Variety is what makes Sheffield's live music scene so rich - it's time to use it or lose it

The arts, live music very much included, are what make us who we are. The books we read, the shows we watch, the gigs we attend are all building blocks of who we are as people.

So what really upsets me is that the younger generations won’t have such a wide variety of musical offerings in the city to help shape their interests and passions.

My first gig was at The Leadmill when (whisper this quietly) I was probably too young to attend. That night, and subsequent ones in the O2 Academy among others built friendships and musical taste that has lasted a lifetime.

But with the sad news that one of the Steel City’s premier jazz offerings, Trippets Lounge, is closing its doors my worry is that’s one less avenue for youngsters to explore.

As a city’s arts and culture offering is slowly eroded over the years, the richness that made the city so enticing to begin with slowly diminishes.

Sheffield has always been known to have a bit of something for everyone. Corporation fills a heavier void, local up-and-coming guitar bands have regularly tread the stages at West Street Live and Frog and Parrot. Bass and Techno at Tank and the variety at somewhere like Crookes Social Club. Something for all.

But it is in the alternative, smaller, niche venues that give the depth to a city’s musical scene, and that’s where Sheffield used to flourish.

I’m not saying it can’t flourish in the future, or that there aren't new venues springing up to fill these gaps, but the loss of a venue that has refreshed punters for decades is surely something to mark. The loss of a venue that offered something different to other places is something to mourn.

Much like retail, we all need to make the effort to use independent venues before sadly, we lose them all.