Margate venue Where Else? launches crowdfunder to secure future
You can donate to the 150-capacity venue now to help secure its future.
Date published: 12th Jan 2026
Grassroots Margate venue Where Else? (formerly known as Elsewhere) has launched a crowdfunding campaign to save it from closure.
The 150-capacity venue is a key player in the area's grassroots music and culture scene, but it could shut down indefinitely at the end of January 2026 if urgent funds cannot be raised.
The venue launched its crowdfunding campaign last month in an attempt to raise £40,000 to secure its future. At the time of writing, over £20,000 (50%) of the funds have been raised, with 19 days left.
The venue has cited “a challenging year marked by unpredictable income, rising costs, and a temporary licensing issue that significantly impacted the venue’s ability to trade” as the threat.
For a year, they have "cut back to a skeleton staff to reduce costs, picked up every shift ourselves, and pushed through burnout and stress" to prevent "sounding the alarm" and launching the crowdfunder.
Warning that "immediate community support" is needed to keep the venue open beyond January 2026, Where Else? has said the £40,000 will be used to clear £15,000 of legacy debt, pay overdue supplier invoices, settle a VAT bill, recover lost income from licence disruption, repay personal credit used to support the venue, and stabilise cashflow.
“Grassroots venues operate on razor-thin margins. A single interruption can destabilise an entire season. The dissolved licence cost us our busiest trading period, and we’ve reached the limits of what we can shoulder ourselves.”
If the crowdfunder is successful, the venue plans to expand its offering, implementing a range of initiatives, including:
– A community-focused downstairs space, available for local groups and workshops
– Affordable monthly rehearsal space for Margate bands
– Continued support for its in-house community-led radio station
– An upstairs co-working space with coffee and snacks available
– A communal rehearsal area for local musicians and creatives
– Pop-up food events to diversify income streams
– More consistent opening hours
– A record club, community listening sessions, and more opportunities for musical discovery
– Additional club nights following gig events, expanding programming and revenue
"We have the ideas, the team, and the community interest. We just need the runway to put it all into place,” the post says.
Already in the venue's calendar for this year are the 'Not In My Backyard' fundraising all-dayer for Where Else?, SEEN open mic, a screening of Spinal Tap II with a quiz, and gigs from Pale Blue Eyes, Dominie Hooper, Paige Kennedy, and more.
You can donate to the crowdfunder to help save the venue here.
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Header image credit: Where Else? / Facebook.com