Geoff Priestley, manager of Portsmouth's independent music venue the Wedgewood Rooms on 2022 and hopes for 2023: 'Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water'

We started the year late in January after having to close for most of December owing to the surge in Omicron cases. We also started the year with shows rescheduled from December. However we did get fully going again with Icebreaker Festival kicking off Independent Venues Week.

Then from the beginning of February we were back into the cycle of shows rescheduled from the pandemic and new dates by artists finally getting out on tour after their enforced hiatus caused by the many lockdowns. It was great to see audiences coming back, but after the Omicron surge there was a step backwards to people being wary about spending times in enclosed spaces. We had some great shows in the spring with Nova Twins, The Skints, Orlando Weeks, and Dream Wife, with Wet Leg playing to a sell-out crowd in April. All this against the backdrop of the developing war in Ukraine and lots of talk around problems with the economy and a possible cost of living crisis.

Through late spring the audiences stuck with us, but we were still seeing people who were out for their first gig since the end of lockdown. This period saw some great shows with the likes of Lottery Winners, Jim White and Waterparks, and some sell-out comedy shows with Joanne McNally and Lou Saunders.

With the number of festivals being at an all time high we had a relatively quiet summer, but there were also signs that we were looking at a relatively quiet autumn. The economy was beginning to struggle which was creating a nervousness around the costs of touring, and also artists had been out touring and needed to regroup and look at recording new albums. A highlight of August was the Revive Live show we did with Everything Everything – a co-project between the Music Venue Trust and the National Lottery putting larger bands into smaller venues at a time when there were not many bands touring.

In the autumn the work we did in lockdown on The Edge of The Wedge came into its own and we saw an increase in the number of shows with local bands and small up-and-coming touring acts. The slightly quiet autumn also allowed us to reconnect with our local community, there was now space for us to work with not only local bands, local colleges but the local charities and organisations we work with to help with fundraising. On the upside attendances at our late autumn shows have been good and bode well for the future. Obviously we also had a panic around the cost of electricity for the venue as we were out of contract at the end of October, but with some help and advice from MVT we appear to have solved that.

Finally, with a sigh of relief, on November 24 we finished our run of rescheduled shows from the pandemic.

As for next year, again even though things are tough for all, the number of spring 2023 shows is back to pre-pandemic levels, and we have a diverse range of shows. We also have a strong touring comedy line-up throughout most of the year. I am particularly looking forward to Icebreaker Festival, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs, Pigs and Babatunde Alese.

We are relatively positive about 2023, but also given how 2022 has panned out expect other challenges to be thrown at us, but with the support of gig-goers, comedy fans and the local community we weather the storm and continue bringing grassroots music and comedy to Portsmouth.