Is the party over? Another city club to shut its doors
IT might sound a little dramatic but it’s the truth: virtually every late-night venue in Bristol is under threat in some capacity.
As gentrification takes hold across the city, an increasing number of nightclubs and live music venues are at risk of being turned into accommodation, ripping out the cultural heart of Bristol and destroying one of the things it is most associated with in the process.
While more housing is certainly needed in the UK, the thought of a Bristol without its legendary clubs is a deeply depressing one, especially as the flats replacing them are mostly out of reach for ordinary folk.
And the latest club to announce its imminent departure will come as a huge blow for the city’s ravers, as it’s one of the most established.
Spread over two floors and boasting a large outdoor terrace, Blue Mountain has been a pillar of Bristol’s rave scene for decades, welcoming countless DJs and hundreds of thousands of ravers since opening.
It is loved for its dark and grimy nature and is seen as a classic Bristol institution, with its roots firmly planted in the sounds of drum and bass, breakbeat and hip hop.
Rumours regarding the club’s future have circulated on and off this year but its fate was confirmed once and for all this week when the owners made an announcement on the club’s Facebook page.
In February, Blue Mountain was sold on Zoopla for £950,000, although it is not yet known who the buyers are.
The news comes just months after it was announced Lakota, another of Bristol’s most famous clubs, will also close in the not-toodistant future.
A nightlife campaigner who wanted to remain anonymous told the Bristol Post they are worried about what the closure will mean
lfor the future of Stokes Croft, and Bristol as a whole.
They said: “Bristol is famous for its music. If you go to America it’s what people over there know us for.
“There are so many empty buildings in Broadmead, so why do these developers have to destroy Stokes Croft?
“The irony is they all sell Stokes Croft to students as a vibrant area with loads of nightlife on people’s doorstep, but they are wiping it out by turning clubs into flats.
“The area is in danger of becoming overrun with student accommodation but it is simply not what people want.
“It’s often quite hard to fight for Stokes Croft because there’s a common misconception in the city that it’s a dodgy area, when really it’s far from that – it’s friendly and happy.
“I know that I speak for a lot of people when I say I feel safer walking through Stokes Croft at nighttime than the city centre.”
Blue Mountain has a busy schedule for December with a number of events, including Bristol-based dubstep and grime duo Kahn & Neek on December 11 and a Garage Girls night on December 22 with the likes of So Solid Crew and Mike Delinquent on the bill.
After the BlowPop closing party on February 1 there is a Contraband Circus night on February 8, but no events lined up after that.
The organisers for that event also refer to the closure of Blue Mountain in the description, writing: “Now for some sad news... as some of you may of heard, Blue Mountain will be closing its doors in February... but, on the bright side, we are glad that we have the chance to hold one more Contraband Circus here.”