Queens Academy NEWPORT
vision, passion & heart
HISTORIC FOUNDATIONS / FUTURES CULTURE
Newport · Established 1863 · 19 Bridge Street
NOT JUST
ANOTHER
PUB.
Newport doesn’t need another chain bar.
It needs a beating heart.
This city gave the world Skindred, Feeder & Goldie Lookin Chain — and legendary nights at venues that punched way above their weight. But grassroots music has been fighting to survive, and that full-production, 500-capacity experience in the heart of Newport has been missing since The Riverfront days and the closure of the legendary TJ's — venues that put Newport on the map by hosting the greatest bands in intimate rooms. We are here to bring that back.
This City’s Legacy
NEWPORT
MADE THEM.
Before stadiums, before streaming numbers, before headline slots at Download and Glastonbury — these acts were playing rooms exactly like this one. Small stages, loud crowds, zero budget. Newport has always punched above its weight. Here’s the proof.
Benji Webbe and the band that invented reggae metal and took it global. Grammy nominees, Download headliners, and forever Newport’s own.
Grant Nicholas grew up on these streets. Feeder became one of the UK’s most beloved alternative rock bands — millions of records sold, festivals headlined worldwide.
Newport’s most chaotic export. Top 5 UK chart hits, national cult heroes, and proof this city has always done things its own way.
From South Wales pub gigs to Mercury Prizes and sold-out stadiums. They started exactly where we are — grassroots, loud and unapologetic.
Kerrang! Award winners who built their entire following on relentless small venue tours across Wales. Exactly the kind of band this room was built for.
Started in a rehearsal room, played every small venue in South Wales. Now selling out arenas globally. South Wales metal royalty.
“Before any of them were famous they were playing rooms like TJ’s Newport — a 200-capacity basement on Clarence Place that hosted Nirvana, Oasis, Blur, Radiohead, Green Day and The Prodigy in their earliest UK touring days. That venue closed. That era of discovery ended. Queens Academy exists because Newport deserves it back.”
— The Queens Academy · 2026From Victorian Hotel to Music Hub
A BUILDING
WITH MEMORY
The Queens Hotel
Built during Newport’s industrial boom, this Victorian landmark on Bridge Street opened as The Queens Hotel — serving merchants, sailors and railway travellers. Its bones were built to last. Over 160 years later, they still stand.
Victorian Era · Newport Industrial Boom
The Wetherspoons Era · Cheap Pints & Patterned Carpets
The Wetherspoons Years
As UK hospitality shifted toward conglomerates, the building became a Wetherspoons. Patterned carpets, cheap pints, and the obligatory pre-night-out spot for a generation of Newport locals heading into the city’s vibrant club scene.
The Walkabout Years
Australian flags, sticky floors, massive projector screens and legendary weekend nights. Tens of thousands of Newport locals passed through during the city’s clubbing peak. The building absorbed every era — waiting for its true calling.
Walkabout Era · Newport’s Clubbing Peak
2026 · Queens Academy Opens Its Doors
Queens Academy Opens
Redesigned in black and teal, with the most visual stage rig in the region and a sound system that moves you. Queens Academy is 100% independent — no corporate overlords, just music lovers running a room for music lovers. Newport is back on the map.
Inside The Room
THE STAGE.
THE SOUND.
THE SPACE.
What We Stand For
MUSIC FIRST.
ALWAYS.
“500 people in a room together, feeling every frequency — that is the whole point.”
Queens Academy is 100% independent. Our decisions are made by people who
grew up in this city, who came of age going to shows here, who believe in what grassroots
music actually does for a community.
We invested in a Turbosound TSM4 rig, reconditioned and upgraded,
and paired it with the most visual stage lighting in South Wales — because every act
that steps onto this stage deserves to feel like they’re playing an arena.
Intimate and immense. Ten feet from the band in a room that sounds enormous.
Affordable. Accessible. Unapologetically loud.
Join The Movement
BE PART
OF THE NOISE.
Promoter, artist, or fan — the doors are open.