ArtsTrain presents: Libraries At Night

Where’s the strangest place you’ve seen a band play? On a boat? A roof? A library?

 By day, libraries might traditionally be a place for quiet, but by night, when the book lovers have departed, why not reclaim those spaces for musicians?

Inspired by NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, young musicians from the ArtsTrain music project hosted a Libraries At Night music showcase in Sidcup Library last month. In a brilliant subversion of the usual rules, microphones, guitars, amps and drum kits were stacked between Sidcup Library’s bookcases.

Working with the London Borough of Bexley, the night featured performances by local emerging artists, with the library ingeniously re-purposed as an intimate venue space.​ Packed out with young musicians sharing their original material, the event gave the audience the chance to see many of the young artists for the first time and to celebrate nurturing grassroots talent in the borough.

With the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport's report earlier this month calling for a new taskforce to examine how the music industry can be supported and incentivised to invest more effectively in supporting grassroots talent, Bexley’s Libraries At Night initiative makes use of local public spaces and offers young artists the chance to transform them into music venues for just a few hours.