Accessibility.
We believe music should be accessible for disabled artists and fans. There is lots of work to do to make this happen. We are determined to make a change in the music industry to improve things for disabled artists and fans.
For smaller bands like us, playing gigs often means playing smaller venues that do not have good accessibility. When we are a support act, we are not involved in choosing the venue. We really struggle when we are offered support shows that our management tells us are important to play, if the venue accessibility isn't good.
This is a problem not only because of Jess's own disability and access needs, but also because of our disabled fans who cannot always attend our shows due to inaccessible venues.
The more we grow, the bigger an impact we can have. With our own headline shows, we have much more control over the event and we only play the most accessible venues possible. We are making noise about this issue behind closed doors and we are working with our management on what more we can do in terms of campaigning and what leverage we have as a support act.
We have included the section below to highlight accessibility information for each of the venues we are playing. This information has been taken directly from venue websites where possible. When a venue has not published their accessibility information, we get in touch with them directly which informs the information below.
We know the situation is far from perfect and we are open to suggestions on how we can do better on this issue.
If you have any questions about accessibility at our upcoming shows, please do not hesitate to contact us via mallavoraband@outlook.com.
Upcoming Shows
exchange
From the venue website:
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VENUE DESCRIPTION
Exchange has a small ramp entrance from the street. Our bar and main event space are on the ground floor and we have an accessible toilet.
PERSONAL ASSISTANT TICKETS
We invite customers who require a personal assistant to attend to contact us via email (heidi@exchangebristol.com) and we will be happy to provide a complimentary ticket. Please make sure to let us know straight away in case the event subsequently sells out as our capacity is limited.
ACCESSIBLE VIEWING AREA
If you would like a member of staff to accompany you to an accessible viewing area please just let us know on the night.
ACCESSIBLE PARKING
There are parking bays on the opposite side of the road and also behind the venue, about 250 meters away.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Taxis will pick you up and drop you off directly in front of the venue. There is a bus stop across the road from the venue with many different routes. Central bus station is 1.1km away and Bristol Temple Meads train station is 800m away.
Step free route from station to venue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38GzCQu5OWk
CUSTOMERS WITH MEDICAL REQUIREMENTS
Customers are welcome to bring medicine, food and drink to manage a medical condition or any medical equipment they may require.
STROBE LIGHTING
For certain gigs, strobe lighting is used. If you have a photo sensitive condition where strobe lighting can affect you, please contact us and we will do our best to advise you. There may be cases of bands who may bring their own strobe lighting to the venue, in this situation we will let you know as soon as possible and offer a full refund if you are unable to attend because of this.
ASSISTANCE DOGS
We welcome assistance dogs into the venue and will happily provide a bowl of water if needed. However, not all events are suitable so please contact us before hand. We may be able to offer a location where the dog could stay during the gig, but please get in touch to discuss this further. We also encourage people to use the Personal Assistant ticket if the event isn’t suitable for a dog to attend.
Assistance dogs are the only dogs allowed in the venue when there is live music is playing.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS ON THE NIGHT
If you feel comfortable to do so, please make yourself known to us on arrival and we’ll do everything we can to help. If you are attending an event without a personal assistant, but will require assistance on the night we would encourage you to email before attending so we are best placed to help with your needs. If you require early entrance into the venue as part of your access requirements, please email us before the event and we will be happy to arrange this for you.
MYSTERY SHOPPERS
We work closely with Attitude is Everything on Exchange’s access policy. They are currently looking for Deaf and disabled mystery shoppers to help them improve access at venues. If you would be interested in helping them, please get in touch at: info@attitudeiseverything.org.uk