A Sunderland city centre nightclub has been transformed into a live music venue in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Located within the Point events venue in the heart of Sunderland, the newly converted Live Lounge opened its doors on Friday 21st August and will stage a variety of live music acts every weekend.
Formerly Arizona, a late-night disco bar, the club’s change of use comes as its owners realised that disco-dancing style nightclubs are unlikely to reopen any time soon due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Instead, attendees can now expect to see local bands playing a mix of rock, indie and soul music every Friday and Saturday night from 8pm. Background music will also be played in the bar until 2am.
Heading up the opening weekend was popular North East vocalist Jenn Cherene and indie cover band Eli who played a range of festival-hits – and both acts went down a treat.
If classic rock is more your thing, Giroscope will perform a set of well-known hits by bands such as ELO, The Police, Pink Floyd, The Eagles and Deep Purple on Friday 4th September.
The Live Lounge’s very own band promoter and singer-songwriter in his own right, David Lynas, will play the Saturday of the same weekend.
Later in the month, there will be live performances from The Sharks, The Rabble Rousers, Fossil, Fire Lady Luck and Lock & Load.
Come October, you can expect live music from pop-rock cover band DEJAVU, a night of David Bowie’s greatest hits by Whambamthankyouma’am, and northern soul music from The Odels.
Entry to the Live Lounge is free of charge and stage view seating will be on a first-come-first-served basis, with tables for groups of either 4 or 6. Booking in advance is not necessary.
Due to the current restrictions, only one person from each table will be able to order drinks at the bar, queueing outside will be discouraged and contact details will be taken at the door. Tables will be socially distanced and the venue is implementing a seating-only policy.
The Live Lounge’s overall capacity has been reduced by two thirds, from 600 to a maximum of 200, to ensure the safety of its staff and customers.
For more information on each of the acts playing at the new Live Lounge, please follow their Facebook page at Facebook.com/liveloungesunderland.
