A report in the Independent today suggests that Dublin may be getting a potential big music venue after all its recent closures.
The Wright Venue in Swords is to close for good but it seems Bodytonic are lining up a takeover of the lease of the site that they will be calling Jam Park, and the place may, primarily be an events space which may possibly operate big dance gigs by various promoters, that is to be decided 100%.
Jam Park, according to Bodytonic will be “a new arts, games, eatery & events space.”
Current staff in the Wright venue have been notified of the closure.
If this is true, then it seems to echo the trend in European cities like the Netherlands where the city’s big event spaces exist on the outskirts.
The Wright venue has a capacity of 2800 over 3 floors so if the suggestion is true, the place will likely be used for events like gigs, events, talks, conferences and likely, DJ and live gigs. It’s not, Bodytonic told me, primarily a nightclub but it may help alleviate the city’s ailing venue problem.
Edits:
This article was updated to reflect the general-event focus of Jam Park as opposed to strictly a nightclub setup.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
