AN INDEPENDENT music shop in Risca has made the tough decision to close at the end of the year.

Based in the small town of Risca, the independent music shop Band Box has been going for many years but has blamed the “current state of the economy in general and the music retail trade” as the main reasons behind their unfortunate decision to close.

However, the news is not all doom and gloom, as the business is not officially permanently closing, with the plan being only to close “for the foreseeable future”.

In a post to their official Facebook page on the afternoon of Friday, December 1, the team shared: “It's time to say goodbye.

"After much consideration and a fair level of emotional consternation, we've made the extremely hard decision to close Band Box, at least for the foreseeable future.

"The current state of the economy in general, and the music retail trade specifically means that it makes little financial sense to continue trading.

"And so, we'll be having a nice big PRE-XMAS SALE so that you can grab a nice present - for someone special, or even yourself!

“There's still oodles of stock from Fender, Ibanez, Lag, Laney, Ernie Ball and many more and we are very open to some price negotiation!

“We'll be trading until Christmas, and possibly a little after (but no guarantees!) so time is of the essence. We'll be back to opening Mon - Sat 10 till 5 until Xmas so come in and grab a bargain. Cheers!”

Band Box is determined to go out with a bang and have put on a special clearance sale for Christmas in light of the news, as everything currently in stock needs to have been sold by the end of the year.

The offers include three for two on pedals, and offers on big guitar brands, all of which are apparently selling fast.