The country’s best small music venue…

• Written by: Lorraine
• Written on: December 4, 2015
• Filed Under: Activities, Comedy, Entertainment, Music, News, Press coverage of the area, Video

News just in, Ramsgate Music Hall has been voted the country’s best small music venue by the readers of the NME (New Musical Express).

Ramsgate Music Hall opened its doors for the first time in 2013 so if you’ve never heard of it you can be forgiven. To have attained this level of recognition in such a short space of time is testament to a number of key factors

• the excellent acoustics and high end German sound system at the venue
• the wild passion and depth of music industry experience of the owners who had the faith to go for it when they saw the opportunity presented by the building and have been able to bring a truly spectacular range of acts to perform there
• the enthusiasm of local audiences and many music loving visitors, who have flocked to see gigs here from far and wide
• the acts themselves, who have included, so far, a broad spectrum of musical genres, established stars and newer talent, from superstar Neneh Cherry to US Indie Rock Band Sebadoh and Falmouth’s Black Tambourines (as shown in video above). The revered singer songwriter, Cate Le Bon, was one of the the first acts to play here.  If you listen to BBC Radio 6 you will be familiar with the bands that are attracted to play at Ramsgate Music Hall.

Now with this award under their belt the future of the venue will hopefully be even brighter and we can look forward to more eclectic, confident and top notch programming from the owners, Julian Bigg, Tim Baines and Robin Hyman, who each bring a wealth of knowledge and experience of the music business to their venture – enabling them to create something unique and special here, catering to music lovers from a wide catchment area.

Hurrah for these three guys and what they’ve achieved here!  Ramsgate Music Hall is here to stay, having firmly secured itself a spot on touring schedules of any artist wanting to play in East Kent and in the hearts of music lovers, both locals and many who will travel here specifically to see a performance in what is reputed to have possibly the best acoustics of any small venue (Neneh Cherry’s sound engineer said that and now the NME Award seems to us to be a strong confirmation.)

As well as bands the venue holds regular cinema, comedy and DJ nights.

Ramsgate Music Hall doesn’t always publish too far in advance what they’ve got in store – perhaps sensibly to avoid tickets selling out too early. Throughout December 2015 (the time of writing) bands, comedy and party nights are showing on the events calendar. The Mystery Jets play this weekend followed by Bill Ryder-Jones then Craig Finn as we get closer to Christmas. On 20th Feb, Girls Names, from Belfast, are playing, one not to miss if you like compelling post punk and electronica.  Check out the website for yourself to see who’s playing when you’re in the area.

Or maybe you’re coming to Thanet with some friends specifically to see a gig here. If you’re looking for somewhere comfortable and affordable to stay do take a look at our holiday lets in Broadstairs, the next town along the coast from Ramsgate and only about a 15 minute cab ride to Ramsgate Music Hall. Come down, make a weekend of it, or stay longer. The Music Hall is just one of the many attractions of our beautiful stretch of Kent coast.

We have an availability checker on our home page and you can find out more about Ramsgate, Broadstairs and Margate, the three main towns here, on Visit Thanet’s website or by checking out some more of our blog posts.

The three seaside towns which make up the Isle of Thanet together offer a great destination for a get away so do plan to make the most of being here if your primary reason for coming is to see something at Ramsgate Music Hall. What could be better after a night enjoying your favourite band, than to get up and go for a head clearing stroll on the beach and explore just what it is, apart from the UK’s best small music venue, that makes our part of the world so very special!

Signing off with massive respect to Julian, Tim and Robin – wishing the guys many more years of success in Ramsgate and with thanks to them for taking the plunge and creating the Ramsgate Music Hall, helping put Thanet as a whole ever more firmly on the map and providing a special place for music lovers to enjoy here.