From Underground DIY Gigs to  Newcastle’s Longest Running Grassroots Music Venue

Little Buildings has never been just a room with a stage. Since opening its doors in March 2014, it has been a rehearsal space, a home for emerging artists, a meeting point for Newcastle’s independent music community and a venue that has continually adapted to keep live music alive.

Born during the early days of Ouseburn’s regeneration, Little Buildings began life as a rehearsal space before developing a reputation for its unofficial DIY gigs and unpredictable nights. Word quickly spread, and the venue became known for doing things a little differently. An infamous Evo Emerging afterparty, which packed out both floors, captured the spirit of those early days perfectly. It was loud, lively, a little chaotic and entirely in keeping with the independent scene taking shape around it.

That DIY ethos would go on to define Little Buildings: a place where artists could find an audience, promoters could put on something different and audiences could discover their next favourite band.



A New Chapter on Ford Street

In April 2017, Little Buildings entered a new chapter when the space was taken over with a commitment to keeping its name and character while making some much-needed improvements. Plans included upgrading the stage and sound equipment and introducing a licensed bar, helping the venue develop from its DIY beginnings into a more established home for live music.

Even the stage had a story of its own. The original was donated by Newcastle’s Mining Institute, where it had served in the Common Room, having previously belonged to the original Star and Shadow Cinema. It was a fitting piece of local music history to bring into a venue that was building its own place within the city’s cultural landscape.

Licensing proved more complicated than initially expected, meaning the DIY and bring-your-own-bottle days continued well into the summer of 2017. Alongside improvements to the space, sound engineers were introduced at every show to help protect the venue’s equipment and improve the experience for performers and audiences alike.

By 2018, Little Buildings was working closely with local promoters to develop a growing programme of events alongside its regular rehearsal sessions. One popular fixture was The Rookery, a student jam session hosted by Busking Joe, which helped bring musicians together and gave performers an opportunity to play, experiment and connect with other people in the scene.

The venue also received a new stage, donated by the parents of Hattie Steel. That stage remains in place today, a small but significant reminder of the people and relationships that have helped shape Little Buildings over the years.



Finding a New Home

By late 2018, the future of the original venue was uncertain. News that the lease would not be renewed gave the team just six months to prepare to leave Ford Street.

Despite the uncertainty, 2019 began on a high. Little Buildings was shortlisted for the Newcastle Loves Awards in two categories: Best Live Venue and Best Experience in Newcastle. It was recognition of the atmosphere, community and experiences that had grown around the venue since its early days.

With the clock ticking, the team vacated 1 Ford Street and began the search for a new home. After viewing around seven properties, an opportunity finally came together in December 2019, when the lease was offered on the Stepney Bank venue. The building had previously been home to Blank Studios and was then under the management of Kaleidoscope.

Work began on transforming the space into the next version of Little Buildings, with the ambition of carrying its independent spirit into a new setting.



Little Buildings 2.0 and an Unexpected Pause

Little Buildings reopened on Stepney Bank in late February 2020. The new space represented a fresh start, with the potential to build on everything that had come before.

Just a few weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic brought the live music industry to an abrupt standstill.

Like independent venues across the country, Little Buildings faced an uncertain future. Rather than disappear from the scene, the team adapted wherever opportunities arose. In September 2020, socially distanced live music returned through events at Tyne Bank Brewery. These shows provided a vital lifeline during a period when the future of live performance remained unclear.

The challenges continued into 2021, with further lockdowns and restrictions forcing the team to rethink how and where it operated. Operations moved to Anarchy Brew Co, and Little Buildings became an early project partner for The Grove, remaining involved there until mid-2022.

By July 2021, the team was back at Little Buildings full-time, with more staff and renewed determination to rebuild. After a period in which so much of the independent music scene had been put on hold, returning to the venue was an important step towards restoring the community, events and live performances that had always been at its heart.



Adapting to a Changing Music Scene

The years following the pandemic brought a different set of challenges. Rising pressures across the live music industry and the continuing struggle to rebuild audiences meant that the old ways of operating were no longer always sustainable.

Between 2022 and 2024, Little Buildings adapted its booking programme, embracing a more alternative range of events while expanding its work with live recordings. Performances were captured across two venues, creating another way to support artists and document the music being made in and around Newcastle.

These years reinforced something that had been true since 2014: independent venues survive by being adaptable, building strong relationships and finding new ways to give artists opportunities.

Rather than trying to stand still, Little Buildings continued to evolve while holding on to the DIY attitude that had made it what it was.



Little Buildings Today

From 2025 onwards, the focus returned to Little Buildings itself. With a smaller team and a more concentrated operation, the venue could put more energy into the space, its events and the people who use it.

Much-needed building work included extending the bar, improving the venue for audiences and helping make the most of the space. The year also brought another significant milestone, with Little Buildings shortlisted for Music Week’s Grassroots Venue of the Year award, in recognition of its continued contribution to independent music.

Today, Little Buildings is a venue shaped by more than a decade of experimentation, hard work and a determination to keep doing things independently. It has weathered changing leases, a global pandemic and the pressures facing grassroots music, emerging each time with a clearer sense of what matters - great live music, welcoming, inclusive spaces and opportunities for artists to connect with audiences.



A Stage for Newcastle’s Next Big Thing

Over the years, Little Buildings has welcomed a wide range of artists, from local emerging talent to touring acts bringing their sound to Newcastle.

Local performers to have played the venue include Mercury Prize-nominated Knats, Swannek, Dilutey Juice, Venus Grrrls, Badger, Me Lost Me, Sing Again Syren, Crowley, Labrinthine Oceans, Pave the Jungle, Shallow, Swine Tax, NEO, Nutsde, Tired of Fighting, Ruled by Raptors and Hannah Robinson.

The venue has also hosted touring artists including Sick Joy, As December Falls, Raised By Owls, Party Cannon, Calva Louise, Strange Bones, Haggard Cat, Daily Thompson, Atomic Bitchwax, Tower, Joe Hendry, Declan Welsh and the Decadent West, Spinn and Dubinski.

It is a varied line-up that reflects the breadth of Little Buildings’ musical identity. From heavy and alternative sounds to independent rock and emerging local acts, the venue has always been about creating opportunities for artists and giving audiences a reason to discover something new.

For performers, promoters and organisers, that independent outlook remains central to what Little Buildings offers. It is a space with genuine roots in the local scene, shaped by years of putting on shows, working with promoters and finding ways to make events happen.

Whether it is an emerging band playing an early headline show, a touring act bringing its latest release to the city or a promoter developing a new event, Little Buildings provides a home for live music that values character, creativity and community.



More Than a Venue

The history of Little Buildings is ultimately a story about the people who have kept it going: the artists who have played its stages, the promoters who have taken chances on new ideas, the audiences who have filled its rooms and the team who have continued to adapt through every challenge.

From its unofficial DIY beginnings on Ford Street to its current home on Stepney Bank, the venue has remained committed to the independent spirit that brought it to life in 2014.

More than a decade on, Little Buildings continues to make room for new sounds, new ideas and new nights out in Newcastle.