More often than not in London, cultural institutions close down only to turn into luxury flats or some other kind of corporate hellhole. Finally, the reverse is true. In 2023, the old big Ikea in Tottenham was transformed into a multi-level, multi-room cultural space. The meatballs and Billy bookcases have been swept away (although the royal blue exterior remains) to make room for three separate dancefloors, five different bars – including a 25,000 sqft bar in the main 15,000 capacity room – 48-metre-long LED screens and an outdoor terrace and food court.
Broadwick Live are behind the new venue, whose previous ventures have included the much-missed Printworks and the og Drumsheds by Lee Navigational Canal. They’re also the folks behind Depot Mayfield in Manchester where you’ll find The Warehouse Project.
The whole site comes in at a whopping 608,000 sq ft and they’ve kept Ikea’s escalators that will transport partygoers up from 35 security and ticket lanes into the cavernous party den. While Drumsheds is mostly a clubber’s paradise – its opening season had shows from Bicep, Marcel Dettmann, Marco Corola, Kelly Lee Owens, Loco Dice, Girls Don’t Sync, Sherelle, Skepta and Jammer, DJ EZ and Todd Edwards, along with takeovers from BuggedOut! The Hydra and Piano People – Broadwick Live also programmes orchestras including Aurora.
Besides, why wouldn’t you want to dance the night away in an old Ikea?
Why not try one of the food stalls while you’re there? There are burgers, mac and cheese, bao and greek wraps availble. Or of course, you could just head to the bar.
There are usually events on at Drumsheds every Friday and Saturday night.
Tickets are available from the website.
Try listening to the DRUMSHEDS playlists on Spotify. We’ve tried and tested them and they’ve got us in the mood to groove.
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