This September The Smokehouse celebrates its 10th Birthday with a month-long programme of gigs, events and collaborations. The celebrations are sponsored by the University of Suffolk, which has also reached its tenth anniversary this year. Smokehouse 10 will be a series of gigs celebrating grassroots and local creatives, working with promoters and artists to collectively celebrate The Smokehouse’s position in the music scene over the last decade.

Operated by the team at Brighten The Corners, The Smokehouse is where it all began in 2016, The Smokehouse opened following a renovation project funded by a Biffa Award grant, with match funding from local Labour councillors. Since then, the venue has hosted around 850 gigs, providing a platform for more than 2,500 bands and artists. Behind those numbers is a much bigger story: the hundreds of volunteers who have given their time, the promoters and artists who have brought their ideas through the doors, and the thousands of people who have packed into the venue over the past decade to discover new music, support their friends and be part of the Ipswich music community.

Throughout September, we’ll be marking the anniversary with a programme that reflects the spirit of The Smokehouse. This includes Brighten The Corners’ youth music project Tune Up, alongside events promoted by alumni of the project, as well as a special birthday party hosted by Brighten The Corners on Saturday 26 September, featuring live music, DJs and street food.

Brighten The Corners Friday Outside The Smokehouse by Ella Calver

At the heart of The Smokehouse is its community. Ipswich has a thriving creative scene, and The Smokehouse has been a place where that community can come together, experiment, take risks and build something of its own. Joe Bailey, CEO of Brighten The Corners, founded The Smokehouse in 2016 after establishing Punch Studios on the same site in 2009.

“It's hard to believe that it's been 10 years since we opened The Smokehouse. In 2015 I spent a lot of time writing funding applications and knocking the former office space around with a sledgehammer to see if we could create a space for live music and community use… I had no business plan, no experience in running a venue, just a desire to create a scene and make a difference to our community. With the help and enthusiasm of Ipswich’s music community, volunteers and our team, we were able to create something really quite unique and special for our town.”

The Smokehouse quickly established itself as a place for local audiences to discover new music, and for young people to get involved behind the scenes with live events and music production. A decade later, the venue sits right at the heart of our town’s music scene and is somewhere that holds countless memories for local gig-goers.

We’re incredibly proud that, for ten years, The Smokehouse has helped shape Ipswich’s music scene, one gig at a time. Smokehouse 10 is a celebration of everyone who has played a part in that story, and of the community that continues to write its next chapter.

Thank you to every artist, promoter, volunteer, member of staff, supporter and audience member who has been through our doors over the past decade. Here’s to the next ten years!

The Smokehouse Turns 10: A Decade of Grassroots Music in Ipswich

My time on Tune Up & at the BTC All Dayer