2025 Live Music Society Toolbox Grants awarded, surpassing $5.1M in total support for Small Venues
Live Music Society is closing out 2025 with a major boost for small independent venues. The nonprofit announced recipients of its 2025 Live Music Society Toolbox Grants, awarding $252,500 to 33 small performance spaces across 19 states and Washington, D.C.
With this latest round, Live Music Society (LMS) has distributed $5.1 million in funding to 227 venues since launching in 2020. They surpassed $1 million in annual grantmaking for the second straight year.
It’s a significant milestone for an organization that has become one of the nation’s most impactful supporters of small clubs, listening rooms, and community-rooted performance spaces.
Petra’s Bar Charlotte, NC
Live Music Society Toolbox Grants Hit $844,111 Total Since 2023
The Toolbox program, created in 2023 to meet practical and time-sensitive needs for 50–300-cap venues, has now awarded $844,111 to 109 venues. This year’s grants support upgrades that directly strengthen day-to-day operations and long-term sustainability — from accessibility improvements to lighting, HVAC, and pro-audio investments.
LMS also expanded its geographic footprint with its first-ever grantees in Nebraska and Utah, underscoring the widespread need and nationwide impact of the program.
Among the 2025 recipients:
- North Omaha Music & Arts (Omaha, NE) will expand its backline equipment.
- The Beehive (Salt Lake City, UT) will upgrade sound and lighting in its all-ages space.
- Rudy’s Jazz Room (Nashville, TN) and The Sanctuary (Detroit, MI) will both install new HVAC systems.
- The Kennett Flash (Kennett Square, PA) will refresh its seating and lighting.
- Central Saloon (Seattle, WA) will add video equipment to give emerging artists high-quality performance content.
These investments help independent venues stay open, relevant, and competitive in an era when rising costs continue to strain the grassroots live-music ecosystem.
See a full list of 2025 Live Music Society Toolbox Grants at the end of the post.
$5.1 Million Awarded
On top of the Toolbox awards, LMS continued its Music in Action program for the third year, granting $765,500 to 26 venues in 2025 focused on community engagement, audience development, and innovative programming.
With more than $5.1 million awarded since 2020, LMS is proving that small venues matter — and that strategic, targeted investment can help sustain the cultural infrastructure of live music at its most grassroots level.
Breakout Year for One Night Live
LMS also celebrated the first full year of One Night Live, its new collaborative touring program designed to strengthen ties between emerging artists and small venues. The inaugural May run featured Ellie Williams, Sofia Lafuente, and Farayi Malek, who performed individual sets while backing each other — a cost-sharing, community-building touring model praised by Billboard as “a viable alternative” for artists and venues squeezed by rising expenses.
A second tour followed in the fall, headlined by Kid Tigrrr (Jenna Fournier). Reflecting on the experience, she said: “It takes a village to raise up an artist… I hope to see this expand so more artists can share their voices and stories in this way.”
LMS plans a major expansion of One Night Live in 2026, with new routes, cities, and partners to be announced.
Full list of 2025 Live Music Society Toolbox Grants
- Arcata Playhouse – Arcata, CA
- Ballard Homestead – Seattle, WA
- Black and Tan Hall – Seattle, WA
- Black Lodge – Seattle, WA
- BloomBars – Washington, DC
- Blue Portland Maine – Portland, ME
- BOOKCLUB – Chicago, IL
- Bronx Music Hall – Bronx, NY
- Café Bourbon Street – Columbus, OH
- Café Nine – New Haven, CT
- Central Saloon – Seattle, WA
- Constellation – Chicago, IL
- Flint Local 432 – Flint, MI
- Geno’s – Portland, ME
- Gibson Community Music Hall – Appleton, WI
- Hank Dietle’s Tavern – Rockville, MD
- Henry Turner Jr.’s Listening Room – Baton Rouge, LA
- Hi-Dive – Denver, CO
- Little Theatre Auditorium – New London, MN
- Mechanics’ Hall – Portland, ME
- No Fun – Troy, NY
- North Omaha Music & Arts – Omaha, NE
- Petra’s Bar – Charlotte, NC
- Rudy’s Jazz Room – Nashville, TN
- Sanctuary Detroit (The Sanctuary) – Detroit, MI
- Shrine World Music Venue – Bronx, NY
- The Alibi – Telluride, CO
- The Beehive – Salt Lake City, UT
- The Bugle Boy – La Grange, TX
- The Kennett Flash – Kennett Square, PA
- The Robin Theatre – Lansing, MI
- Woody Guthrie Folk Music Center – Pampa, TX
Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.
“2025 Live Music Society Toolbox Grants awarded, surpassing $5.1M in total support for Small Venues” first appeared on Hypebot.com
