Mourning the Luminaire

This may well sound like a London-centric blog posting, but I think it affects all small, independently run music venues across the UK.

Last Wednesday, I started hearing news online that The Luminaire, a great small venue in Kilburn, North West London, would be closing down at the end of December. Although I haven’t been for over a year, the news really shook me. Forget the 100 Club – it’s the folding of independent venues like The Luminaire, who programme and promote interesting, eclectic gigs, which should make the news.

The Luminaire began back in 2005, and within a year it had won Time Out’s “Live Venue of the Year” Award. It sold nice beer, put on great gigs, had a quiet policy during acts, occupied a lovely building, and you had to walk behind the stage to get to the toilets (often tripping over band members on the way). I’ve seen quite a few gigs there, and count the performances of James Yorkston, Adem and Hot Chip as the best I’ve seen from them. The gig that sticks with me most is The Books, supported by Clogs. However, it wasn’t the headliner that moved me, but the support act – and The Luminaire was a venue where I always made sure I was there for the support.

The admission that I haven’t been to The Luminaire in the last 12 months probably shows why the venue (and accompanying pub downstairs) is closing. It’s in Kilburn, which actually is not such a pain to get to – when I was living in South London, I could take the Jubilee Line down to Waterloo. Now I’m in North London, I can use the London Overground line. But it just feels a long way away.

Even though The Luminaire will be no more in January, it’s a cautionary tale to us all to make sure that we support our local, independent venues.