New East London Venue Altar Opens Oct. 23, Reveals First Lineup Through December
A new venue called Altar opens in Leytonstone, East London, on Friday, October 23, combining a music and art performance space, a bar and a record shop under one roof. The opening night is free entry, first-come-first-served, and the venue has already published a program of shows running through December.
Opening night
The launch spans two floors with back-to-back DJ sets from Simian Mobile Disco, Kate Hutchinson, Charli Vos and the ALTAR DJs. According to NME, the venue's programming is curated by Jon Clifford of Dreamhouse Records, Toby L of Transgressive Records, and Simon Singleton of Shake The High Road Festival.
First lineup: October through December
Highlights from the opening months include club night series ALTAR Lates, which launches November 6 with a DJ set from Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor in the venue's basement room, followed the next night by Auntie Flo. On November 16, broadcaster and documentarian Louis Theroux sits down with Altar co-founder and filmmaker Toby L for a conversation event with audience Q&A.
December brings the first two editions of ALTAR Piano Nights: Mercury Prize nominee Ed Harcourt on December 16 and Madness frontman Suggs on December 17. On December 18, Irish/Cornish newcomers Girl In The Year Above — signed to Transgressive Records just last month — perform; the band recently covered Massive Attack's "Teardrop" for the soundtrack of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Altar Community and charity partnership
Alongside its event program, Altar has announced three initiatives to support emerging talent, collectively called Altar Community: Altar Under-18, open to creators under 18 who submit work for a chance to appear on dedicated young-artist bills; Altar Mentorships, offering guidance and advice for people pursuing creative careers; and Altar Rehearsals, which gives local musicians free use of the venue's basement space for rehearsals.
The venue has also announced a partnership with the charity War Child as its opening charity partner, with donation points set up on site.