WE’RE TRANSFORMING CLWB IFOR BACH

Clwb Ifor Bach is Wales’s leading, most prolific grassroots music venue and promoter. 

After 40 iconic years in the music industry, we want to secure the future of grassroots music in Wales, by under-going a huge redevelopment of our venue. 

Our vision is to take over the derelict building next door to Clwb Ifor Bach and join it with our existing premises on Womanby Street, to transform the space into a fully accessible multi-room venue capable of holding up to 1,000 people across all floors. 

Plans include a new 500-capacity space that fills a long-standing gap in in the city’s current live music provision, and a 200-capacity room to ensure continued support for emerging musicians during the early stages of their artistic development.

We want to see Clwb redeveloped into an accessible venue; able to not only hold larger-scale performances and events, but also create more opportunities in the industry for musicians, audiences and the community – so even more people can engage with music in Wales. 

Designs for the new venue will keep Clwb’s character, charm and heritage while modernising and future proofing it for generations to come with a new identity crafted by design studio Nissen Richards.

Clwb operates as a registered charity to serve our communities and the wider music sector in Wales – read more about our work so far here.

WE NEED YOUR HELP

Two years away from starting the build, we’re at a critical point in time. The planning proposals have been submitted to Cardiff Council, and we’re taking the first steps to make our vision a reality. 

However, there is still a long journey ahead, especially considering how inflationary pressures have impacted the cost since the initial concept designs were announced in early 2019. 

To make the new building and re-fit possible, Clwb is calling for its supporters to get behind the project. We have 18 months to raise the necessary funding and will be exploring all potential avenues of support during this time to move the project forward.

Clwb have been at the forefront of Welsh culture in Cardiff for the past 40 years. This huge project will allow us to broaden the scope of our cultural offering and give us the resilience to continue growing for many decades to come.

We have the vision, the ambition, and the skills – what we now need is to raise the funds to deliver our plans and provide a new home for music in Wales. 

HOW TO GET INVOLVED?

That’s where we need the support of individuals, companies, and sector partners.

WHAT YOU’RE SUPPORTING

Upgrading our iconic grassroots venue will allow us to develop more opportunities for people to engage with music in Wales. By contributing to our re-development, you’ll be helping us to:

• Create a new 500-capacity ground floor venue, increasing the overall capacity of the building to fill a gap in the current venue infrastructure within the city., while also retaining a smaller 200 capacity space for the next generation of artists to emerge from Wales.
• Inspire more people to get on the stage. Grassroots venues, due to their size and proximity of the audience to the artists on stage, inspire those in the room that they could be doing the same. It may be exciting to watch gigs in huge stadiums, but we need the smaller venues to ensure opportunities to perform are accessible to all.
• Support more musicians and industry partitioners in the early stages of their careers – allow them to make contact with others in the sector, gain experience while working and performing, helping us break down barriers to getting into the industry.
• Offer more training opportunities for young adults looking to enter the music industry – on and off the stage. Sound technicians who’ve started their training at Clwb are now touring with bands around the world. Help us create more amazing music careers.
• Continue to host Welsh language events, to champion Welsh culture and language in all its forms. 
• Continue to make Clwb the first stop for many people to engage with arts and culture, promoting a lifelong love of music.