DHP Family’s flagship venue Rock City has undergone a quarter of million pound upgrade to improve the experience for gig goers. Indie rock band The 1975 were the first to play to a sell out crowd at the newly improved club.
Changes have been made to the balcony area at the iconic Talbot Street venue with a new staircase installed to provide better viewing of the stage and easier access to the toilets. The extended balcony now brings the crowd even closer to the stage and the increased PA ensures they get the same great sound as the rest of the room.
DHP Family owner George Akins said: “We’re always looking for ways to improve the experience for everyone at our venues whether it’s through creating a better layout, improving the sound or sight lines to the stage. We want everyone to feel confident of having a great night when they come to a DHP venue, and that’s applies right across the board whether they are the band, and their agent or our bar staff and of course the customers.”
DHP has also given its Nottingham club venue Stealth a £50,000 facelift ahead of its 10th birthday next year. The refit sees a better layout create more space on the upstairs dance floor with improved sound and a new bar position to deliver a better experience for clubbers.
DHP is also in the midst of the fit out of its first London venture, Oslo in Hackney, due to open this November. The two storey venue is housed in an old railway building originally built by North London Railway Company as a railway station in 1870 and later used as a ticket office during World War II.
Already scheduled for refurbishment in 2014 is the Bristol boat venue, the Thekla. The boat goes into dry dock in July next year for an 8 week refurbishment programme.
As well as the front of house improvements, DHP has improved the backstage area at both Rock City and Rescue Rooms.