Venue Launch – WaterBear Music Bar – Breaking Glass Magazine

WaterBear Music Bar, Brighton – Launch Party, 16th July 2025

The last few years have seen a number of Brighton’s grassroots music venues fall victim to closure and hard-fought applications to change the purpose of neighbouring buildings, causing concern for their future. All of that makes it even more pleasing to see a new venue open its doors. Under the stewardship of WaterBear – The College of Music, what once was Latest Music Bar has become WaterBear Music Bar, becoming their second live music space in the city, set up to host touring acts, student showcases and events tied to the college’s educational programmes.

With a solid opening line-up featuring Congratulations, Sametime, Dirtsharks & Tia Ice, the launch party last week got things off to a great start, and it’s good to see that the venue will be part of the Keeping Music Live campaign launched with the Music Venue Trust, raising awareness of the importance of grassroots venues in offering a start point for a huge array of homegrown and touring artists.

Sam Rushton, Events and Careers Coordinator at WaterBear, said: “We’re thrilled to announce the opening of WaterBear Music Bar. This is a building with serious history. We’re proud to continue that story, creating a space for gigs, talks, club nights and more.”

Gallery below from what will hopefully be the first of many nights of live music to come.

Tia Ice