At least four new music venues will open in London in 2016, as the grassroots sector begins to rebound from recent troubles.
DHP Family recently acquired ex-MAMA & Company venues The Borderline in Soho and The Garage in Highbury from Live Nation, while Steve Ball’s Columbo Group snapped up Camden’s The Jazz Cafe and The Barfly from the same company. The Jazz Cafe recently reopened, with The Barfly to be relaunched as The Camden Assembly in the coming months.
Mark Davyd (pictured), founder and CEO of the Music Venue Trust, the charity set up to protect the small venues network, has told IQ that he knows of four brand-new venues opening their doors in the year, with another three “likely” to follow suit before the end of the year.
“I think people in the sector are feeling a lot more positive about their ability to sustain London’s music scene and be valued in what they’re doing,” he said.
Davyd also revealed that MVT is in discussions with “two or three” other new developments about the possibility of including music venues in their plans.
