A father and daughter hope to rejuvenate their Wiltshire town’s nightlife industry starting with a new event.
Chippenham’s last dedicated nightclub E11evn closed suddenly in February, leaving some complaining the area was at risk of turning into a “ghost town after dark".
Andrew Leighton, who lives in the area and co-manages a music label founded by his late son Calum, hopes to help resurrect Chippenham’s nightlife with semi-regular DJ events.
The first of these events will be Boiler Rooms Sessions at The Brunel pub on New Road on Friday, July 18, and will feature a multi-genre club night from 9pm to 2am.
The line-up will consist mostly of local artists from Run Da Riddim, the music label set-up by Calum in 2022.
Among those to perform will be Darcey, Andrew’s daughter, who took up DJing after the death of her brother in a car crash aged just 18 nearly three years ago.
She added: “Since the closure of E11evn there is a big lack of live music in Chippenham for young people.
“In the few places that stay open late, although there is music played off speakers, in my experience, it’s just background noise and doesn’t offer the full nightlife experience.
“Bath and Bristol offer a lot which is why some go there, but it means spending more money, however, having events like this would definitely attract more people, generating more profit for bars and late-night food places, so it’s a win-win for both.
“I hope our event shows the potential of Chippenham’s new nightlife scene.”
Andrew added that if the event is a success it could lead to more regular club nights returning to the town.
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He said: “Assuming decent attendance we’d like to do something semi-regularly and get local DJs in.
“I know Calum would be quite excited about an event like this in Chippenham, there’s nothing like that for younger people at the moment.
“This will help keep people in the town, create a bit of an atmosphere, and help other businesses.”
Calum, a budding musician, was killed in a crash near Faringdon in August 2022 along with two of his friends 18-year-old Joseph Shape and 20-year-old Lawrence Bruce.
A third annual tribute event to celebrate their lives will be held this August at Lakota in Bristol.
It will be headlined by reggae legend Top Cat and up to 500 people are expected to attend.
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