London · 11 May 2026
Temple of Art and Music joins Everywhere At Once: The UK’s Biggest Festival
Bowie’s “very, very excellent songwriter” Dana Gillespie returns to a grassroots stage — and brings the next generation with her.
Temple of Art and Music (TAM) in Elephant & Castle, London has announced its participation in the Everywhere At Once festival this summer — with a four-part programme that connects two generations of British music, sixty years apart.
Taking place on what would have been the Glastonbury Festival weekend of 26 to 28 June 2026, hundreds of grassroots music venues across the country will unite under the banner of Everywhere At Once for the UK’s largest festival. TAM will host four themed events anchored by Dana Gillespie — the singer, songwriter and Bowie contemporary whose career began alongside David Bowie, Elton John and Jimmy Page — performing and writing alongside featured emerging artists Gemma Schito, Albie and Iris Craig, with further line-up announcements to follow.
In 1971, on BBC Radio’s John Peel Show, David Bowie described Dana Gillespie’s songwriting in extraordinary terms:
A very, very very, very very very excellent songwriter.
BBC Radio · John Peel Show · 1971
Nearly sixty years later, Dana is passing that spirit forward — mentoring a new generation of artists through TAM’s Open Music Academy.
At the heart of the programme is a new anthem, What Makes Me Human — written by Dana Gillespie and TAM founder Sieng Van Tran — exploring empathy, kindness and connection in an increasingly technological world. The song sets the question. The young artists of the Open Music Academy will spend the weeks ahead answering it, each in their own voice and genre, with original work responding to the same theme. The anthem and the responses will come together across the festival weekend.
Featured Artists
TAM’s Featured Everywhere At Once Artists for the programme are:
Gemma Schito
A 15-year-old performer and student at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, representing a new generation of multidisciplinary young artists emerging through the grassroots scene.
Albie
Developing original material through a songwriting, recording and touring pathway connected to the festival and the evolving Dana Gillespie & Friends live series.
Iris Craig
Singer-songwriter and pianist who brings a unique creative perspective through her synesthesia, experiencing sound as colour, shape and emotion. After a one-to-one session with Dana Gillespie, Iris began writing a new song inspired by their conversation.
Further line-up announcements to follow.
Organised by Music Venue Trust, the charity that supports grassroots music venues, and powered by The National Lottery, the festival will celebrate the grassroots network that British music is built on — the places where artists first step on the stage, where Glastonbury headliners hone their craft, and where communities have access to local and affordable live music.
National Lottery players are one of the biggest backers of grassroots music – because of them, over £1 billion has gone to support music in every corner of the country. The National Lottery’s backing for Everywhere At Once will help venues and independent promoters champion new artists and programme a bold, exciting weekend in communities across the UK.
Everywhere At Once is not a festival in a field. It’s a festival on your doorstep, no tent required. Forget the trek, the traffic and the campsites. This summer’s most exciting live music experience will happen in a venue near you, where audiences will be able to experience that festival energy in the intimate setting of the UK’s vital grassroots music venues.
TAM’s Programme
26
JUN
DROP IT LIKE 1966
A collective grassroots record release celebration inspired by the era when records felt like cultural events — and transmissions to the world.
27
JUN
THE GREAT BRITISH BLUES JAM
A celebration of Britain’s blues tradition inspired by Dana Gillespie & Friends, bringing together emerging artists and special guests in an intergenerational live music gathering.
28
JUN
CONVERGENCE
The festival finale: the live premiere of What Makes Me Human by Dana Gillespie and Sieng Van Tran, alongside original responses to the theme written and recorded by the Open Music Academy artists, plus accompanying music video premieres.
Pre-festival satellite event
31
MAY
TRANSMISSION
Dana Gillespie opens the transmission between generations in an intimate evening of music, conversation and first performances from Open Music Academy artists.
Tickets available from: www.everywherefest.com
Grassroots venues are where journeys begin. They are places where people find confidence, creativity and connection. This project is about transmission — passing encouragement, experience and belief from one generation to the next.
Myco Doan-Tran · Volunteer Chief Education Officer, TAM
Music has given me so much joy throughout my life. Working with young artists and helping them discover their own voice feels like the natural continuation of that journey.
Dana Gillespie
In 2021, The National Lottery and MVT cemented their partnership with The National Lottery’s Revive Live Tour, which helped venues re-open and rebuild following the impact of Covid. Everywhere At Once, powered by The National Lottery, will be delivered by Music Venue Trust alongside Save Our Scene and the Association of Independent Promoters, bringing the grassroots network together for a shared national moment of live music.
Audiences will also be given the opportunity to support a range of exceptional and vital music charities at point of purchase, with donations supporting War Child, Nordoff and Robbins, Help Musicians UK, and Teenage Cancer Trust.
For three days, the artists play, the venues host, the nation listens.
Closer to the music, where local matters, where everyone belongs.
Full details of all gigs, with daily updates, are available at www.everywherefest.com. Follow on socials at @musicvenuetrust · #everywhereatonce
ENDS