Luna, Leytonstone: Urgent appeal to save 'incredibly important' music venue

A London music venue has launched a 'lifeline' crowdfunding campaign.

Luna, in Leystone, hosts gigs for artists at any stage of their career and is aiming to raise £75,000 for outstanding debts, battling the rising cost of living and general maintenance such as soundproofing and outdated infrastructure.

The Crowdfunder page has raised over £4,000 so far.

The page offers donation rewards, including getting your name on the wall if you donate £50 or more, a cocktail lesson from the team with £100 or more, and a party at Luna with a donation of £500 or more.

Luna owner Declan Walsh told LondonWorld the venue is at a critical point.

"Luna means everything to me," he said. "It's something I've invested everything I have into. That's my time and my energy, blood sweat and tears.

"But it's much more than that. It's about the people who come here, the people who walk through these doors who, if they're a musician, they have a great platform. If they're a customer we create a bubble around them so that they can have a great night and forget all their troubles at the doors and go home happy.

"If they're someone who works in the team, it's a grassroots music venue but it's also a grassroots place for everyone around us."

Willow, an artist who has performed at Luna, said: "Luna is just a safe place for me to come. There's not many places for anyone, especially here as we're allowed to have multiple ages and young people and old people and people from all different backgrounds, and you don't have to pay for anything you can just come any day of the week and chill and meet people and watch music. For me, that is incredibly important."

Luna has been open since 2004 and hosts more than 400 grassroots gigs each year. Declan says the landlord has been supportive but that it is time to solve the problem - and that crowdfunding and the community are the answer.

Luna's co-owner, Suja, died shortly after Declan became involved in the business. The Crowdfunder page says: “Dreams come to life at Luna. But people feel alive at Luna. This was always Suja’s dream. The founder of Luna. He created a place for those that didn’t fit in, a home for everyone.”

Support Luna by joining its crowdfunding campaign.