Welcome to our exclusive interview with Natasha Grosvenor, the mind behind the events calendar at the legendary The Fighting Cocks in Kingston, Greater London. Natasha isn't your typical booking agent; she's a driving force behind the scene, orchestrating a variety of aspects behind the venue's lineups. From organising in-house shows to collaborating with external promoters and hires, Natasha's expertise ensures that The Fighting Cocks remains a hub for unforgettable music and comedy experiences. While she works closely with booking agencies, Natasha's role extends far beyond mere coordination, shaping the venue's identity and curating an ever-evolving roster of talent. Join us as we delve into Natasha's unique approach to event management and her insights into the dynamic world of live entertainment.
What inspired you to pursue a role in event management, particularly within the music industry?
I grew up in Cardiff and my favourite music venue (Barfly) closed down, it was turned into flats, and that broke my heart. Since then, on the scene we have lost so many incredible, independent music venues over the years.
Alongside this I went into operations management work with Matt Barnwell, assisting hospitality establishments where we could. Post-pandemic things weren’t looking so good for TFC and selling it was on the cards. I really didn’t want to see another venue I love at risk of closing; I was a bartender there at uni and found so many great bands that way, it was my second home.
So, we got Jaimie (previous owner) and Matt & Ali Barnwell (current owners) in a room together to look at what could be done to keep things going, whilst keeping the spirit of TFC alive. We figured we could, just maybe, collectively sell our souls enough to make it work. It’s three years later, the rollercoaster hasn’t stopped, and I can safely say that if we ever do go down, we’re going down fucking swinging.
The Fighting Cocks is renowned for its music and comedy events. How do you ensure the lineup stays fresh and appeals to your audience?
Listening to and working with people from every corner of the universe, mapping out everything for the year based on genre & what else is happening around those dates, on the most ridiculous spreadsheet known to man, then pounding multiple coffees. There are many incredible bands, team members, promoters, agencies and independent labels that want to see live events thrive and through banding together, we’re able to curate a melting pot of weekly events for the masses.
Maff Brown who runs Outside The Box comedy and Jon Tolley, who runs Banquet Records both bring in outstanding talent from their own circuits which regularly make our jaws drop. We also have community events such as the pub quiz hosted by Andy Nicholls and Drink & Draw and Rockeoke, hosted by Jodie Burge, which really bring people together outside of the band/comedy events and gives everyone a place that feels like home. The landscape of live music used to often be a rat race and whilst in some corners it still is, we’ve embraced working with other venues and like-minded individuals, to create a space that can cater for everybody; even if it is generally the inked and the damned.
Managing events involves a lot of coordination. Can you walk us through your process of selecting and booking performers for events?
The first and most important thing for selection is the music. I cannot stress this enough – if you are in a band wanting to play a venue and you contact them, include the name of your band and a link to your music; a surprising number of bands don’t include either. We get around 80+ band/booking enquiries every few days and we listen to all of them.
A lot of acts will contact us looking to be added as support and we’ll ask them to send across the info we need (EPK, etc) then, when we’re building a bill and need say, three x punk supports, we’ll look at who is a good fit for the lineup from those who have contacted us, as well as those we know of on the circuit, and create some magic. The other side to this is contacting bands directly as well as curating shows through our partnerships with promoters and agencies, many of whom we’ve worked with for years and others who are brand new.
These types of venues are where a lot of bands cut their teeth, that act that played support on that random punk line-up might be headlining a sold-out tour a couple of years later; that happens frequently, so getting the balance just right and hearing the talent in-between those initial raw cuts is crucial.
What strategies do you employ to create memorable experiences for attendees?
Having a party! Jaimie, who ran TFC for many years and is still at the heart of everything we do, would have this on the job application; ‘Do you know how to throw a party? Do you know how to have a good time? Come and work at The Fighting Cocks if you’ve got what it takes!!’ haha.
What a lot of people like about TFC is the general embodiment of having a good time; it’s half music venue, half your living room. It’s not taking life too seriously and letting lose.
Handling logistics is a crucial aspect of event management. How do you navigate challenges such as scheduling conflicts or technical issues during performances?
Teamwork, trained staff and communication. The technical side of things is so incredibly important because things can, and will, break. Our sound engineers are some of the best in the business, a lot of them have gone on to do insatiable tours and even the newer members of the team receive a praise chorus regularly. If there’s a scheduling conflict and bands aren’t able to make the show - cars break down sometimes, people get sick - the show will go ahead with the rest of the lineup and we’ll reschedule the band who couldn’t make it to play again as soon as possible.
The tickets which people bought for the original show are then redeemable for both the original date (with the bands that can make it) as well as the rescheduled date, for the band that couldn’t, and we’ll add this info to all the social media posts and tell customers on arrival. Also, when a band pulls out last minute, we’ll fan out between our contacts and those of external promoters and see if anyone can fill the slot – it’s a digital phone tree octopus of promoters - and more often than not, a band jumps in at the eleventh hour and smashes it!
In the dynamic world of live entertainment, trends and audience preferences can shift rapidly. How do you stay informed and adapt to these changes in your event planning strategy?
Most of my time is spent listening to music, going to shows, talking to bands, talking to industry people and keeping up to date with current trends both offline and online. It’s a 24/7 job, but it’s a blast.
For our viewers who haven’t visited the venue, how would you describe the vibe and what is a standout of TFC?
Old school 80s dive bar, but clean. The venue is a no-barrier stage with poster-covered walls, band graffiti and a PA so crisp and powerful you will have your docs blown off. The main bar boasts a jukebox, games room and pool table along with a drink selection promoting independent and established labels, rotating lines and some very tasty whisky.
Can you share a particularly challenging situation you've encountered while managing an event at TFC and how you successfully resolved it?
We had Marvel come in to film an episode of Loki for several days and I had to keep ‘why the pub was closed for a week’ a secret for over a year. To overcome this, I told everyone the reason we were closed, with passerby sights of film cameras, was because we were filming Live action Little Mermaid. I fooled no one.
EXTRA
I want to give a shoutout to the team and everyone involved because it’s the unstoppable force of nature that is team TFC/Road Crew which makes keeping the scene alive possible; hosting DIY bands to household names and everything in between. Literal blood, sweat and tears go into keeping a grassroots music venue open and everyone involved in The Fighting Cocks chaos is a legend!
