A new bar and live venue is set to open in Edinburgh’s Bristo Square at the end of July when the Gilded Saloon bar and kitchen launches along with a 200-capacity club and performance space in the basement.
The joint venture, which brings together comedy operators Gilded Balloon, arts and music festival Kelburn Garden Party, and creative community pub Paradise Palms, will focus on supporting Scotland’s creative and performing arts communities with a calendar that includes gigs, club nights, spoken word, comedy, pub theatre and more.
Opening in time for the Edinburgh Fringe, it will house ‘COOP’ during August, a Fringe pop-up led by chef Tomás Gormley, who is behind Edinburgh venues Skua and Cardinal.
The basement club will announce its own dedicated programme in the coming weeks.
Family-run, The Gilded Balloon is led by co-directors Karen and Katy Koren, and it is one of Scotland’s longest-standing entertainment producers. This year they will celebrate 40 years at the Fringe and will run comedy, theatre, sketch and non-music programming at The Gilded Saloon, which is named after the venue they lost during the Cowgate fire in 2002.
Kelburn Garden Party has also had an anniversary recently, marking its 15th edition with a sold-out festival at Kelburn Castle. They will oversee the club’s programming and plan to involve their network of artists and supporters. Paradise Palms, which operates as both a bar and creative community hub and is located next door to the new venue, will manage the day-to-day running of the Gilded Saloon and contribute to programming.
The Gilded Saloon opens its doors from 30 July and its full programme of year-round events will launch in September.