The Glad Cafe to reopen next month

What will be on: For September the Glad will be open on the following basis: gigs and drinks: Weds-Sun, 6-11pm; pizzeria: Fri & Sat, 6-9pm; and weekend brunch: Sat & Sun, 10am-3pm.

What has it done during lockdown: Over lockdown the south-side stalwart, not for profit, social enterprise has done all it can to serve its incredibly loyal community-base by establishing The Crossmyloof Bakery takeaway, streaming live gigs of some of their most loved bands and artists, and online collaborations between local artists and musicians - but the physical community hub that is the Glad has been sorely missed by locals, families, and music lovers alike.

Excitement: The Glad’s venue manager, Kim Blyth, summed up the anticipation: “It’s really exciting to finally have live music coming back to The Glad Cafe. We have had wonderful support from our community of gig-goers, artists, industry peers, and most notably Music Venues Trust, who have worked tirelessly to get grassroots music venues all over the UK in a position to safely reopen their doors.

“It’s going to be an amazing buzz to welcome everyone back to The Glad Cafe and experience live music together again, at long last.”

Who is playing: An eclectic programme of live music will kick off this September with a whole host of great shows to suit all musical preferences, including mesmerising Irish singer/songwriter Brigid Mae Power, Netherlands-based multi-instrumentalist Bhajan Bhoy, members of London-based collective Curl featuring the incredible Mica Levi, Brother May & Coby Sey and Danish composer and viola player Astrid Sonne.

Plenty of homegrown talent will be on offer too, including Scottish folk legend Alasdair Roberts, Alex Rex, Burd Ellen, Adam Stafford, Constant Follower, sumshapes, Jill Lorean and many more still to be announced.

Covid safety: As preparations continue to welcome customers back through The Glad Cafe doors, the team have been carefully considering how best to keep gig-goers safe, whilst protecting live music. Customers will be expected to continue to wear face masks except for ‘The Three Ds’: when drinking, dining, or dancing; QR code Test & Protect check in, and hand sanitising stations will still be in effect; importantly, they will be encouraging attendees to self-test regularly, particularly before and after attending live shows; increased cleaning, monitoring air quality, and maximising ventilation will all be paramount in keeping customers safe.

More info: For full listings of gigs and events, visit www.thegladcafe.co.uk.