TALENTED musicians took to the stage of an entertainment bar in Colchester in celebration of a national campaign designed to champion small venues.

Three Wise Monkeys, in High Street, Colchester, took part in Independent Venue Week, giving a platform to a variety of artists in its top floor gig facility. 

The annual event aims to celebrate individuals who own, run and contribute to small and independent venues.

Three Wise Monkeys takes part in the event every year, providing upcoming and more established bands the chance to showcase their abilities and win over crowds. 

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For this year's Independent Venue Weeks, bands such as Rad Pitt, Ecto Peach, Chappaqua Wrestling, Be Nice and more all performed. 

Musicians also took part in a Battle of the Bands competition across the first two nights of the seven day event.

 

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Alan Jones, Three Wise Monkeys' top floor manager, said: “Independent Venue Week was a roaring success at Three Wise Monkeys and gave us the perfect opportunity to showcase some of the best music talent in and around Colchester.

“The Battle of the Bands events on the first two nights were superb and proved the future of music in the city is in safe hands.

“Throughout the rest of the week the top-tier bands and musicians we had the pleasure of staging helped reaffirm that Colchester really is the place to be when it comes to live music.

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“Thank you so much to all the gig-goers who came and supported our venue and a huge thank you to the awesome artist, without whom there would be no Independent Venue Week.”

“Let’s do it all again next year.”

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All pictures: Jonathan Dadds