Get in The Shed
The Shed‘s back! After a bit of a hiatus for a face-lift, one of Leicester’s oldest independent venues has re-opened its doors. Now they have two stages, the Main Stage and the Vault. It’s got some delightful features (more on those later) but in essence it’s the same Shed you’ll remember and it will still be home to the local, the up-and-coming, and the obscure – all the things I have certainly valued the Shed for in the past.
We were pleased to be invited along to their press launch evening to check it out for ourselves. Along with some refreshing beverages, we enjoyed a dash of live music and a good poke around the place to see what’s changed and what has stayed the same. There was plenty of creative accent details – keep your eye on the light fittings and unusual furniture. There was of course some live music for us to check out the sound system as well as some banging choons later on in the evening.
It’s a lovely little venue and the upcoming listings are looking pretty tasty too. There’s Drinks & Jams every Monday, with Open Mic followed by a selection of acoustic acts. Keep your eye out for regular comedy acts performing too. Local alt rockers Super73 are playing on April 15th. I confess I haven’t heard them myself, but I like the sound of them. And as we know this is the benefit of the Shed. Go and see something new, you might like it. There are plenty of free gigs as well as very pocket-pleasing ticketed events.
They have collaborated with local artist Grace Jenkinson who has provided not just a super-fun, mighty colourful mural in the basement, but has also started you off in the traditional decoration of the bathrooms – now its up to you lot to add the details.
And that’s my real hope for The Shed. They are now open from midday every day, so you can head down, hang out, play a board game, do whatever you fancy. And what Leicester has always really needed is a little dive bar where things are relaxed and all comers are welcome. I’m hoping that a community builds behind this place and this is exactly what we see. So kick back, enjoy a glass of the ‘Shed Shit’ wine (no judgement here) and let’s keep an eye on what happens next.
Oh, and then there’s the taps. My favourite thing was the faucet. Don’t get to say that often.
