Words by Luke Rea
Photos by Ethan Griffin McCleary
Cellar Door is a series of multi-media events that take place predominantly at The Louisiana in Bristol. Yasmin Egin, Lola Norwood and Ethan Griffin-McCleary are the trio promoting and running the events, showcasing some of Bristol’s most exciting visual artists, composers, filmmakers and bands, as well some of the UK’s most hotly-tipped touring bands, with recent headliners including Mermaid Chunky and Automotion. Their shows strive to provide opportunities for young women to carve out their paths in the music and art worlds, challenging the male dominated status-quo and creating a welcoming space for people of all backgrounds. I sat down with them outside The Louisiana to chat about Cellar Door before its Halloween edition, which featured Hideous Mink favourites, Ideal Living and The Orchestra (For Now).
Yaz, Ethan and Lola
What was your motivation for starting Cellar Door?
Yaz: Lola and I were already working at The Louisiana and we saw that live events almost always had male promoters. We also both went to art school and there weren’t many art and music events with the kind of music we put on. It’s usually just club nights. Yeah, we just noticed that a lot of that was missing.
Lola: A lack of accessible art exhibitions and live music in one place.
Providing a space and opportunities for people of all backgrounds but particularly women is a key part of what you do. How would you like to see the music industry embrace those values?
Lola: I’d like to see more female-run events in the music industry and female fronted bands, which we did for International Women’s Day, where we booked all female and non-binary fronted bands and did the same with the art exhibition.
Ethan: I think not having submission fees as well for the art exhibition side of things as well so that anyone can apply for it.
Is it quite common to have to pay to submit your art?
Lola: Yeah, it’s very hard to get your work out there and seen, especially because a lot of the artists are recent graduates or still in uni. So Cellar Door is a nice way to give everyone a chance to have their work exhibited and usually to quite a big crowd as well. If it’s a sold out gig, it’s gonna be about 200 people walking around that exhibition and seeing your art.
I could imagine a gig being an unusual setting for an exhibition, how do the artists find it?
Yaz: I think they enjoy it more than traditional exhibitions because it’s more fun and chilled, and they get quite a big say in the way their art is shown as well. They can give us instructions for how they want it done or sometimes they’ll come in and install their art themselves if they want it done in a particular way.
We’re at The Louisiana tonight. What role has the venue played for Cellar Door?
Yaz: This venue! We wouldn’t have started if we didn’t work here. We both worked on the bar originally and then I got the job as in house promoter because the Cellar Door events went so well, which has now given me so many more opportunities in the industry.
Lola: They were really helpful in giving us loads of advice for putting on events when we were starting because we didn’t really have any idea.
Yaz: We’ve met so many people through this place, made so many valuable connections.
Ethan: It’s friendly, isn’t it? That’s the other thing. If you’ve been here more than once you get to know people.
Yaz: It’s a family run business as well.
Ethan: And very accommodating to our crazy ideas. Like, “can we do a live session upstairs, or in the cellar?”
This is my third time at one of your events and the atmosphere has always been really lovely. Everyone’s really engaged and you can chat to anyone after the show about what you’ve just seen.
Yaz: It feels like everyone knows each other even if they don’t. There’s a common ground and a lot of shared interests.
Lola: Like one big family haha.
You book a lot of local bands on your shows. It feels like a particularly exciting time in the Bristol scene. Are there any that have left a big impression?
Yaz: Zalizo
Lola: Zalizo
Ethan: Windshake. Sonotto are really interesting too. What you get with Bristol is so different, spanning multiple genres.
Yaz: Looney Bergonzi I really like, and Foot Foot. Too many haha.
You’ve started booking touring artists too. How have they responded to it? It’s quite a different environment to the other shows they’ll be playing on their tours.
Yaz: For our last one we had Mermaid Chunky and they really loved it. They said our show was their favourite or their tour because it was so friendly. We always get very positive responses.
Lola: I think it always feels pretty relaxed whilst still being organised.
The Mermaid Chunky show was at Strange Brew - another sell out. Do you have any more plans to put on shows in different venues?
Yaz: Our next show is on International Women’s day, so a very special event for us and that will be at Strange Brew again. It worked so well last time that we’ll definitely keep putting on events with them. They were so helpful there.
Lola: I was really nervous but it went so smoothly because of the staff there. They were so helpful and very understanding.
Are there any promoters working in a similar space to you that you think people should check out?
Yaz: One of my favourite promoters is Gravy Train, they put on really good gigs. They just put on Memorials which is made up of members of Electrolane and Wire, they’re so good.
Ethan: Underbelly are quite a good one, they’re more BIMM based and their niche of music is a bit heavier.
Lola: This isn’t for music but it’s called The Loovre, it’s for artists to exhibit their work. It’s based in the toilet of People’s Republic of Stokes Croft. Below the Belt Productions are another good one too.
Full photo gallery:
Cellar Door’s next event is on International Women’s Day on the 8th March at Strange Brew.
Find out more here
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