As one of London’s biggest electronic music promoters opens its first bricks and mortar venue in Bristol, AMAAD’s co-founder Will Harold reflects on setting up shop in a city known for its fiercely independent spirit

As the organisation behind live music events at the likes of Printworks and Tobacco Dock, AMAAD (A Man About A Dog) certainly know a thing or two about putting on a good show. Their latest venture, however, sees them stepping into exciting new territory, with the imminent opening of The Prospect Building, a brand new 3,500 capacity venue that’s set to fill a void in the city’s musical landscape.

“It’s mad that Bristol doesn’t have a space this sort of size, so we definitely saw the gap there,” AMAAD’s co-founder Will Harold explains. “Where does a band like IDLES play, aside from The Downs now? That’s something we’re definitely keen to help with.”

Born from the ashes of Propyard, a multipurpose venue that unceremoniously shuttered its doors early this year, the revitalised Prospect Building is set to breathe new life into the city’s live music scene, offering an impressive clubbing space with a hugely impressive initial lineup to boot.

“We’ve learned quite a lot through operating in mixed use spaces and seeing how they can work,” Harold adds. “We’ve come from a lot of dark and dingy warehouses in London in our early days where we would always be loading in and loading out in 24 or 48 hours. This is the first time that we’ve got bricks and mortar in a space where we’ve got a long-term lease on the building, and we’re investing in it properly so we don’t have to haul everything in and out of there.”

Prospect’s inaugural music event this past weekend marked Overmono’s return to the city as part of their Pure Devotion tour, with support provided by the likes of Blawan, Jossy Mitsu, DJ Python and more. It’s a compelling statement of intent for a new venue and one that represents the spirit in which AMAAD intends for it to operate going forward.

“We were very conscious, as a promoter coming into the city, that we weren’t just a promoter; we’re also a venue,” he states, “Historically, with the likes of Tobacco Dock and Printworks when we were in charge of those spaces, we just programmed the shows ourselves. We’re a London promoter originally, but we’ve got really good relationships with people like Team Love, The Blast and Dance Corp… We respect each other and we didn’t want to rock up in Bristol and nick half their talent, or try to and get into a scrap doing it. So we’ve really approached it with a collaborative mindset. In this instance, Prospect is a venue project and we’re approaching it as such.”

It’s in keeping with Bristol’s independent spirit that AMAAD hopes Prospect will thrive. 

“I really like Bristol’s attitude,” he states “There have been plenty of examples of other brands or entities that have rocked up from out of town and tried to try to give it the big one and they go away with their tail between their legs. I like the independent attitude of Bristol and I think we need more of that in the music industry: people not being afraid to support local stuff and call things out when they’re not being done right… That’s very much where I’ve come from, so for us to rock up in a city and not do that ourselves would have been a big mistake. It’s just not the way we work.”

The approach appears to be paying off, with a stellar lineup planned for the coming months, including shows from the likes of DnB heavyweight Hedex, the ever dependable Bonobo and the unstoppable Floating Points in October alone. November is looking similarly packed too, with Junction 2, fabric and Bitch, Please! joining forces for a day of electronic delights from HAAi, KI/KI, Dax J and more. Meanwhile, FUSE are set to follow up their 2022 Bristol show with another heady blend of techno and house from label founder Enzo Siragusa and company. Rounding off the month is SUZY, a brand new discotheque experience that boasts the inimitable dance stylings of Dimitri from Paris alongside the likes of CC:DISCO!, Gerd Janson and Horse Meat Disco among its roster.

AMAAD are also investing in the building’s soundsystem, which has been carefully considered in order to minimise disruption to their neighbours without compromising on the experience that music fans expect from a venue of this scale. While Prospect will utilise a temporary setup for its initial run of shows, plans are already underway to equip the space with a more permanent state of the art setup in 2025.

“We’ve got a pyramid of what’s important to us and at the top of the experience for us is always sound and trying to make sure that that’s done well. If you can’t hear the artist and instrumentation then you might as well pack up and go home. Obviously there’s lots of layers to things to make a great event, but I believe that’s top of the tree.”

While live music is Prospect’s core focus, the realities of operating a venue in the current climate mean that AMAAD have also factored in other uses for the space in order to make sure things stay sustainable.

“You talk to venue owners that have successful venues and are still open six days a week at more than 85% capacity and losing money,” he concedes. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s a bold time to step into bricks and mortar, but I believe with our approach, we have the ability to put some really great stuff on.”

Much like its predecessor, Prospect will also act as what Harold describes as a “contemporary culture space” where it serves the needs of the wider city, not just music fans.

“We can do gigs, we can do comedy, we can do corporate events,” he adds. “It’s just the ability to utilise the space in different ways, whether it’s photoshoots, or filming. All that sort of stuff is absolutely key in a world where so many venues are going under… We’re very keen for it to be a venue that is really multicultural in terms of not just being a nightclub and being a good venue, but really trying to be diverse. If you’re just a live venue or just a nightclub, it’s hard to make it work 365.”

Though plans are currently under wraps, 2025 is already shaping up to be a big year for Prospect with exciting conversations with promoters and partners very much underway. With the venue’s lease secured for the foreseeable future, Bristol can look forward to more good things to come.

“We’re in charge of the space and it means we can kind of execute it how we want to,” Harold states. “The first year or two will be exciting in terms of getting it up and running, but we’ve definitely got really ambitious plans for the space and how we can really bring it to life over the next few years.”

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For more information about upcoming events check out their website here.

Words: Paul Weedon // @paulweeedon

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