Power Lunches, the East London venue located in Hackney, will officialy close by the end of December. Despite having hosted gigs by Joanna Gruesome, Rolo Tomassi, Empress Of, Cheatahs, and Ultimate Painting, the venue has announced today that its last gig will be on December 19, with Sauna Youth, The Glugg, Not Sorry and The Rebel performing. The popular cafè will ultimately close on December 23. The reasons behind the decision appear to be mainly economical; the statement following the closure news says:
“I’m afraid we are closing, in the last year it has become financially unviable for us to carry on without compromising the integrity of what Power Lunches is known and loved for. We all know it has become increasingly difficult to do good stuff in a city that is so focused on making a profit without much concern for anything else but we’ve had 4 great years and we hope everyone will remember us fondly knowing we did our best to support independent bands and promoters in London.
There is a chance we will reopen at a new premises in the new year but in the mean time please give DIY Space for London all your support and come and help us go out in style on the 19th. Thanks to everyone who played , promoted, bought drinks, hung out, danced and made Power Lunches Power Lunches”.
In the past few years, the number of small music venues that have been closed due to financial reasons has increased (BBC reports here that 40% of them have shut in the last ten years) , and it is making us wondering how does the future of live music look like, when local bands and artists will have to compete for the fewer venues that are still working in the city of London.
#Peace.Love.PowerLunches
