There’s been a lot of noise, gossip and frankly a fair bit of emotional hand-wringing around what happens to the old building. For decades it’s been one of the beating hearts of Sheffield’s music scene. Now the building turns a new page with the launch of Electric Studios, opening its doors today with a weekend of big basslines, club culture and some properly interesting live bookings.
Electric Studios arrives promising a venue built around live music, electronic culture and grassroots creativity. Big promises — but the early signs suggest they’re not messing about.
The venue has already started lining up a first run of gigs that feels deliberately eclectic. Among the first wave of acts announced are indie electronic legends Saint Etienne, cult US alt-rock survivors The Lemonheads, Welsh chaos merchants Goldie Lookin Chain and rising indie outfit Overpass. Also landing on the schedule are folk-rock stalwarts The Levellers, alongside a special live staging celebrating the iconic Stop Making Sense performance.
If early ticket sales are anything to go by, Sheffield’s appetite for gigs hasn’t gone anywhere. Both the Levellers and Saint Etienne shows have already sold out months ahead of time — a decent indicator that people are still hungry for sweaty rooms, loud music and a few pints too many on a weeknight.
Before any of that though, the venue kicks things off with a properly stacked opening weekend. Friday’s launch party lands in partnership with Worried About Henry, bringing a full-fat drum and bass lineup headed by chart-bothering producer Wilkinson alongside heavy hitters Camo & Krooked, Culture Shock and Harriet Jaxxon. If you like your evenings loud enough to rattle your teeth loose, this one’s going to deliver.
Saturday shifts gears but keeps the volume high, with a dub-fuelled live session headlined by Gentleman’s Dub Clubalongside Mungo’s Hi Fi and Aziza Jaye performing on the mighty Sinai Sound system. Meanwhile room two digs deep into Sheffield’s long history of sound system culture, powered by Dubcentral Sound System and selectors including Papa Al and Kom Kom representing JuJu Club and Junglist Alliance.
The calendar doesn’t slow down after launch either. Electric Studios will host regular club nights through its Electric Loves series, working with promoters including RAZE, Snafu and Big Fat Rave. Upcoming artists include Ross From Friends, Jeremy Underground, Dr Banana, sim0ne, Call Super, Sully and Samurai Breaks appearing across the coming months.
Beyond the gigs and club nights, Electric Studios is also talking about building something bigger inside the venue. Plans are underway to offer free studio access for young people in the city, giving emerging artists somewhere to rehearse, record and experiment. There are also early conversations about a visual arts programme that will spotlight Sheffield-based artists later this year.
Co-founder Dominic Madden says the aim is simple: build a space that works for the entire music ecosystem — touring artists, club promoters and the next generation of local talent trying to find their feet.
Look, replacing a building with that much history attached to it was always going to be controversial. Sheffield is fiercely protective of its venues and rightly so. But whether people like it or not, the next chapter for that building starts now.
If Electric Studios can back up the ambition with the right atmosphere — sweaty gigs, chaotic club nights and opportunities for new artists to actually get a shot — then the place might just carve out its own story.
And Sheffield could always use another loud room.
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