Much loved London bar and music venue The Social joins forces with the team behind Omeara and Lafayette
09 November 2020 - Press releaseThriving new partnership offers central London venue a safer, stable future
The Social are very excited to be joining forces with fellow grassroots music venues Omeara and Lafayette to form a new partnership which offers the iconic London venue stability and security, and assurance for its loyal customers and music lovers that it can focus on a brighter future.
The fabled two floor venue in the heart of London's West End will now operate under the Venue Group umbrella in a partnership that gives The Social further support following their incredibly successful spring 2019 Crowdfunder campaign which raised over £145,000 to stop the venue's enforced sale.
The partnership promises to be pioneering, bringing safety in numbers to one of London's key grassroots music venues at a time of great uncertainty. It also allows The Social to look ahead to a brighter future, not just for the venue itself and all its hard-working staff, but for new artists playing there too.
Ben Lovett, CEO Venue Group: "Ever since The Social announced that it was at risk of closure in 2019, I have been actively engaged in trying to figure out a way to prevent that from happening. We have been working together on a solution that retains the entire independence and ownership for the founders whilst teaming up together to ensure the long-term viability of the venue.
"I believe that The Social is one of the most important destinations in London, especially as a music venue, and alongside Omeara and Lafayette I hope that we are developing a path for artists of all shapes and sizes to develop and grow with their fans in one of the world's most significant music cities."
Robin Turner, The Social: "After the 2019 Crowdfunder, we knew we were realistically only halfway towards saving The Social. Though we were able to stay open for our 20th anniversary, we'd lost our long-time operating partners and needed to find new ones to help us move forward. When we met Ben, Greg and the Venue Group, we immediately knew they were kindred spirits - people who recognised the transformative power of a good night out, and were dedicated to offering audiences and bands the best gig experience possible.
"We're extremely excited about The Social taking its next steps forward with them. Here's to the next twenty years."
Since first opening in the summer of 1999, The Social has become an institution in the music industry and landscape of live music in London. When threatened with closure last years, over 1800 supporters of the venue stepped into stop its sale. The figure raised was really just the tip of the financial iceberg. Venue Group are now pleased to bring the venue some crucial financial stability and will assist in its operation to ensure that all those long-standing punters and a generation of new faces can enjoy its distinct ambience for years to come.
Over recent years, many much loved and historical music venues have been forced to succumb to the astronomical rent and continued development in central London, with the likes of The Borderline, The Astoria, The End and The Metro all becoming memories and much missed spots in London's musical nightlife.
Since 1999, The Social's stage has been shared by the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Four Tet, Michael Kiwanuka, Florence & The Machine, Adele, Beck and Aphex Twin will live on to provide many more opportunities to countless fledgling bands and fast-rising acts making their live bows (such as the first performances in the UK by both Vampire Weekend and Bon Iver) alongside established acts playing word of mouth secret shows. Alongside live music and DJ sets, The Social is renowned as home to high profile literary events with publishers such as Faber and White Rabbit, hosting inspirational readings and talks with the likes of Edna O'Brien, DBC Pierre, Caitlin Moran, Jarvis Cocker and Irvine Welsh, among others.
All of this makes them a fine, like-minded addition to Venue Group's roster of venues and a flourishing new partnership.
The Social will reopen in 2021.
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