As of last night, Brighton has a new venue! Exciting news, but let’s cut quickly to what often gets quietly glossed over when a “new” pub or venue opens up in Brighton – more often than not, it’s an old pub or venue that’s reopened. As you may have already guessed from its name and our accompanying photo, WaterBear Music Bar – the second venue in town opened by WaterBear Music College – is what most people probably know as Latest Music Bar. It’s actually been Manchester Street Arts Centre since early last year, and people with longer memories might remember it as the original home of the Komedia, Akademia (a bar / venue owned by Brighton uni), or Joogleberry. It’s actually been an entertainment venue of sorts ever since it was first built over 200 years ago as Kentfield Billiard Rooms. (If you want to pick up some interesting Brighton trivia, look up Edwin Kentfield)
The launch night hosted sets from Congratulations, Sametime, Dirtsharks and Tia Ice, the latter three acts being Waterbear Alumni. The venue plans to host bands as well as events linked to Waterbear’s educational programs – we’ll update this post with some listings as and when we receive them.