The First Music Night in The Cave

The first music night in The Cave sold out, so we put on a second one.

Melania Maggiore launched her debut EP, "Home Is", in our basement in July. If you were at either night you already know how it went. If you were not, this is what you missed, and what we have learned about what this room is for.

Who she is

Melania is Crystal Palace's own. She is a singer-songwriter and a multi-instrumentalist - guitar, violin, piano - and she had come more or less straight from a European tour with The Phantom of the Opera. When she is not touring she teaches singing here in the neighbourhood.

That is the kind of thing that only happens in a small area. It is also the reason the night worked.

Fifteen seats

The Cave holds very few people. For Melania we set it out for fifteen, with her three backing vocalists up there as well.

Fifteen is not a viable number for a music venue and we know it. It is a wonderful number for an audience. Nobody was more than a few feet from the stage, with guitar, keyboard and violin all set up within reach of it.

Most small gigs are a compromise between the room and the music. This was not.

The first date went in a hurry, and enough people asked that we added a second on the 30th.

What we learned

We built The Cave without being completely sure what it would turn out to be. Two nights of Melania answered a lot of that.

It is not a venue and it is not trying to become one. It is a small room where something happens close up, with Georgian wine at the bar and khachapuri coming out of the oven upstairs. The size is the feature. Anyone who has been to a gig where they spent the evening looking at the back of someone's head will understand.

So we are doing more of it.

What is on next

Bluegrass Night with Ben Scrivener and Hugo - Monday 10 August, doors 7.30pm, music 8.30pm. Ben from The Thumping Tommys on guitar with Hugo on accordion. There is a Georgian thread to this one too: Ben has played in Tbilisi, got out to Kutaisi, and has a song called "High Life in Tbilisi". And yes, it is that Hugo - he came in on our opening day and asked for a khachapuri twice the size of our large, so we made it, put it on the menu and named it after him.

Khachapuri Masterclass with Masha - Wednesday 2 September in English, Thursday 3 September in Russian. Ninety minutes, ten places, a glass of Saperavi included. You make your own, you eat it straight from the tray, and you leave knowing how to make one at home without ordering cheese in from Tbilisi.

Both are at khachapuri.co.uk/events.

Thank you to Melania for trusting a brand new room with an EP launch, and to everyone who came down the stairs. You can find her music under Melania Maggiore.