A speakeasy blues bar and a bashment party can exist three streets apart, and honestly that might be the whole point of this place
I spent a single Friday night this month doing something a little unusual for research purposes, starting at a hidden blues speakeasy and ending, several hours and considerably more noise later, at a bashment party in a basement club barely ten minutes’ walk away, and the whiplash between the two told me more about what this neighbourhood actually is than any single night out normally would.
The Speakeasy Half
Nightjar, tucked away behind an unmarked door the way all proper speakeasies insist on being, had a pianist working through blues and boogie woogie standards to a crowd that was, by Shoreditch standards, remarkably well behaved and remarkably well dressed, sipping proper cocktails and genuinely listening rather than talking over the music, a small, contained pocket of old world East London glamour that has nothing whatsoever to do with the neighbourhood’s reputation for chaos.
The Other Half, Loudly
Ten minutes and one very different outfit change later, I was in a basement club packed for a bashment and afrobeats night, the kind of event that promises free entry before midnight and delivers exactly the sweaty, joyful, slightly chaotic energy that promise implies, a crowd considerably younger and considerably louder than the one I had just left, and having, by any honest measure, just as good a time.
Why Both Scenes Genuinely Belong Here
It would be easy to frame this as some kind of gentrification story, the polished speakeasy representing money moving in, the bashment night representing something more grassroots and under threat, but that framing does not actually hold up on closer inspection. Both scenes have coexisted here for years, both draw genuinely mixed, loyal crowds, and both represent something Shoreditch has always specialised in, offering a completely different night out within a five minute walk of each other without either one crowding the other out.
The Venues Making This Possible
Clubs including XOYO and Colours Hoxton continue anchoring the neighbourhood’s electronic and dance scene with residencies that draw serious music tourism from well beyond London, while smaller venues and one off promoters keep the bashment, afrobeats, and dancehall nights running with the kind of reliable weekly consistency that builds genuine community rather than just passing footfall.
A Note On Who Actually Shows Up
What struck me most, honestly, was how little crossover there was between the two crowds, not out of any hostility, simply because they were there for genuinely different things, and both left looking equally satisfied with their evening, a small but telling sign that this neighbourhood’s nightlife diversity is not just marketing copy.
Where I Landed On It
I am not going to pretend I have a grand unifying theory about what this all means for Shoreditch’s future, except to say that a neighbourhood capable of hosting both scenes without either one swallowing the other is doing something genuinely difficult and genuinely rare, and I would rather celebrate that than overthink it. Full listings for both ends of the spectrum can be found through DesignMyNight’s Shoreditch guide, and more of my own nights out live at my author page on The London Prat.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com
