The Castle is to be one of 17 venues in the east of England and the only one in Bedfordshire that will be part of the nationwide Independent Venue Week in 2024.
The annual seven-day event has celebrated a decade of championing independent music and arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them.
For the first time ever, between January 29 and February 4, 2024, The Castle will be one of 205 independent venues across the UK that will come together with artists, promoters, agents, record labels and media to create a unique series of special live events across the UK to highlight on the work these venues do year-round.
It’s an important milestone for The Castle which in recent years has been building an impressive reputation as Luton’s only alternative live music venue, with regular shows from local promoters such as Castlefest UK and Vandalism Begins at Home.
The Independent Venue Week shows for Luton are yet to be announced, but in a statement, the music pub said: ‘Celebrating the UK’s most beloved music and arts venues, we’re honoured to be representing Luton on a national scale for, what is, a truly amazing week of events across the country, and beyond.
‘We’ve worked so hard to get The Castle to a point where this venue feels like a hub for a community of musicians, artists, and all creatives, and we feel like we’re finally reaching that point.
‘2024 is set to be a huge year for us, so we’re very excited to kick off the year in the most special of ways.’
The Castle, whose patrons this year fought of a potentially damaging planning application for bedsits next door in an unused office space, was recently showcased in a short online promo video, filmed by new Luton film production company, Two Side Studio.
Featuring the Vandalism Begins at Home group – who earlier this month won the Luton Community Award for Arts – plus some of the acts that the music collective have put on in the venue, co-conspirator Ben Barry talks about The Castle as the “best venue in Luton”, while James Cunliffe reveals one way the venue challenges negative perceptions of the town.
