Clwb Ifor Bach: Cardiff music venue reveals expansion plans

An artist's impression of the redeveloped venue on Womanby Street in Cardiff

A renowned club which has hosted some of the biggest names in music has revealed details of expansion plans.

Clwb Ifor Bach in Cardiff has staged early gigs by the likes of Stereophonics, Coldplay, and The Strokes since opening 40 years ago.

The city centre venue has submitted redevelopment plans which would see it take over an adjacent derelict building and join it with the existing site.

Managers said they would see it keep its "charm, character and heritage".

The proposals sent to Cardiff council include a new 500-capacity space and a 200-capacity venue to support emerging musicians.

The music venue now has 18 months to raise funds for the project.

Opening in 1983 as a social club for Welsh speakers, Clwb Ifor Bach soon started hosting live music.

Clwb plans to take over the derelict building next door and join it with the existing premises

Among the other acts who have appeared there are Biffy Clyro, The Killers, Super Furry Animals, Kasabian, Rag'n'Bone Man, Kaiser Chiefs, Mark Ronson, and George Ezra.

Celebrating 40 years at its Womanby Street home, the grassroots music venue said it wanted to create a fully accessible multi-room venue to allow it to expand its offering.

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Clwb Ifor Bach, a registered charity, said it planned to raise the necessary funds for the project over the next 18 months, and called on its supporters to help make the plans a reality.

Plans for the redevelopment include a roof terrace

In a statement, it said: "This huge project will allow us to broaden the scope of our cultural offering and give us the resilience to continue growing for many decades to come.

"We have the vision, the ambition, and the skills - what we now need is to raise the funds to deliver our plans and provide a new home for music in Wales.

"There is still a long journey ahead to make this project a reality, especially considering how inflationary pressures have impacted the cost since the initial concept designs were announced in early 2019."

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