Highbury’s legendary Garage venue is preparing to mark 30 years of music.
Originally a Temperance Billiard Hall, it has seen performances from acts including Oasis, Pulp, Slowdive, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Fall, Harry Styles, Idles, Jack White, Arctic Monkeys and Yungblud since opening in 1993.
On August 22, Scottish indie rock poets Arab Strap launch a season of returning acts leading into the anniversary year. They first played the venue 25 years ago last month.
Arab Strap's Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton said in a statement: “We're very honoured to kick off The Garage's birthday celebrations this August.
“It’s a venue we used to spent a lot of time in. We'd be in London a lot back in the day, and there always seemed to be something happening at the Garage while we were there – we must've seen loads of gigs there, including two of our favourite of all time, Plush and The For Carnation.
“We played there a few times too, including one particularly awful drunken night that may well have earned us a reputation for being a risky ticket. Rest assured we're all sorted now, and can promise 100 per cent professionalism and around 80 percent sobriety. Looking forward to it.”
The venue has a capacity of 600, while there is a 150-person venue upstairs. It is known for one-off performances by artists filling arenas, "underplays", and in 2017 Harry Styles chose it for his debut solo gig.
A spokesperson for the Music Venue Trust praised The Garage for supporting gassroots music.
"These spaces are special places that have a unique ability to enrich and change lives," they said. "Happy 30th anniversary to The Garage. Long may it continue."
Owner DHP Family refurbished The Garage in 2017 when it added it to a portfolio comprising Oslo, Hackney; Thekla, Bristol and its hometown Nottingham venues Rock City, Rescue Rooms, Stealth and Bodega.
Bookers Conrad Rogan and Scott Kennedy will be putting in underplays and other shows in the coming year.
Scott said: “Having recently presented shows from incredible new artists like Fontaines DC, Muna and Beabadoobee launching their careers here following in the footsteps of iconic acts like Arctic Monkeys, Radiohead and Jeff Buckley, we know this venue is a special place for so many and we're very excited to continue this iconic legacy with this series of shows.”
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