Dozens of people headed to the re-opening night of Burnham-On-Sea’s Old Pier Tavern on Friday (July 14th) after its rebranding as a new live music venue under a new publican.
The pub in Pier Street has been taken over by Somerset professional singer and songwriter Tim Pitman, pictured above, who said the opening night had been a “great success after months of work on the interior refurbishment.”
He added his thanks to customers, friends and supporters who came along on the opening night. The pub opened with a Whitney Houston tribute show – the first of many music acts planned for the coming months.
“I have been overwhelmed by a huge amount of local support since announcing my plans for the property,” he said.
“It will be a great pub during the daytime – and a live music venue on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Grass roots music has been in decline for the past 25 years. Many music venues and pubs with function rooms shut, and obviously the pandemic didn’t help.”
“To my surprise I discovered in December last year that there was a shortage of live music venues that can seat over 100 people. I discovered this when I tried to find a venue suitable for a ticket concert.”
“I searched all over the region for a February show and they were booked up. It became clear to me that within the context of supply and demand, there was a potential to open a genuine live music venue.”
“The Old Pier Tavern is an historical pub in Burnham which has an extremely high profile as a live music venue. It shut in December 2022 after years of decline. The first thing I had to do was renovate the building.”
“The support was so great from the Burnham-On-Sea community that even some local tradesmen have been willing to offer their services for free just so we could open the pub back up. I’ve been in music all my life, I’m now 53 and I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“When I made the announcement that I was taking over the Old Pier Tavern, the response from the public was unbelievable. The support I’ve had was amazing! It gives hope that despite the decline and difficulties within the music industry, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am looking forward to welcoming customers.”
