Phil Wolvin 
Sometimes the most beautiful of things come from the humblest of beginnings. Social media is often criticised for creating toxic environments where trolls take pot shots at those brave enough to put something creative out into the world. Fortunately, there is a growing corner of the Web where music lovers are coming together to support the bands they love and find others in the similar situations. Just over a year ago I joined a Facebook group called Gig Life Crisis, among the posts raising topics such as ‘top 10 albums ever’, ‘the numbers of gigs attended last year’ and ‘offers of tickets to gigs’ (free or on twickets) the founders have found time to put on 4 all day gigs over the last year.
The latest of these, Gig Life Gathering 4, is at the Steam and Whistle in Cheltenham, as the name suggests this is a stone’s throw away from Cheltenham Spa train station. It’s a beautiful winter’s day and the sun is shining.
The Gig Life Gathering 4 line up is 10 Bands/acts and a poetry reading. It was set up for members of Gig Life Crisis and marketed solely on that group. Previous line ups have included a mix of fantastic up and coming acts and bands who will be gracing the stages of major festivals if they haven’t already. Think the like of The Kairos, The Mercians, Alex Spencer, Tom A Smith, The Rosadocs and The Slates to name but a few.
I managed to sit down between bands with Debbie Jones and Steve Griffiths the founders of Gig Life Crisis to understand how we all arrived at this wonderful juncture.
How did Gig Life Crisis Start?
Debbie: It started when I used to go to gigs solo, I’m based in Devon and none of my friends like the music I like. So, I just started meeting people and making friends at gigs up in Bristol and Cardiff. We had a WhatsApp group of probably about 20 or 30 people. We just used to chat about who’s going to which gig and just arrange little meet ups. Then at some point we took it over to Facebook. It was because of the pings, the WhatsApp going absolutely crazy. He’d [Steve] wake up to like 300 notifications of just nonsense from chat. So, then we basically started the Facebook, just thinking it would be the same thing, but on Facebook.
Steve: It started with those 20 or 30 people, then each time we went to a gig, and we met somebody, they would join the group. They told their friends and then you go to a gig with three people. Those three people would bring three people who would bring three people and we went from the group that was set up May 21st 2025.
Debbie: Then, I think in July, we were at Godney Gathering and we got 300 people joining. We’re like, wow, there’s 300 of us, this is crazy and a couple of months later, like, oh my God. What is going on? Like every day, there’s just people joining still.
Steve: Now, it’s just under 14,000 people on Facebook group who all love the same music. Or just music in general.
What did you think it was going to be when you set it up, did you think this was going to explode?
Debbie: No, no, never. It was set up but we didn’t think ‘We’ve done a really good thing, well done having the idea’ and we’re like, yeah, we didn’t actually have the idea. It just came about. We just got annoyed with the pings [on WhatsApp].
What was the point at which you thought, wow, this is actually becoming something?
Steve: Probably when we got to like three or 4,000 people. Debbie went on a hiking weekend with friends and decided that this was a really good thing. The idea of a hiking weekend, getting a youth hostel and get a load of bands to come and play the youth hostel and sell that as a destination and do it that way. We decided to put out on our first gig, which was going to be last January. We booked a Youth Hostel, and we booked a few bands, including Spangled. Then it didn’t happen because there was a massive storm that blew away the road to the Youth Hostel. We couldn’t do it there anymore. So, we said “Okay, what are we going to do?” because we’ve got, 50 or 60 friends that really want to come to this thing. So, we hooked up with a guy who said, you could do it at the Steam and Whistle. The gig a year ago was here at the Steam and Whistle. We put it on sale in December and we got 150 people by January. We knew that 50 or 60 of them would come anyway, but the demand was absolutely brilliant. It was the best thing when everyone came and it went really well. So here we are just doing it again.
Have you got a favourite GLC story?
Steve: Oh, yeah. I mean, this is the great thing. When we did one last January, there were people who were coming solo. We found that something like 35% of people who came last year were coming solo. But they just make friends on the train on the way up. They arrive and they go for a pre-drink and they become friends. Then a year later, these people are really firm friends and looking to come back again. Little communities as they are travelling from London and Leeds and elsewhere. They’re all messaging, ‘what time are you going to get there?’ ‘Where are you going to be?’ It’s great. We’ve done something that’s weirdly created lots of random friendships between people who might have met at gig. In the 90s, we’d meet people at gigs, you chat about the bands, you liked, you went home you probably wouldn’t see them again. Now with social media, we can meet at a gig, become friends, develop that friendship on social media and go next time. Every time now we go to a gig, it’s like, we’ll see 20 or 30 people that we know, in the crowd, that is amazing.
How did you choose the acts?
Debbie: Well, just bands that we like, basically, that we’ve seen.
Steve: The bottom line is its bands that we like. Beyond that though, we find bands through the group. The Radio Addicts found us through the group. They emailed us and we liked their story they sound like they’re going to be really good.
Oh yeah, its definitely not like they are just a school band.
Steve: Absolutely not. You know, if you’ve got this professional attitude, we’d like to give that a chance.
Debbie: Yeah. We want to give them all the go.
Is that kind of the thing you want to do now? To support new bands?
Debbie: Yeah, I think so, definitely.
Steve: You have to have somebody at the top of the bill who’s going to draw people in. Then, what you want to do is put together an undercard with acts that not everybody’s seen yet and it’s a crowd that are there to be surprised and well they love music.
What’s next for GLC?
Steve: The one thing we really want to do is get this out to a website or an app, because I think we’re kind of stretching the limits of what you can do in a Facebook group. Once something’s on a feed on Facebook, it disappears immediately. We want something where people can mark off the gigs that they want to go to on the calendar. Therefore, they know that people they’ve already hooked up with or friends can see they are going to that gig. I’ve booked a gig on Thekla next month and I know that three or four or 50 people that I know are going along to that. I know I am going to be able to meet up with friends. For people who go to gigs solo, this is a really good thing. You know, you’re coming along, you’re never on your own. You don’t have to be chatting to the same person all night but you know there is somebody there.
Debbie: That’s what I used to find when I used to go solo to gigs. If I knew that someone else was there, not necessarily wanting to hang out with them, but you just feel a little bit less anxious.
Steve: At the same time it gives the bands a platform that doesn’t just disappear straight into the ether. To say these are our tour dates for the smaller bands. The big bands, they’ve got this already. But the up and coming bands, The Radio Addicts, Blue Ray, the 32tens they can say we’re doing a small tour, it’s on the GLC website and members get to know about it. Then there’s a third thing to this, which is safety at gigs. So, there was a fantastic group from about 10 years ago, called Safe Gigs for Women and it folded in November last year. We decided, as we’ve got 14,000 people in our own group. We could have something on our website, that supports a safe gigs alliance. Where incidents at gigs could get reported or advice on how to handle incidents at gigs. We’ve got a lady in the group who has funding for research, from University of Huddersfield, to look at sexual violence and assaults at gigs and festivals. We’ve got 14,000 people who can fill in her surveys. We can report the results of what she’s doing back through the group and try to change culture and attitudes a little bit towards sexual violence. This still happens, and you don’t hear about it a lot, but if you put the question out there, you realise it does happen a lot. If we can do a small amount to change culture that’s a really good thing. We are in the fortune position of having a lot of people in this group so we can do something. On the lighter side, we just want to keep putting on gigs like this as well.
Debbie: This is an environment where it’s all people that are music lovers and everyone sort of knows everyone. It’s just such a nice vibe because everyone’s smiling, it’s such a good community.
Back to the gig…
The gig starts at 1230 with a poetry reading from Sarah L Dixon to kick things off, then on to the first band Blue Ray. These are a real find, based in Bristol they are an accomplished Indie band and Singer Flory Jones’ voice is amazing (If you listen to one track – Field of Flowers). They wouldn’t look out of place on the main stage of any summer festival on a Sunday afternoon.
Next up are The Radio Addicts from Bolton, cleverly decked out in Cheltenham Town home and away shirts. As we get older I keep hearing from my wife that a teacher or police officer looks about 12… well this band are! They are definitely no novelty or just a school band, there is some serious talent in the early stages of development. During one song Luke, the Singer takes off on a full tour of the venue while still singing. Bringing the show to those all the way at the back of the venue as well as the bar staff. Just the right level of banter and show for the cameras. On another song he confidently requests a member of the audience “who can play a few basic chords”. The volunteer (turns out to be the drummer for the 32 tens) receives a briefing on the requirements and a bit of banter, they play with a confidence and talent way beyond their years.
32 Tens had the difficult challenge of following the Radio Addicts. Another brilliant performance as the bar is raised even higher. Singer Max has a unique voice which drives their Dark Indie sound. He later tells me that he likes it when guitarist Sam takes the mike for a little impromptu comedy during the breaks. He certainly knows how to work a crowd. (If you listen to one track – Lost).
The performances kept coming thick and fast, brilliant sets from Alright with a brilliant mash up of their hit Dress Code and The Ordinary Boys’ Boys will be Boys (If you listen to one track – Everlasting). Bayboards took to the stage in their trademark all white. The new single Lipstick and Cigarettes was a highlight (If you listen to one track – Deep Blue sea). Next came The Public Eye who brought a large and loud Derby contingent (If you listen to one track – Out of Line). Cruz from Sheffield kept up the standard and as well as playing their hits also performed a brilliant cover of Curtis Mayfield – Movin on up (If you listen to one track – Disco Colour Beams).
I had a brief text exchange with someone I knew was going to be there and ask who they were looking forward to and Holy Youth Movement was the answer back. I had to admit I needed to do more research, but what I found was really exciting, blending the sound of Indie guitars with synths reminiscent of Ibiza anthems at their height. The performance was high energy bringing the crowd together, even more so when singer Tom Newman got right in the middle of them. There was a variety from You thought I was Dead which could be a New York rock disco fusion to the synth driven anthems You are Here and Fearless could transport you to a Mediterranean dancefloor. Don’t get me wrong I love a four-piece guitar band as much as the next person but this set stood out as something completely unique with everything turned up to 11. Indeed in the after-gig review posts I saw, this was consistently the act that was mentioned most as peoples favourite performance. (If you listen to one track – You are Here)
The night was rounded out with two well established bands, crowd favourites Spangled, another high energy set and the crowd loving every minute, (If you listen to one track – Good Life Better). Crystal Tides were deserved headliners and well worth checking out (If you listen to one track – One Night in Paris). There were more exceptional performances than you could shake a stick at.
I couldn’t believe how quickly the day went. If you are not watching a band its time to take in a drink and catch up with friends new and old. Sometimes you didn’t even make it to a seat before you were in a conversation with someone about the band shirt you are wearing or local connections. I met someone who went to the same school as me (though not at the same time). In another conversation someone approaches “did I hear Slow Readers Club and Stockport?” and just like that another conversation is started, until the next band strikes up.
The group isn’t tied to any specific band or artist, all are welcome and I think you naturally find people with similar interests. That’s not to say we all agree but that is where the value lies for me, if I can find a passionate advocate for a band it will make me want to hear them, my next favourite band could just be one song away. Overall, this was a really well run event with a top quality line up. I will be looking forward to the next one
Photographs by Rhona Murphy you can find her work here Instagram
Gig Life Crisis can be found here (3) Gig life Crisis | Facebook
Crystal Tides debut album – Toothpaste will be released on 6th February followed by their biggest Tour to date in March. You can find them here Instagram
Spangled are playing a massive hometown show at the Ritz Manchester on 28th February you can find them here Instagram
Holy Youth Movement can be found here Instagram
Cruz are touring in March can be found here Instagram
The Public Eye are playing at Dead Wax in Birmingham on 20th February and can be found here Instagram
Bayboards have a new single out this week Lipstock and Cigarettes and play the Deaf Institute on 7th February Instagram
Alright have a sold out hometown show in Blackpool on 4th October but are supporting Pentire at the Manchester Academy 3 on 19th March and can be found here Instagram
32 Tens are playing at Telford’s Warehouse in Chester on 6th February and can be found here Instagram
The Radio Addicts are supporting Revivalry @ the Hasland Club Chesterfield on 22nd February and can be found here Instagram
Blue Ray are playing at Komedia Bath on 29th January and can be found here Instagram
Sarah L Dixon can be found here Sarah L Dixon Writer
Colin