The Grove, an all-new music venue, bar and event space is opening its doors in the cultural hub of Ouseburn next month, bringing something altogether new to Newcastle’s live music and entertainment scene.

The Grove will open to the public on Friday 10 March with an eclectic opening month of live gigs, DJ takeovers, quizzes and games nights to show the people of Newcastle what the space is all about.

With a main music venue with a capacity of 400, a fully loaded bar, a terrace with beautiful views of the city, a summer courtyard, a corporate space and dining facilities, The Grove will place itself in a firm middle ground between snug venues like The Cluny and larger independent event spaces such as Boiler Shop.

While other cities like Leeds and Manchester offer numerous venues of this size, Newcastle is currently lacking in this area – it was the ambition of The Grove’s founders to fill the gap.

The faces behind the project are Charlie Dancer and Cole Gilroy who have both dreamt of opening their own venue and putting their stamp on the city they call home.

“We’re both incredibly passionate about the city, and saw an opportunity to add something to a growing cultural sector of the city,” explains Charlie.

“We’ve both been heavily involved in the North-East’s musical fabric for a number of years as musicians, as gig-goers and as professionals, from putting on gigs in tiny rooms to organising festivals. Personally, I started out putting gigs on when I was 18, not knowing what I was doing but ultimately falling in love with events and seeing people having a good time.

Inspiration for the space was drawn from established Newcastle haunts such as By The River and Boiler Shop, but thanks to its unique size and stunning architecture, The Grove is set to occupy its own space within Newcastle’s thriving cultural scene.

“In the short term, we want to have a positive impact on Newcastle’s cultural scene and the ever-growing culture of the East End,” explains Cole. “We want to host people’s memorable moments, from first dates to first dances, to winning a quiz or winging it on a craft night.

I’ve always admired Charlie’s work within the North East with Generator and beyond, it was a no brainer when we both shared a similar vision to bring the idea behind The Grove to fruition.

Although its roots are firmly planted in music, The Grove will offer much more as it aims to reflect the needs and wants of the local community. 

In addition to its expertly curated programme of live gigs, artist showcases and all-dayers, the venue has projects in the pipeline for a host of community events, workshops and exhibitions.

Setting up shop each weekend will be a different food vendor from the North East’s talented community of food businesses.

The space will also host private and corporate events, from wedding receptions to conferences.

Cole continues: “The Grove has the capabilities to be a number of different things for different people; yes, we’re a music venue, but we’re also an event space that can be used for wedding receptions, conferences, workshops, crafty-makers nights and games events.

“We want to be a space for anyone looking to push their own thing – whether that’s running a weekly mental health coffee morning, or a monthly candle making event, or one-off immersive art exhibitions.”

The Grove is situated within the walls of a historic stable building that housed horses during the 1950s. The exact age of the building remains uncertain but pieces of architectural evidence pointing to the Victorian era suggest the building’s history goes back much further than the 20th Century.

“When we first walked into the building we could both immediately see its potential to be an amazing music venue, bar and all-round cool spot,” said The Grove’s co-founder Charlie Dancer. “The original architecture of the building is rather beautiful with old steel, timber and engraved brick everywhere.

“The very nature of the building feels very special – it feels intrinsically northern and screams of old industry and the graft of those before us.”

The Grove occupies a large space consisting of three buildings which join to form a horse-shoe shape around a beautiful enclosed courtyard.

The venue team have since built a roof terrace on the first floor and undertaken major structural work to restore the building to its former glory. According to Dancer, construction of the space has been “absolute graft.”

“We dug out drains, fitted new waterways to water mains, put in three new staircases, used around 20,000 metres of timber, 500 sheets of plasterboard and filled around 65 skips. “It’s been an absolute graft.

“We’ve also spent a lot of time at our neighbours The Free Trade after work, so thanks to them keeping us sane over this period!”

Cole Gilroy adds: “We feel the city lacks what we have to offer, not just from the layout of the building but down to the kind of place we want it to be. We’re so proud of what we’re building here and we can’t wait for people to see what’s behind the doors!”

The Grove is located on the border of the Ouseburn Valley and Byker – 1 St Michael’s Road, just off Albion Row and opposite Two By Two Brewery Tap Room, about 100m up the road from The Free Trade Inn.

The venue has on-site parking and cycling racks and is easily accessible via public transport, with bus stops on Dalton Street and Walker Road within 2 minutes walk away and Byker Metro just 9 minutes away.

For more information please visit: thegrovenewcastle.co.uk/

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