Dundee’s music scene is set for a huge boost as popular bar Clark’s is set to reopen for the first time since Covid-19.
Just over three years after owner Scott Clark pulled the plug on the hugely popular venue due to the Covid-19 lockdown, he plans to open the doors once again to customers this summer.
The move comes after Scott and his team introduced “pop up” events at the nearby Captain’s Cabin last November.
He said: “We started Clark’s at the Cabin partly to see what was still out there in terms of live music and also to see whether there were still people wanting to watch bands.
“It’s worked really well because it told me was that there was still a vibrant scene and it also got the Clark’s name out there.
“The guys at the Captain’s Cabin have been really good with us, there were obviously some problems with it as a venue but we tweaked a few things and it has been good for us.”
He added: “It made me think that I wanted to get back into it again and I was walking past the building all the time and it was looking sadder and sadder.
“I decided to speak to the landlord because I knew that although they had long term plans for it I thought maybe we could do something in the short term.
“It turns out there’s nothing solid planned for it and he was keen to do something on reasonable rent terms, so I decided to bite the bullet and go for it.”
Mix of live bands and DJs
Scott then spoke to one of the partners in the Captain’s Cabin, Sean Bennett, who agreed to become involved in the joint venture whilst retaining his role at the Cabin.
“Sean feels he can engage with the younger people who still want to go out late but not necessary to a club,” Scott explained.
“So he can bring that aspect and I will concentrate on the earlier stuff.”
“What I have seen is some of the older crowd prefer going out earlier and still getting home at a reasonable time, so I’m looking at having the live bands on Saturday nights from maybe 6pm till 10pm and then it’ll be more of a club atmosphere after that with DJs.
“Once we’re up and running we’ll develop more of the early afternoon paying gigs because the pop-ups show that definitely works and some touring bands and maybe tribute acts in as well.”
‘Hopefully we’ll hit the ground running’
Scott added: “I don’t know how long-term it will be, we’ll see how it all goes. “We’ll have to assess it all towards the end of the year but hopefully we’ll hit the ground running.
“There are some repairs to be done by the landlord and we’ll have to get together a team of staff but we’re confident we can get up and running in early June.”
Clark’s on Lindsay Street opened in 2011 and immediately became one of Dundee’s most popular live music venue.
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