Katie O’Briens Newcastle
This week on Friday 9th June, Katie O’Briens opens to the public. The second of what will be three Irish themed bars in Newcastle.
Newcastle is long overdue another Irish themed bar and for Katie O’Brien’s its opening day will be one busy opening night, as not just any concert is happening, but our local singer Sam Fender has his homecoming at St. James Park scheduled for the 9th & 10th of June. The venue is promising an electric pre gig atmosphere and a Sam Fender inspired after party with live music for the rest of the night.
Owned by the same company who operate Bohemia on Collingwood Street, it will now give up some of its space to this new Irish bar and operate as a separate venue on it’s own. Promising amazing live music, DJ’s, Irish drinks, Live sports, a cosy venue and plenty of Craic this new venue now provides a new option for your night out.
We had been invited down to their sister venue in Durham recently to get a taste of what to expect and if that is anything to go by then Katie’s Newcastle may just be a new local for a lot of people! The Durham venue has great outdoor space on what was a beautiful sunny day, but the atmosphere created in the bar is is one I’ve longed for a long time.
With Live Music on early from 5pm and 7pm on the Saturday evening we were treated to a setlist of great songs from Dave Lynas Music and Claypath Music and it was the atmosphere generated that really resonated. A fabulous mix of songs spanning the generations had everyone singing and dancing almost everywhere in the bar. Yes some people were in conversation but a majority were faced forward to the stage singing along to the songs and dancing at the front. It’s great to see a bar focused on live music and it makes for a one stop shop for a night out.
I loved the traditional decor it offered and was pleasantly surprised by the range of lagers they had on offer to serve – of course though we had to test out the Guinness and well it was as good as you’d expect! I fully expect that when this Newcastle location opens it will become a firm favourite very quickly!