A Liskeard based social club hopes to use its events to draw tourists to the area and aid in boosting the local economy.
The Social is a bar and eatery but at its core has a passion for music, and as such, the venue hosts a variety of musical events which have reportedly drawn more than 1,500 people to the region through some of their shows.
When explaining his reasons for taking on the venue, he said: “The primary reason for taking on the venue was to have an amazing venue which hosted world class musicians and fills a gap in Cornwall where there is an apparent lack of this.
“But also to invest in the hospitality and night time economy in the area to keep local money local. In this regard, such a huge amount of revenue for this sector is taken by corporate chains, there are more independents closing than opening.
“The building we lease was destined to become accommodation I believe and the area didn’t need more flats in my view. It needs investment and support locally, which in turn supports and grows the local economy through employment, suppliers, local musicians, and all the businesses that feel the benefit of high volumes of new visitors regularly.
“We have a real opportunity here to put the area on the national if not global map for live music, how amazing would that be! To be able to see some of the world’s most amazing musicians in a local grassroots venue, that gives opportunity for local up-comers to support and get their name further pushed into the industry they strive to excel in.”
In the last few months alone, Ash and the team have hosted several bands and musicians, including The Darkside of Pink Floyd, a Pink Floyd tribute band, Hindsight, an Exeter-born band celebrating their 23rd birthday, Tankus the Henge, a London-based British band offering jazz, psychedelic rock and 70’s funk to name but a few.
“It’s incredible that these events bring a great number of people to the town, many for the first time. In November alone over 1600 people came to a show at the social and only 30% (roughly) were from Liskeard,” explained Ash. “This has a tremendous impact on the local economy with local hotels , BnBs, taxi firms, public transport and restaurants all feeling the benefit of these visitors.
“For the Hindsight birthday event nearly all rooms locally were taken which is fantastic. As our live music programs grow and we can slowly start scaling up the types of bands, artists and DJs we bring to the town, its impact on the town’s local businesses will only increase.”
However, despite this success, organising these events is no mean feat.
He continued: “From the staffing, stocking, security, accommodation for the acts, audio visual equipment, ticket sales, health and safety, hosting the acts when they arrive and making sure they are looked after, marketing, communicating with authorities and getting relevant transport plans in place is all essential to making sure a smooth and successful event happens.”
But with this work comes a team dedicated to offering events that benefit the local area and provide enjoyable events celebrating music.
Ash added: “At The Social the whole team is dedicated to growing our live music program not just for the town but for Cornwall, apart from a few bigger establishments and festivals there is a huge gap to be filled to welcome tour acts of all styles and genres, and that is our goal.”
For more information about upcoming events visit www.thesocialbar.co.uk