New music venue and record store, Grub Records, opens in Sheffield

NME

A new music venue and record store, Grub Records, has opened in Sheffield.

• READ MORE: Report shows “disaster” facing grassroots music venues: “The big companies and arenas are now going to have to answer for this”

The venue officially opened in Queens Road near the city centre on July 26, after hosting a few events in recent weeks. It’ll be open from Wednesday to Sunday every week with a focus on dance music.

It hopes to become a “worthy addition to the city’s wonderful scene”, while it’s launched a Crowdfunder in a bid to raise £2500 to “hit the ground running”. The money will “help us make the shop beautiful, and jump-start plans for the interior decorating, as well as stocking the shelves with as many killer records as they can fit.”

They went on: “Overall we’ve donated around £10ks worth of equipment, records, and cash, but helping us get up and running faster will mean a wider range of genres on the shelves from day one, allowing us to diversify the selection of styles available and create a space with something for everyone.”

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Among those involved in the launch of the space are Apricot Ballroom, Control, Groundwork, Footprints Jazz Club, Mondo Radio, and DJ duo Wow & Flutter.

Grub Records is bucking the UK-wide trend that has seen numerous small venues forced to close for financial reasons – there are just 835 music venues left in the UK, with a new study from A2D2 showing that 19 closed last year in the North West of England alone, followed by 17 in London.

In December, Mark Davyd, the CEO of the Music Venues Trust (MVT), told NME that 2023 had been the “worst year ever for venue closures,” while a report from the Trust earlier this year showed that grassroots venues are facing a “disaster”.

But there are still some positive stories too – like Grub Records. Rubber Ducky Records, the record store on a canal boat, also reopened in January after sinking last year, while the classic record store chain Our Price has reopened this year after two decades.

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