Birkenhead live music venue, Future Yard, will launch a new crowdfunder this month to support the venue’s expansion and strengthen its future. BUILD OUR FUTURE will support the construction of a 600 capacity indoor venue on the Future Yard site, alongside 12 flexible studio spaces.
Future Yard has already secured 97% of the £3m project which will begin this Spring. The campaign is looking to raise £150k, of which 50% will support construction costs and 50% will support Future Yard’s Neighbourhood Ticket Scheme, alongside the organisation’s skills and training programme.
Since opening during the pandemic, Future Yard has evolved into a grassroots music success story. As a live music venue it has hosted almost 900 shows, providing a stage to over 3500 artists, from Mercury Prize winners to as-yet-unheard local talent. OMD, Gruff Rhys, Nadine Shah, English Teacher, The Coral, Doves, Black Country New Road and Nubiyan Twist have been presented alongside a unique blend of Ethiopian Jazz, American Blues, Peruvian Psych, French Pop, Japanese Drone, Brazilian Tropicália and Indian Minimalism. 120,000 music lovers have found a new venue in Birkenhead since 2020.
The expanded venue will allow for higher profile acts, giving Future Yard a more sustainable financial footing and will reduce the risk around open air concerts, weather factors and noise limitations.
Built into Future Yard’s work is a commitment to nurturing music talent from cradle to career. The new flexible studio spaces will allow Future Yard to expand on their commitment to training, music education provision and encouraging a love of music in young people who have no access to music education.
Last year alone, 1443 children attended Future Yard’s Sunday-morning Mosh Tots shows, making live music accessible to kids and young families. 166 young people took part in Sound Check, an inclusive music training programme in live sound, lighting, stage management and event production. Through mentorship, workshops and performance opportunities, the Propeller programme supports the development of local music creators, and 75 local artists received tailored support last year. New Noise is where the next generation of music makers begin. Every Saturday, young people aged 11–16 take over Future Yard to explore instruments, write songs, and play the music they love.
In 2025, Future Yard launched a pilot project with 12 local schools, seeking to redefine what music education in Primary school can be. 3500 children across these schools will have the opportunity to blend inspiring classroom learning with life-changing live music experiences.
Since September 2025, 41.6% of children who have engaged in music activity through a new in-schools pilot are from areas of high deprivation (measured by the top 20% identified by the Indices of Multiple Deprivation datasets).
Craig Pennington is Future Yard CIC Director, and co-founder, “We are launching this crowdfunder at a moment when we’re aware of the pressures on live music venues and on music education. With support from Wirral Council and Arts Council England we are almost there, this just helps us to get over the line.”
“Living in this part of the world you are always very aware about the legacy of access to music, and the importance of learning from a young age, what music and being a musician can do. There is a democratic thread to music which should allow access to music education for every child. When we opened Future Yard we were committed to being more than a live music venue but also being a place that puts opportunity at the heart of our programme. BUILD OUR FUTURE doesn’t only secure the future of Future Yard, it preserves the work we have done to maintain a commitment to music education in Wirral”.
Christopher Torpey is Director of Audiences at Future Yard, “Future Yard’s work to date has been nothing short of phenomenal, but to secure the future this project is vital. By conservative forecasts, the new venue will increase audiences by 30% in the first year of operation, rising to 50% by year three and doubling by year five. This will, in turn, result in increased financial performance and long-term security.
With just 50 more shows a year, we will attract more established, higher profile artists but we also predict the new venue will allow for an additional 2000 hours of practical experience for our Sound Check trainees, on larger, more complex shows. 3500 children accessing our new schools music curriculum on site. 120 children accessing lessons & band clubs, a 50% increase in capacity for our Mosh Tots shows and 100% increase in Neighbourhood Tickets, with 2000 distributed in the first full year of operation”.
Jayne Clough is a Board Member at Future Yard CIC, “Growing up in Birkenhead as a music fan, I would have loved having a venue like Future Yard on my doorstep. Since opening, there’s been so many incredible acts and unforgettable nights. It’s lifted the town, inspired community, provided jobs, nurtured creativity and firmly put Birkenhead on the musical map — wherever I go, people talk about Future Yard. But success brings a challenge: keeping it sustainable. We hear about beloved venues closing all the time, and so what we are trying to do is future-proof Future Yard. If you care about music and your community, please back the crowdfunder if you can.”
Key Dates
- BUILD OUR FUTURE Crowdfunder will launch on 27 February
- 6-8 March 48 Hour Party People – fundraising concert for 48 Hours at Future Yard
- Work starts on the project Spring 2026
- Crowdfunder closes 27 March
- First gig – Autumn 2026
