Big Chill bar opens

United Kingdom | by Ross Purdie | 03 August 2004

Last night, as a fitting climax to the weekend's festival, The Big Chill threw open the doors to its new permanent home - a comfy bar in the heart of London's East End.

With the overwhelming majority of this weekend's 20,000 festival goers coming from the capital (and seeing as Orijahnal Outernational made the freudian slip of shouting out, "London, put your hands in the air", while playing in the middle of Herefordshire!) it seems only natural that The Big Chill should decide to set up camp in the city.

Following on from the sun-drenched spectacular held in the grounds of Eastnor Castle, the multi-media arts and entertainment outfit opened its newest venture, The Big Chill Bar, in Drury Walk (just off Brick Lane) on Monday evening, as part of its 10th anniversary celebrations.

Big Chill regulars, Pete Lawrence, Bruce Bickerton, Leggo Beast, AGK, DJ Yam, Lol Hammond, and Mr Tom, are just some of the DJs and artists set to cultivate the bar's summertime sound.

Pete Lawrence said: "Expect The Big Chill's trademark eclectic musical mix. The DJ soundtrack will feature a fresh take on a timeless body of diverse music, from classical to soul, funk to blues, played through our top quality system. I'm very excited to see how it all unfolds."

Aiming to "provide a green oasis of calm and tranquility in the middle of a concrete jungle", The Big Chill Bar boasts wide, open spaces, comfy sofas, big communal dining tables, and an outside patio.

Big Chill director Katrina Larkin said: "I cannot think of another summer festival producer to have a permanent home. It will give us the opportunity to find and nurture new performance talent and provide a platform for those artists we have been working with over the last decade. It will also allow us to continually recreate The Big Chill experience for our existing and new audiences throughout the year. We can also expand our work with the visual arts, allowing us to develop this area more fully and to forge relationships with the vast array of local artists and art colleges."

The Big Chill Bar is open now every day between midday and midnight. Liverpool Street is the nearest tube stop.

A full review of this weekend's Big Chill festival will be posted on VF later today.