Pet Shop Boys, KT Tunstall and more join lineup for intimate Passport: Back to Our Roots show series

The Passport: Back to Our Roots show series will see bands such as Everything Everything, Ash, Elbow, Public Service Broadcasting and The Slow Readers Club perform one-off shows at grassroots music venues in the UK.

80% of all money raised will go directly to Music Venue Trust, who will give half of the money to the host venue and the other half to their #saveourvenues campaign. The final 20% will go to Inner City Music.

Pet Shop Boys, KT Tunstall, Russell Watson and Passenger are the latest acts to join the Passport: Back to Our Roots lineup. Pet Shop Boys have pledged to play London's Electric Ballroom, while KT Tunstall promises to play The Windmill in Brixton and PJ Molloys in Dunfermline. Russell Watson will perform at Manchester's Stoller Hall, and Passenger are set to play Komedia in Brighton.

Although the venues for the show series have been revealed, the dates won't be announced for a while, as the show series plans to take place once social distancing measures have eased for indoor performances.

The first prize draw, for the Everything Everything, Ash, Elbow, Public Service Broadcasting and The Slow Readers Club shows, raised £75,000.

Sally Cook, the co-founder of Passport: Back to Our Roots said, "We’re blown away by the incredible response to the first block of fundraisers, and want to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who donated, and to every artist who pledged to play a grassroots venue show. The outpouring of support (we read all the comments!) just proves how important grassroots venues are to the UK’s music fans. £75k is an amazing start and will help make a real difference to the venues involved and the sector as a whole, but we’re not stopping there. We are really excited to be announcing this new group of artists this week."

KT Tunstall says of grassroots music venues, "Without grassroots music venues, there are no big acts. It’s as simple as that. The incredible eco-system of small venues exists, in the vast majority of cases, as labours of love. Constantly up against rapidly rising business rates and big developer interests, these essential community hubs are kept alive by often overworked owners and staff with an unending passion for music and the music lovers and musicians they serve."