Enter Shikari Launch Initiative To Revitalise St. Albans Venue

Enter Shikari have launched a new initiative to improve the fortunes of local St. Albans venue, The Pioneer.

The band, who formed in the Hertfordshire city in 1999, have teamed up with fellow St. Albans-based music and tech platform Headliner to improve the grassroots venue.

The Pioneer has been at its current site since 1961, having originally opened as a charity in 1941 for young evacuees.

Since then, it’s been a bedrock for promoting new talent; not only in the form of Enter Shikari but has also been instrumental in the formation of legendary acts like The Zombies and hosted some of the earliest performances from the likes of Gallows and Bring Me The Horizon.

It’s also the site of the UK’s oldest indoor skate park.

Enter Shikari’s partners for the project – Headliner Spacers – was set up to transform The Pioneer into a creative and cultural hub. 

Headliner Spacers has already overseen the renovation of the venue, with a new studio build and bar (in partnership with Signature Brew) and is now setting its sights on accommodating a rehearsal space and Dolby Atmos recording studio, as well as providing education and training for aspiring artists, live music crew and technicians.

The Pioneer and Headliner Spaces will formally launch on September 07 with an event at the venue – with fans told to keep an eye on the venue’s Instagram page for more details.

Enter Shikari have donated some prizes for a special charity raffle to help raise funds for the project.

These include Chris Batten’s bass, Rou Reynolds’ Kaos Pad (as played in the ‘Sorry You’re Not A Winner’ and ‘Anything Can Happen…’ videos), and Rory Clewlow ‘Common Dreads’-era Gibson SG (as seen in the ‘Sssnakepit’ video)?

The band have also released a St Albans-themed charity T-shirt, with all proceeds donated to The Pioneer registered charity to support Headliner Spaces and other endeavours. Each shirt sold also counts as one raffle entry.For more raffle details and for the T-shirt sale, visit the Enter Shikari website.