Sitting on the Lincolnshire coast, Grimsby appears to be quite the unassuming town. You’d be forgiven for not knowing much at all about it; the town’s heritage and legacy amounts to being a hub for fishing, and little else. After the fishing trade began to decline in the late 20th century, so too did the town, losing its sense of purpose. Indeed, when looking into cultural landmarks in Grimsby, you’ll find among them a constant theme – that of a town which cannot escape its past. The Dock Tower and the Fishing Heritage Centre serve only as a constant reminder that the town is still tackling the challenges of having lost its cultural centrepiece.
What, then, does this mean for Grimsby’s music scene?
The townspeople have grown up and lived in a town that holds little promise for their futures; the best job opportunity for someone living in Grimsby usually involves moving out of Grimsby. The environment this has cultivated has formed a grassroots community that lives underneath the surface of the town, playing at local bars, clubs and restaurants. This is where you’ll find the new soul of the town – not within the growing retail market, nor within the defunct fishing industry, but within places that house the denizens of Grimsby who look to create something new, instead of relying on the culture of old.
How new are we talking, though? An underground scene that blew up in the 90’s, perhaps? A secret rise amongst the financial strife of the early 2000’s? Perhaps there were seeds that were planted back then, but for the modern music scene, we needn’t look further back than 2018 (six years ago now!) with the opening of ‘Docks Beers’, located to the north of Grimsby town on King Edward Street. This independent brewery has become a cultural hub for those in and around town, hosting musical events since the inception of ‘Docks Academy’ (2020), the venue’s vehicle for organizing nights featuring both local and worldwide talent.
While they do host bigger names such as The Hoosiers, Electric 6, and (as of Docks Fest 2024), Razorlight, they also promote student bands, and local musicians who might not have the funds to advertise alone. They’ve become somewhat of a titan not just within Grimsby, but the whole of Lincolnshire. With bigger events such as Docks Fest in July, they’ve done their part in putting Grimsby on the map for music, causing significant strides in making the town feel like more of a contender in Lincolnshire’s wider music scene.
For smaller, more grassroots performances in Grimsby, however, we can go back much further than 2020. For a long time, Grimsby has had a successful rock and indie community. These genres seem to take up much of the focus for the area, perhaps due to the common themes they portray reflecting that of the town itself. Spearheading the town’s rock scene is the Yardbirds Club, located on Church Street in the centre of town, hosting both local bands as well as tribute acts for over a decade. Other popular haunts include the Matrix Bar on Bethlehem Street, serving the public a more Punk/Pop focused experience, and the County Hotel – a bar that regularly features local acts.
Individually, these places might not seem able to carve out an identity for Grimsby’s music scene. Every town has a local pub, and likely has local bands that play there on occasion. However, when combined, these locations – whilst not all being huge venues for hundreds/thousands of people – paint a picture of a thriving culture focused around rock, punk and indie acts. As for the future of Grimsby, the recent success of local events could lead to the scene growing larger still, particularly with more large events like Docks Fest. Wherever the town’s focus commercially leads as it pivots away from its maritime roots, it may be able to add a bustling music culture to its repertoire.
