A Somerset village café is celebrating its first anniversary by giving money to the local community — it has a growing reputation as one of the best small music venues in the South West.
Bluebird Café and Bar, in The Borough, Wedmore, opened its doors at the end of May last year and has become a popular daytime café and a venue for regular music performances every week.
To mark its first birthday, the cafe is giving money to local clubs, societies and community organisations.
The Bluebird is the brainchild of locals Andy Daintree and Ian Scott (Scottie), who felt Wedmore needed a community café and a place to showcase South West music talent.
The café offers support to village groups and has become a regular place for clubs such as the WI, Men’s Shed and the Green Group to meet. It’s also a popular spot for many village people and visitors who enjoy tea, coffee, cakes and lunch.
In the evenings the venue changes to a relaxed bar that serves delicious sourdough-based pizzas including a takeaway service. Every Saturday there is live music.
Scottie, who arranges the acts says: “The Bluebird has hosted over 60 acts since opening. This has included local singers and notable names such as: Chris Jagger; AJ from the Wandering Hearts, one of the UK’s most successful Americana bands; Our Atlantic Roots, who have been streamed over 3.7 million times; Harrisen Larner Main, a former finalist in TV’s The Voice.
“We wanted to create a venue which was intimate, but big enough to showcase musicians from the South West. Most of the performers who come to us are emerging talent and we are giving them a platform. We are building a reputation as one of the best small music venues in the South West.
“As a musician myself, I know how difficult it is to find such a venue. All the artists who have performed for us have said how much they have enjoyed the atmosphere of the Bluebird, and many are returning again.”
The café runs regular chilled Sunday afternoon music events and the Bluebird has also hosted private birthday parties, monthly comedy nights and quiz nights. There are desks in a business centre area, available for daily hire, for those who wish to get away from working in the office or home.
Andy added: “The concept of the Bluebird is Community at our heart. Our principal is to support the local community wherever we can, by being a place local groups can meet or individuals, groups and families can come and enjoy the friendly welcoming atmosphere where they can enjoy coffee, cake and lunch during the day or a drink and pizza or platters in the evening.
“As the Bluebird celebrates its first anniversary, we are giving money back to support the local community. We have given the opportunity for local organisations, groups and societies to apply for grants and we have had a number of applications for local good causes/projects to make donations to.”
The grants will be distributed on Thursday July 4th at a presentation evening in the Bluebird.
The Bluebird recently opened an outdoor seating area within a village community space. And plans for the next year include some local school music competitions and to continue to showcase South West music talent, mixed with some bigger names.
Visit www.bluebirdcafewedmore.com for more information, or follow Bluebird Cafe Wedmore on Facebook.
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