Lack of grassroots music venues in Oxford 'really bleak', says music guru

A music guru says the lack of music venues in Oxford following closures and threats of closureis 'really bleak'. While Oxford has a number oflarger venues including the02, the New Theatre and The Bullingdon,anumber of smaller live music venues in the city centre have closed in recent years, mostnotably The Wheatsheaf and the Cellar. Ronan Munro, editor of Nightshift Magazine, said Oxford is 'way behind what it used to be' and that the situation is 'getting worse and worse'. This comes after Ed Sheeran raised a number of issues surrounding the music industry, including the lack of grassroots venues across the country. Spearheading a call to the Government for the funding of music education to repair 'decades of dismantling music', the British singer-songwriter, 34, said the UK is at a 'critical point'. Ed Sheeran wrote a letter to the prime minister (Image: Bradley Collyer/PA) "As a young music student and aspiring artist, I benefited from opportunities in and out of school to learn and...