Drumsheds: What to expect from London's most exciting new venue

You may have seen the news that the old IKEA up in Tottenham is now home to one of the most exciting new venues in London at the moment. Brought to you by Broadwick Live, the team behind Printworks and Field Day, Drumsheds is their biggest and most ambitious project to date.

Having recently launched, they are now a few dates into their calendar which has so far included La Discotheque, featuring the likes of Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay MBE and more, Bugged Out! Headlined by Hot Chip and Orbital and a special show headlined by the mighty Gorgon City. 

It is fair to say that Drumsheds isn't being shy when it comes to booking some legendary talent and their upcoming events will branch out into further eclectic territory. We wanted to check in with Drumsheds to see how the opening of the venue went. Broadwick Live's Marketing Manager Ebony Rhiney-James spoke to us all about the upcoming programme at the venue and why Drumsheds will always be an inclusive space for ravers.

You've had a few events now.  Artists like Hot Chip and Gorgon City have played the venue. How do you feel people have been embracing the venue?

"Yeah, the response has been absolutely brilliant. We've had over three events now we had La Discotheque and we had Gorgon City and we also have Bugged Out with Orbital and Hot Chip live. The response has been absolutely brilliant. We've been working on the venue for quite a while now, so to actually have people in the space and enjoying it, and having such brilliant feedback was a real boost for the team. So we're super excited."

With those three events already, it seems like you've had quite a diverse mix of events too.

"Broadwick Live, the team who are delivering this programme of events, we're known for electronic music and art. So, the programme of events we've got definitely lean into that. But, we've got everything from Bicep at The Hydra, we've got Piano People with Major League DJs. Amapiano is a South African genre which is taking the world by storm at the moment and then we've got Disco events like Mas Tiempo in December, so we've got a really broad range of programmes for the current season."

What have the highlights been so far?

"I think having La Discotheque was great and having Jocelyn Brown and Evelyn "Champagne" King, legends in the game performing in the same space was absolutely brilliant. The crowd when Gorgon City were on stage was just electric."

What kind of feedback have you been getting from the artists who have played and also the people who have attended?

"The feedback from the artists has been absolutely brilliant, I think a lot of them saw the space when it was empty before we had all the production in place. So for some of them to see how far its come has been great and they've all been blown away. From a guest point of view, we know that people are going to have super high expectations off the back of Printworks but Drumsheds is a different offering but we've been really happy with the feedback we've had."

In terms of the curation of each event there are some huge names but also events like False Idols which is champining inclusivity, do you feel as though it's important for your venues to reflect those values?

"Most definitely, it's important for any venue to promote inclusivity and diversity whether it's music or art. That is something that we try and incorporate in every space, Drumsheds is 100% a space for all but we have some events which are more aligning with different communities."

"False Idols is really exciting, we've got Eliza Rose, The Sugababes, Shygirl, Jodie Harsh and the ethos around it is taking electronic music, which came out of black and queer communities and take it back to the core of what the music was. We want people to feel freedom in that space and forget about the outside world as much as possible and take it back to the music and dancing and freedom of expression."

A lot has been made of the history surrounding the venue given that it was an old IKEA building, how did the opportunity come about to completely transform the space?

"We have the venue for a meanwhile use, so we've got it for a certain period of time and we have agreed with the landlord to create a centre of cultural gravity where we're bringing footfall into the local area and we want to drive that to local businesses too. We'll be doing everything in addition to music events, we're doing filming there, we'll have art shows and we're going to do things like community kitchens in the local area."

"Taking an existing building, it's how Broadwick acts, Printworks was an existing building. We take them and then ultimately repurpose them for culture and whilst it was nothing new to us, this has been our most ambitious project to date considering the 15,000 capacity."

Drumsheds has multiple rooms, what can you tell me about what people can expect from each different space?

"X room is all about big impact, big production, we've got these big trusses that move down and create different visual representations of light, that's on a big level and whatever position you are in the room, you're getting a completely different experience.Then you go into Y room, which is still a big space within itself, it has lower ceilings but still has a great audiovisual experience but slightly more intimate. The Z room is real intimacy, we've got this beautiful cage structure which the DJs stand behind. It has a much more raw vibe."

I noticed on the website that the venue is described as "a place without walls", how is that openness important to Drumsheds?

"It's about the fact there's no boundaries, we want people to feel free and fluid and be their authentic selves. That feeds into our idea of like A the venue is hybrid, it's not music we're doing here but we're doing multiple different things. Then, the venue can be configured in multiple different ways, so literally, the walls can be moved but also it's a place where you don't want people to feel constrained."

London has been affected as much as anywhere when it comes to venue closures, Printworks has felt like a huge loss, do you feel as though Drumsheds is plugging a bit of a gap in the city?

"Yeah, Printworks is closed for redevelopment at the moment and our plan is still to come back in 2026. There's a lot of regeneration going on in the building, but the plan is for us to retain the Press Halls that everyone knows and loves. Drumsheds is not the new Printworks, it's a very different offering, we're not trying to recreate anything. Creating experiences in existing structures, every space that we have is going to be different so Drumsheds is bringing something completely new and it's great that we continue to drive culture in the capital."

You have a 10:30 curfew for most nights, is that something you see as a challenge or do you feel having the events be more day-until-night parties is more of an advantage?

"We really pioneered that day-to-night concept at Printworks. So for us, it's a positive for audience safety because people can get home on the tube network and the buses pretty quickly and easily. We have great food and beverage offerings on site, so people are taking longer breaks and making it more of an all-day experience as opposed to it being compressed into a late night."

You still have plenty of events coming up, which ones are you looking forward to the most at the moment?

"I would probably say Bicep at Hydra, it's a brand I really love. False Idols is going to be a real highlight for me, it's brand new, with The Sugababes and Ross From Friends it's going to be out of this world. Piano People will be a great night out, it's going to be the biggest-ever Amapiano event in London to date." 

If you want to see the rest of the events Drumsheds has lined up for the rest of the year then click here. For more London raves and club nights, click here.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.