The Basement is an intimate 100 capacity venue that offers audiences a wide range of opportunities to listen to live bands, solo artists, club nights, comedy events, open mic acts and community discussions and lectures.
The Basement has existed from the time when City Screen Cinema opened its doors in March 2000. For several years it operated as a venue for weekend events - gigs, club nights and comedy, with sporadic midweek gigs and other community events.
Regular nights began to take shape: The Otherside Comedy Club blossomed and maintained its Sunday night slot; the Revolutionary Freaked Out Fuzz Club became everybody's favourite place for a 60's vibe on the last Saturday of the month; Nu York State, Mister Green's Onion Club and The Num Num Club acoustic night all established strong followings. Other nights sprang up - Descent catered for the hardcore rock, post-rock and death metal fan, The Bug drew in the artistically ironic and avantgarde lo-fi specialist and Café Scientifique and Riverlines offered the community an ear to the scientifically contemporary and historic literary concerns of the day.
Word was spreading and The Basement was attracting a broader audience. The opportuntity to open any or every evening arrived in mid 2006 with the arrival of dedicated staff and an in house PA and sound engineer. Venue promotion improved dramatically and consequently appreciation of the venue started to grow rapidly.
As some of the more established nights began to fade, new nights operated by young promoters gained a foothold, nights such as the electro-indie Positive Lazer and hip hop, dub and techno from High Grade. The venue began to place less emphasis on regular weekend nights and began to open up to national and international touring acts. Promoters such as Please Please You, CRS, Burn The Jukebox, Giddy Equations and Apollo 15 brought in bands from around the country and around the world to the ears of fans in York. The newly christened Hyena Lounge Comedy Club firmly established itself on the national comedy circuit. Bear Mountain Picnic, Hessian, Club Semantics and Faco are all independent, passionate music promoters, looking to get the best music into The Basement.
Gradually the venue has sought to operate on a 7 night a week basis when possible, whilst maintaining a very personal and friendly approach to its audience, performers and promoters. Since the staff that book the events also work on the door and the bar, we are always available for a chat about whats going on, and try to make the venue the best possible for everybody to enjoy. Most bands and performers that have played at The Basement before, choose to return again and again, often due to the manner in which they are accommodated by our staff, the dedicated sound engineer and constantly improving sound system.
The Basement is seeking to maintain and develop its reputation for independence, eclecticism and fun times! We hope that you can find what you are looking for through this website, and look forward to seeing you having fun in our venue.