Mad Ferret, the popular live music venue on Fylde Road, Preston, is in the running again this year for the NME Britain’s Best Small Venue 2012 competition.

The Mad Ferret hosts a variety of live music covering most genres, offering a mixture of seasoned and emerging artists from across the UK. Since it opened in 2006, the venue has been lucky enough to host the likes of Ed Sheeran and Little Man Tate, plus many more up and coming acts.

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Although it faces stiff competition from the headliners that 53 Degress attracts over the road, the Mad Ferret is just as important for Preston’s live music scene. They pride themselves on being the only live music venue to open throughout the week, and whilst they place great importance on local music, their two day festival-style event ‘GlastonFerret’ has attracted plenty of attention from further afield.

Last year, the venue was shortlisted by NME in the same category, but this time they hope to go one step further.

Ed Monk, promoter at the Mad Ferret, praised the loyal band of supporters that the venue has attracted, and claimed that anyone who has visited “should understand how important the Mad Ferret is to the local music scene.”

“We’re an independent venue with no outside funding, yet we are putting on over 160 events each year. That’s a phenomenal amount of live music and something that the people of Preston should support.”

When asked what winning the competition would mean for both the Mad Ferret and Preston, he said: “It would be great to get some national recognition for what the venue is doing here, which would help to increase our reputation amongst agents, labels and bands.”

“Preston is only a small city yet we manage to get well known touring acts to come here. If we managed to win the competition, it would be great not only for the Mad Ferret but also the city as a whole too.”

The competition closes on Friday 20th April, and the Mad Ferret is asking for support from all the people of Preston in order to continue seeing the best new music come to the city.

To ensure that this gem in Preston’s music scene is shortlisted again this year, please click here and vote Mad Ferret. Feel free to share this story with your friends and encourage them to vote too!