#SaveOurVenues @ Le QuecumBar - Gypsy Swing heaven

The latest news has not been good for the industry - we cannot open until at least April 12th and the restrictions we are allowed to open under obviously will not meet overheads as the government knows - so a pointless opening exercise and merely a dangling carrot - as we are only allowed to trade in the garden - maximum 30 persons - 2 households per table. This also means we cannot have any live music as we are not allowed to in the garden and no customers allowed inside until we do not know when....

Still the governement is failing to pressure landlords into giving rent waivers for closed periods.

All the orgs related to saving live music fail to make a united front to pressurise the government into landlord resolutions and policy - it is clear we cannot meet overheads with the planned minimal opening in April with use of garden only and minimum numbers - not possible

Please support us by listening to our great music on Spotify and Apple at no cost to you, details below.

Le QuecumBar is part of the continuing national initiative launched by Music Venue Trust #saveourvenues to help prevent the closure of hundreds of independent music venues and the direct impact of so many months of forced lockdown, restricted trading, restricted capacity and restricted sales forced on venues by the government - preventing the majority from meeting their contracted overheads - venues that may be lost forever. To date any help has been a drop in the ocean and real costs ignored.

Lockdown until at least April 12th  2021, with no definitive news from the government leaving us all hanging - many venues will not survive this, with little help and unrelenting rents and accumulating outgoings.

• It’s in everyone’s interest to help and support live music venues, almost everyone knows a musician either in their family or amongst friends or work colleagues..
• Le QuecumBar home of Gypsy Swing is a unique independent live music venue, run solely by me, Sylvia, a sole trader, not a Ltd company that can close in debt and open as a fresh company.

• Le QuecumBar has hosted over 17,500 musicians and over 200,000 customers in 17 years of great live music, mood, wine and food. 

My venue faces threat of closure because of cash bleed out because ….  

To date the government has put no pressure on landlords to force them to offer rent free periods for forced lockdown we are at the mercy of their decisions. 

• In addition we do not know when we will open to our capacity or what forced restrictive trading will be on us - with no idea of increased costs, just to reopen or how that opening will even look.

This means like many other sole traders there is zero income/revenue whilst daily accumulating mounting overheads and weekly existing outgoings have to be paid, financial liabilities that will quickly drain and suffocate many such independently run venues, even before they can reopen. 

• Many have already gone ..

I am fully aware so many are suffering, including musicians world-wide. 

I am including some hot music links from our music catalogue, reminders of why I do what I have done over 18 years.

Bring the joy of live music into your life - you can support us by listening to our own recordings at Spotify:

Listen and enjoy here
and here 

Our digital downloads can be purchased here

• Please pass the word during this unprecedented severe period of lockdown, that will help meet accumulating overheads and daily expenses whilst also supporting musicians, by securing their platforms and venues to play in, in the future.

As a unique music venue, we have had many great firsts here and have hosted many musicians from across the globe and UK - Gypsy and non Gypsies who have graced our stage with live acoustic magic.  Le Q is dedicated to Django Reinhardt's Gypsy Swing acoustic guitar style, as no other venue is.

• Our Patron Hank Marvin, is a great fan of Gypsy Swing and has recorded his own Gypsy Jazz tunes and has joined our famous Tuesday,  Gypsy Swing jam session, when he is in the country. Hank Marvins Gypsy Jazz website

Here is Hank with his Gypsy Jazz guitar and some video for you all 

Listen to tracks by Patron, Hank Marvin recorded especially for us and gifted to us to help support and promote Gypsy Swing and Le QuecumBar – these were the first Gypsy Swing recordings Hank made – he donated them to me to share with all our music lovers ….access from link below where you can also listen to the whole album

Stars of Gypsy Swing double album

Listen here

Here you will hear Hank Marvin playing Gypsy Swing – Noto Swing from our double album Stars of Gypsy Swing – a great double album where all the tracks were donated for FREE - by our generous Patrons, to support and promote the world-wide Gypsy Swing music genre:

Digital donwload here

Our cover photo here is the front cover of our triple CD celebrating Djangos 100th Birthday.  In 2010 Le QuecumBar produced, hosted and recorded the first London Int. International Gypsy Swing Guitar Festival over 9 days,  36 Gypsy and non Gypsy musicians joined together some for the first time on stage together, from across 5 countries, to perform and celebrate the 100th Birthday of the guitar genius Django Reinhardt.

Watch here

From that festival we recorded a triple album of highlights that you can listen and share from the Spotify links below
Listen here 

and here 

Digital donwload here

If Le Q hits this low target, we believe we can survive the lockdown.

• This is a time of need for so many and we hope you can help keep live music alive and available and accessible for all, life without live music will be a sadder place.  

Le QuecumBar Allstars – featuring Dutch Gypsy Lollo Meir 

Our very own home grown musicians came together here for 3 days to record this fabulous representation of what we do – bonus track by Dutch Gypsy Patron Lollo Meir  “Melody For Le QuecumBar” This dedicated melody for Le QuecumBar was given a honourable mention in the top 13 of 15,000 world entries in the ISC, USA. A man of style, grace and humour, we are honoured and proud to have Lollo as a valued friend, patron and supporter, special thanks for his composition where he is joined by Andre Donni on clarinet and Dominiue Pierard on rhythm guitar.

Listen here

Digital donwload here

PLEASE READ and SHARE this magic around the world, spread the physical joy of live Gypsy Swing – many of you will not know we have our own record label Le Q Records – a select number of albums either recorded live here or donated tracks by some of our top musicians.

You can all help support us (whilst we are in forced lockdown) by listening to our SPOTIFY music links below of Le Q Records, our in-house label recordings…or by downloading our music or buying our CDs here:

Le QuecumBar Music store

Enjoy the live music video clip, courtesy of Patron Aurelien Bouly, perhaps treat it like a jukebox offering and make a contribution for the joy and pleasure of such usually free music and only possible due to such great musicians and their joy of sharing their music.  Please share the video clip and remind everyone of how great and inspirational live music is ....Thank you from Sylvia at Le Q