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00:00Do you think Inverness is deprived of music venues?
00:02Well, the local community certainly thinks so.
00:05Over the years, Inverness has loved and lost many music venues
00:09which locals have cherished memories of.
00:12From Mad Hatter's, which was once part of the popular music venue
00:15Hootenanny along Church Street
00:17and had closed to make way for accommodation
00:19to Nightclub Miami, where the Vega Boys played
00:22but unfortunately closed around 2014.
00:25But why did this popular music venue close?
00:27Well, Miami was thought to have closed after the Cinderella curfew was axed.
00:32This curfew once meant that you had to be in a venue by midnight
00:35otherwise you couldn't get in anywhere else.
00:37This was enforced by the Highland Licensing Board in November 2012
00:41following a campaign by local people despite strong opposition from police
00:46who feared it would threaten public safety and increase violence.
00:49But this restriction was in place for almost a decade.
00:52But more prominently was the Ironworks
00:55which shut its doors for good in February 2023
00:58after its final concert headlined by Elephant Sessions.
01:01The Ironworks was well known for hosting bands from the likes of
01:05Lewis Capaldi, Mumford & Sons, Sophie Ellis Baxter and even Calvin Harris.
01:10But if the venue was so popular, why did it close?
01:13Well, it wanted to make room for another hotel
01:16despite the city already having dozens.
01:18In 2022, Bricks Group, a UK-based company
01:22owned by Hong Kong-based Bricks Capital Limited
01:25won planning permission to demolish the Ironworks
01:28and build a £13 million hotel.
01:30The hotel is set to have 155 bedrooms, a restaurant, bar, cafe and even two gyms.
01:37Bricks Group also said that the hotel would create a further 65 jobs.
01:41However, despite its closing in 2023,
01:44the building has still not seen any developments
01:47and this closure was highlighted as a major loss for Inverness.
01:51As many musicians mourn the loss of the venue,
01:53including Michael McGilvery,
01:55who plays gigs in the city when he's not offshore working on a rig.
01:59Unfortunately, Inverness is taken away.
02:01It's one and only key music venue at the Ironworks and it's still lying empty.
02:06There could be many more good nights to be had in that building
02:09but unfortunately that's not the case.
02:11That side of things is quite frustrating
02:13but you can see they're trying their best with, you know,
02:16the venues like upstairs and they're doing showcases
02:19and like Eden Court through the summer months,
02:21you know, in the gardens of Eden Court under the canvas.
02:23You know, so it's good in that respect
02:25and it gives small-time musicians like myself that platform, you know.
02:28They could do with more venues in the city for sure.
02:31So what do you think?
02:32Should Inverness be classed as a city without a cool music venue?
02:35And should the Ironworks return?
02:37Let us know your thoughts below.