The last 16 months couldn’t have been worse for music venues. As Covid-19 arrived on British shores last March, scenes and businesses descended into turmoil, shuttering spaces indefinitely. In 2021, while delays to the reopening of UK society in the wake of emerging variants have left established clubs on the brink of collapse, the ongoing vaccination programme has created new hope, and many music venues are finally reopening their doors.
Among the debris of a club scene in crisis, there is a plethora of new venues, ready to welcome dancers for the first time. In the process of mapping these new destinations, one thing becomes clear — there’s a space here for all tastes. Whether it’s Northern Irish collectives creating DIY artist hangouts in tiny lofts, purpose-built ballrooms made for A-list headliners, high-tech, multimedia destinations programming cutting-edge experimental work, or outdoor courtyards developed as a direct response to the pandemic, there are venues capturing every corner of the clubbing experience, from the intimate to the overwhelming.
Their differences aside, to some extent, every team involved shares similar traits and attitudes. Each owner, manager, promoter and artist reflects a passion for British club culture, and a unified determination to rebuild its infrastructure in order to bring back what we have all missed for so long.
Here you’ll find a roundup of 10 of these new clubs. We hope to see you at one of these very soon.