Birkenhead music venue Future Yard scoops multiple awards

Future Yard, based on Argyle Street in Birkenhead, first opened its doors to music lovers in the spring of 2021 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.

The event space has scooped multiple awards and recognition for its contribution to tourism, culture, and arts in Merseyside.

On March 7 the venue won the Business in The Arts award at the Liverpool City Region (LCR) Culture & Creativity Awards in St Helens.

The team at Future Yard (Image: Future Yard)

James Gillaspy, one of Future Yard’s event managers and sustainability leads, was also awarded the Inspirational Young Person of The Year award.

James was recognised for his work around sustainability both at Future Yard and on his own initiative.

Speaking of winning the award, James told the Globe: “I’m over the moon to have received this recognition, it’s a real honour.

“I feel like I’m just starting out in my career and I’ve got lots of ideas still, and plenty of things I’d like to achieve.

“We all have a responsibility to think about sustainability in our work and everyday lives, and it’s been an exciting journey so far to see how the music industry interacts with this.

"I’d also like to thank Future Yard and Shift Liverpool for the support so far.”

James Gillaspy (Image: Future Yard)

On February 29, Future Yard attended the Liverpool City Region Tourism Awards at the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool where they were nominated in the Entertainment Venue Of The Year category, alongside M&S Bank Arena, The Cavern, Liverpool Philharmonic, The Everyman, The Royal Court and Arts Bar Hope Street.

Future Yard received a Highly Commended recognition in the category.

The venue has been awarded for its efforts before. In November last year, the venue won Culture & Tourism Business Of The Year and the Merseyside Independent Business Awards, for the second year in a row. 

The live music space has also been nominated in the Inspirational Venue Of The Year category (under 500 capacity) at the upcoming Northern Music Awards, by Nordoff & Robins which takes place on April 23.

Christopher Torpey, co-founder and director told the Globe: “When we’re busy working away, it’s easy to get lost in a bubble.

“Which makes it all the more flattering when you receive recognition for the work you’re doing.

“The recent awards, nominations and commendation we’ve had are a massive validation of everything we’ve set out to do, and of ’The Future Is Birkenhead’ overall as a journey.

“We’re not running our training programmes, our gigs for kids, our music lessons or our artist masterclasses to win awards - but it is really heartening to know that our work is being recognised outside of our walls.

“And we couldn’t do it without all the hard work of all our staff who are busy every day doing their bit to change Birkenhead."