London venue The Barfly will be reborn as Camden Assembly next month following its recent acquisition by The Columbo Group.
The 400-capacity Chalk Farm Road site will relaunch in mid-September with a 12-night multi-genre programme following a £1 million investment by the London venue operator. It will also serve as a bar and burger restaurant.
Its opening weeks will include performances from rising grime artist AJ Tracey, DJ duo The 2 Bears, soul singer Andrew Ashong and intimate live performances from secret guests. “It’s quite a statement of what we want the venue to be,” head of music Andy Peyton told Music Week.
“There’s a reputation in Camden for straight up indie rock or metal, but the more interesting venues in London have more interesting musical policies than one genre.”
The company, which is also behind the XOYO and Phonox nightspots and Sunfall festival, snapped up The Barfly along with Camden’s Jazz Cafe from Live Nation earlier this year, two of a number of former MAMA & Company venues to be sold off by the promoting giant in recent months.
“When we heard that Live Nation were looking to sell some of the smaller venues in the MAMA estate we were essentially at the front of the queue,” said Columbo Group founder Steve Ball. “I really feel Camden is about to experience quite a resurgence. There's so much happening in the area and so many incredible new businesses opening up.”
