We’ll be hosting a four-part programme of discussions, listening sessions, live performances and DJ sets with community-owned music venue and radio station Sister Midnight. Their mission is to elevate and support local artists by building a creative hub and grassroots-run space in Lewisham, South East London.
The programme will explore listening as a feminist practice, women using sound to claim space in creative communities and preserve memories.
Ahead of the collaboration The Standard, London's Music & Culture Manager Riya Mistry caught up with Sister Midnight co-founder Sophie Farrell to talk about the origins of the project, the Brookdale Club site in Catford and why London needs DIY spaces.
Sister Midnight is a community-owned project — can you explain what that structure looks like in practice, and why it was important for you to build it this way?
Being community-owned means that Sister Midnight is structured so that the people who use and support the space have real ownership and a say in how it’s run. Rather than a traditional private business model, we’ve built it so local people can become members and collectively shape its future. That includes voting rights, input on programming, and shared responsibility for the long-term sustainability of the space.
In practice, it’s about accountability and accessibility. We want to create a venue that genuinely reflects the needs of artists, audiences and the surrounding neighbourhood — not one driven solely by commercial pressures. The community ownership model hopefully will allows us to prioritise fair pay for artists, affordable ticket prices, and inclusive programming, because decisions aren’t being made to maximise profit for a small group of shareholders.
It was important for us to build it this way because so many grassroots music spaces in London have been lost over the past decade. Rents rise, redevelopment happens, and independent venues are often the first to go. By putting ownership into the hands of the community, we’re trying to create a structure that protects the space long-term and embeds it into the fabric of the area.
Ultimately, Sister Midnight isn’t just about running events — it’s about creating infrastructure. A permanent, community-led cultural space gives people somewhere to experiment, organise, perform and connect. That kind of DIY ecosystem is essential if we want London’s cultural landscape to remain diverse, accessible and artist-led.
Community-owned spaces are often built in response to gaps in the cultural landscape. What gap was Sister Midnight created to fill in London?
Honestly, it came from feeling like there were fewer and fewer genuinely independent spaces left in London — especially for emerging artists and grassroots promoters. So many small venues have closed over the past decade, and what’s replaced them often feels either overly commercial or inaccessible to people just starting out.
We felt there was a real gap for an affordable, artist-first space — somewhere you could put on your first show, try out a new idea, host a community meeting, or experiment without huge financial risk. A lot of young artists and DIY organisers just don’t have access to that kind of infrastructure anymore.
The democratic, community-owned structure of Sister Midnight often speaks to accessibility and equality. How does that translate into the kinds of events you programme? As part of the structure of the team, you have a committee who make decisions for the community which change every year - are there any women on the team you’d like to shout about?
Shout out to my partner in crime Lenny Watson. I couldn’t fathom taking on a project of this size with anyone else in this world. I am truly blessed to have found a business partner who I work so well with and whole heartedly trust.
Shout out to Gaby D’annunzio for curating this takeover at the Standard as well as all the other projects she’d directed for us over the past year.
Shout out to all the amazing women in our committee too! We have the most incredible cohort this year of beautiful and talented minds steering the ship.
Last year you launched Sister Midnight FM, how would you describe the programming & why was radio the right medium for your community at that moment?
We launched SMFM a couple of years back now! However opened our studio last year. It’s been so beneficial having the station running whilst our venue is currently in the works being renovated. It’s meant that we’ve been able to grow our community and have a physical space to work and organise from.
You’ve started construction on the Brookdale Club in Lewisham, can you tell us anything about what the interiors look like, or sound like?
Expect a working mens club, a big community renovation effort, lots of shades of orange, a high quality sound system and local beer!
What other grassroots venues in London would you recommend visiting?
I recommend you visit the Piehouse in Deptford - a fellow cooperatively run music venue! Fox and Firkin in Lewisham and the Carpet Shop in Peckham.
Join us this March.
Sunday 8th March: Sound Archives: Panel Discussion. Tickets here
Wednesday 11th March: Listening Session with Linett Kamala & Mia Koden. Tickets here
Wednesday 18th March: Live Sessions with Tara Lily (solo), Marysia Osu & MA.MOYO. Tickets here
Thursday 26th March: Vinyl Set with Gaby D’Annunzio. Tickets here
