Price – guitar
Oli Hayhurst – double bass
Joel Barford – drums
Plus other players:
Mike Gorman – organ
Andrew ‘Woody’ Wood – drums
Craig Milverton – piano
Ashley John Long – double bass
The dates are as follows:
SEPTEMBER
15 Mon – Crediton Arts Centre – Organ Trio
16 Tue – St Ives Jazz Club Organ Trio
17 Wed – Fougou, Torquay – Organ Trio
18 Thu – Ashburton Arts Centre – Organ Trio
19 Fri – Jazz Jurassica, Lyme Regis – Organ Trio
21 Sun – Dalwood Village Hall W/ Craig Milverton & Ashley John Long
26 Fri Herts – Cowshed Jazz Club, Herts. W/. Mike Gorman/Woody Wood – Organ Trio
28 Sun – Isle Of Wight Jazz Weekend – Organ Trio
OCTOBER
4 Sat – Shrivenham Jazz Festival – Organ Trio 12pm
5 Sun – Pizza Express, Soho – Organ Trio **It’s On! album launch**
7 Tue – The Royal Oak, Swindon – Organ Trio
8 Wed – Swansea Jazz Club – Organ Trio
9 Thu – Palladino’s, Cardiff – Organ Trio
10 Fri – Tobacco Factory, Bristol – Organ Trio
11 Sat – The Hive, Shrewsbury Organ Trio
12 Sun – Black Mountain Jazz, Abergavenny – W/ Rhythm Section
19 Sun – Norwich Jazz Club – Organ Trio + Alex Garnett
20 Mon – Parakeet, London – W/ Libor Smoldas/Nigel Price Qt
21 Tue – Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks – w/ Libor Smoldas/Nigel Price duo
22 Wed – Twickenham Jazz Club – w/ Libor Smoldas/Nigel Price Qt
26 Sun – The Spin, Oxford – Organ Trio
28 Tue – Watermill Jazz, Dorking – Organ Trio
30 Thu – Jazz Seven, Leeds – Organ Trio
31 Fri – Wakefield Jazz – Organ Trio
NOVEMBER
1 Sat pm – Garibaldi, Northampton – Organ Trio
3 Mon – Milford Arms, Isleworth – Alessio Menconi/Nigel Price Qt
4 Tue – Dawkes Music, Maidenhead – Alessio Menconi/NigelPrice Qt
5 Wed – Bulls Head, Barnes – Alessio Menconi Duo *Album Recording*
7 Fri – Kidderminster Jazz Club – Organ Trio
8 Sat – Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham – Organ Trio
11 Tue – Blackfriars of Bell St- Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
12 Wed – Jazz Bar, Edinburgh – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
13 Thu – Blue Lamp, Aberdeen – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
14 Fri – Dundee Jazz Festival – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
15 Sat – Eckford Village Hall – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
16 Sun – Queens Hall, Hexham (3pm) – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
16 Sun – Globe, Newcastle – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet
17 Mon – 606 Club, Fulham – Lorne Lofsky/Nigel Price Quartet *Album Recording*
20 Thu – Chesterfield Jazz Club – W/ Wendy & co.
21 Fri – The Roastery, Cambridge – Organ Trio
22 Sat – The Verdict, Brighton – Organ Trio
27 Thu – New Forest Jazz – w/ Rhythm Section.
29 Sat – Magy’s Farm, Dromara – Organ Trio
30 Sun – Arthurs, Dublin – Organ Trio
DECEMBER
7 Sun – Milestones, Lowestoft
10 Wed – Jazz 825, Southend
11 Thur – Citizen Hub, St Neots – Organ Trio
