Bury St Edmunds’ music scene rallies behind The Rehearsal Rooms with all-dayer gig at The Hunter Club
The Bury St Edmunds music community is rallying behind a town venue which was left without power and pushed to the brink of closure.
An all-day event in aid of The Rehearsal Rooms will run from 1-11pm on Saturday across The Hunter Club and The Rehearsal Rooms, in St Andrew’s Street South, featuring 26 artists and DJs.
Power was cut off to The Rooms on June 3 by Yorkshire Gas and Power and the venue was left without electricity for 41 days, during which the facility relied on a generator to stay open.
Among the headline acts is Jaded Teeth, winners of BurySOUND 2024, and singer Indigo Spooner said the band would not exist without The Rehearsal Rooms.
“It’s so important to support spaces where people can be creative,” Indigo said. “Having access to a space where you can experiment and grow your craft can be life changing.”
Neil Attridge, who opened the space in 2005, began experiencing problems last July when his smart meter started showing charges more than triple the usual amount.
Despite paying the estimated bills for several months, Neil said the situation became ‘unsustainable’ and his repeated requests for a meter replacement were refused.
In a bid to keep the venue afloat, Neil launched a GoFundMe page which raised more than £5,000.
Now, with the fund-raising event on Saturday, August 2 – dubbed RoomsFest – more support is on the way to help the business recover from weeks of lost income.
Many of the acts set to perform have shared how The Rooms shaped their musical journey, including Fleas bassist Millie Honour, who said they were proud to give back to the place where the band wrote their first songs and recorded an album.
“It’s more than just a place to practice,” they said. “It’s a pillar to the music community and artists would suffer greatly without such a safe environment to create and learn. It’s an honour to be supporting them at RoomsFest.”
Other bands taking part include Bi-Neural, The Vitamins, Headcheck, Final Transmission, Brazen Bull, Fortunate Fools, Ottalie Lindqvist Lines, Lara Price, Dollskins, Forget Regret, Regret, Balaclava, Doll Face, Half Return and Haunted By Humans.
The event has been organised by organised by Washing Machine Promotions, Finding Emo Records and The Rehearsal Rooms and tickets cost £10 on the door or in advance from WeGotTickets.com, with all profits going to the venue.
James Norris, bassist of Bi-Neural, added: “The Rooms are such an important part of Bury. A lot of bands start there and not everyone has the gear or space to rehearse at home, so it provides a great opportunity for people to get out there and play.”