Rock City owner unveils Garage design
Nottingham-based venue owner DHP Family, owner of Rock City, Rescue Rooms and Bodega Social, has unveiled the design for The Garage in Islington, one of the London venues it acquired earlier this year along with The Borderline, in the heart of Soho.
Relaunching in February 2017, every element of The Garage will be dramatically updated. In addition to refurbishing the main music venue (600 capacity) and adding a new sound system, three new spaces have also been created within the building, united thematically under the Garage concept.
From February 2017, the venue will house two independent live music spaces as well as a daytime coffee spot, craft beer and cocktail bar.
Work is scheduled to take place early in the New Year with the main room due to be closed for just three weeks as work continues in the other areas, to ensure minimum disruption to the venue programming.
Having been acquired by DHP Family in May 2016, the transformation sees the company once again working with design partners Zopsigog, who delivered the Nordic inspired Oslo in Hackney.
DHP Family managing director George Akins said: “The Garage has been on my radar for about 10 years now when I first looked to buy it. For one reason or another we have just missed out on taking over this iconic venue and breathing new life into it. Its location, layout and history are perfect for what we are looking for in a venue and we look forward to reinventing the space for a new generation.”
Upstairs, Thousand Island will host breaking acts and late-night socials featuring an unpretentious programme anchored by collaborative club nights. Operating independently from the rest of the space, the room will feature a mirrorball-stuffed ceiling, faces of friends of the venue across one wall, and a condiment-covered dressing room.
In addition, there will be a new coffee station a new kiosk, serving speciality coffees and teas, alongside a range of freshly made breakfast snacks, cakes and sandwiches, all to-go.
As part of its new programming for the venue, DHP Family has created Precinct Presents…, a series of immersive club events that will take over the whole venue complex every Saturday and change its theme every six weeks. The first event, Precinct Presents… “Lost In Tokyo”, will be a never-seen-before experience that transports guests into a dark and dystopian Japanese-style street scene. Guests will be invited to dress up and enter a multi-sensory world where shady characters lurk behind vitriolic noodle vendors, and anime girls huddled in neon-lit Izakaysas. Think Blade Runner meets Baby Metal via Tarantino, soundtracked by Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show, says DHP.
