Our Ethos

CURATED LINE UPS- As veterans of the DIY rock scene we know exactly how hard it is to find decent shows. So often it’s a scene full of unreliable promoters, dodgy sound, zero pay, and random line-ups of clashing styles. We want to run nights, and release records, which are different, exciting and worth hearing about. To do that, we carefully curate and hand-pick every single band, and every single bill, to make sure that our nights are the best underground shows in London, and we always have a professional sound tech on hand to make sure that our bands sound good on stage.

FAIR PAY - We believe in playing fair, and paying fair. Civil War is not run ‘for the money’, and we have no intention of making stacks of cash off the back of hard-working bands - so much so that we run this as an entirely NON-PROFIT collective, with every penny of profit from each show going directly back to the bands. We support our bands and back them to the hilt, but in return we expect them to put in their fair share of hard work in return. There are no free rides. All musicians should be paid fairly for their hard work. End of. No bullshit. No smoke and mirrors.

FAIR PRICING - We believe that, in true DIY spirit, ticket prices for shows should be kept as cheap as possible. For our ‘regular’ shows, we have set ourselves the goal of keeping advance ticket prices in keeping with that of a typical London pint of beer - currently set at £6.50 when ordered in advance. (For special ‘all-dayers’ and bigger shows we allow ourselves a bit more latitude in order to secure bigger touring bands.)

INCLUSIVITY - We believe in the power of people, and we want to support our bands and our followers as much as we can. We believe in inclusivity, and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy our shows, to feel safe, and to have a good time - free from judgement or abuse in any form. We respect individuality and eccentricity, but above all we respect kindness and decency, and we expect this from our bands and fans alike across the scene. All ‘BS’ can be left at the door, and all that matters is the music.

COMMUNITY - We consider ourselves to be a ‘collective’ of bands (not just as a promoter), and we are trying to build a thriving ‘scene’ of genuine music fans and musicians. On that basis we will not usually put on bands who aren’t interested in getting involved, coming along to our gigs, or generally supporting the scene. We want the bands who play our shows, and the people that come down to be there, to feel part of something - and those who get involved in our community and come along regularly will get the most out of it. All bands who play our shows will be added to our ‘Artists’ page (with their permission) with free links back to their own websites for other people to discover and enjoy their music. That’s what this is all about.

We commit to these principles.

This is our manifesto.