The Luminaire

My favorite small live music venue so far in London. Feels personal and definitely about the music. The clientele ranged from business people to young hipsters to old hippies. Staff were friendly and sincere. Quirky, honest, rockabilly feeling. No pretense.

One of my favourite music venues in London that’s a little under the radar. This is a good thing so. ignore this review and promise you’ll never come here! Cross your heart and hope to die, stick a sausage in your eye!
During my uni days I didn’t live to far from here and quite a few of my mates played here. I managed to catch a few of their gigs and always held the venue in high regard because of that. As I got older I notice that they had some really awesome bands still playing at the venue and when I saw Andre William’s on a line up for one night I almost wet myself with excitement.
Booking tickets, I dragged a friend down for a truly awesome gig. The crowd was an alternative and rockabilly infusion, in a genuine, these are real tattoos kinda way. Check out their website and have a look, you’ll see what I mean. Damn that was a good night.

I was actually here for a film shoot but we were playing extras at a gig so I got the general vibe of the place. The stage is a pretty respectable size and the dance floor isn’t too small either. There are lots of different areas to sit and lounge. I particularly like the restrooms. They are filled with graffitti and the walls are covered in a collage of newspaper and magazine clippings. There only appears to be one bar which is a bit small in the back. I can imagine that this place gets really crowded if you’re coming to see a really popular band. I’d like to come back and check out a proper gig.

As far as small venues go, The Luminaire is one of the better ones. It has a great layout and good sound equipment. The acoustics seem to be pretty good too. Its only problem is that it’s a bit of a journey to get to it. Kilburn isn’t the easiest of journeys, and the seemingly endless street can seem a bit confusing at times, with its large number of stations, both tube and overground.

The Luminaire is a great small venue in Kilburn. The venue is arranged around the stage, with the bar directly opposite so you can prop up the bar as you watch a gig. Though there are also sofas and a small dance floor.
I’ve been to the Luminaire twice (once to see Daedalus, and the other to see Aoki Takamasa + Tujiko Noriko). I’m a big fan of both the artists, who both gave great performances, which definitely helped things. However, it is in itself a great venue with good staff, and an obvious care and sensibility evident in the people who play there.

The Luminaire is a fantastic alternative music venue situated in Kilburn, north London. If you’re a south London, like myself, it’s a little bit out of the way but it’s always worth the trip as every month, they host an array of fantastic nights and events.
This really is a venue for the self proclaimed indie kids. Alternative delights such as Oxes have graced the stage there as well as Damien Jurado, new buzz band Health and Enon. It’s a great venue for checking out alternative music old and new.
There isn’t much criticism I have to say about this venue apart from the fact that when it gets really busy, it’s nigh on impossible to see if you aren’t above 5“5!
Having said this though, the ticket entry is usually pretty reasonable (best to always book in advance though!) but the bar is a little pricey.