News about music
bands, artists, venues and events
in Leicester and Leicestershire in 2017.
20th April
The Shed and The Attik
A collection of photos has been presented to Leicester music venue The Shed.
The collection was put together by Kristopher Bramwell of Kegworth. Kristopher would be remembered by some music fans in Leicester from when he was a professional DJ there.
He framed a number of artworks for presentation to The Shed and put together an album of 116 photos as a tribute to the history of The Shed and The Attik (the venue that used to be run by Kevin Holyland the previous manager of The Shed before its refurbishment and re-opening.) Many of the photos came from the collection of Stephanie Rawlinson’s (Steph Bramwell – his mother) original collection of pictures from The Attik.
These now provide a valuable archive of material that documents the history of the venues. The Attik, situated in the centre of the city, ran from mid-1985 to 2006. It was located in School Lane.
Prior to opening The Shed in 1994, Kevin ran The Attik.
Kristopher’s pictorial history items have been delivered to The Shed which, it is hoped, they will be on display for the public to see.
4th April
Statistics revealing how many people read this magazine are published today.
1st April 2017
Leicester’s longest-running live music venue – The Shed – opened today after a three month refit. We were there on the opening night to report on The Shed – reborn.
21st January 2017
Echo Factory – new venue
A new venue has opened in Humberstone Gate East; we went there to check it out.
Echo Factory is just down the road from Sainsburys; the building previously occupied by Fabrika, the art gallery that closed down a couple of years ago. Now given a new lease of life, the ground floor premises has opened as a music school.
Echo Factory provides education, services and business expertise for people seeking careers in the music industry.
On the ground floor there is licensed bar and cafe in the entrance area. In the main room we saw a fully-equipped stage with lighting and a sound desk and – something very unusual – a recording studio that enables live performances to be recorded.
The sound desk enabled the sound and lighting on the stage to be controlled.
The PA system comprises a Behringer X32, 32 channel digital mixing desk with inbuilt FX and AES50 link to stage box; a Behringer S16, 16 channel digital stage box; HK audio linear 5 rock pack with speakers; Alto TX10 stage monitors and connections between the mixer and stage. The lighting rig consists of an array of lights and a projector.
Above the stage is a mezzanine balcony which can be used as a VIP viewing area.
The main room has a capacity of 150 standing but can also be fitting with tired seating for some shows or can be set with tables and chairs for the more intimate concerts.
The venue opened in September of last year. Outside promoters will be able to hire the room for their gigs. The venue’s central location provides easy access from main bus routes and the Charles Street bus station, on-street and multi-story park such as the nearby Lee Circle NCP.
A lunch event is planned in February or March this year at which an invited audience will be welcomed and this might well include performances by local bands and singers.
Find out more on the Echo Factory website.
or see their page on Facebook.
Echo factory is at 68 Humberstone Gate, Leicester, LE1 3PL.