The laid-back vibe of Mississippi blues is in the air as an historic Newcastle pub prepares to reopen as a live music cafe following a £150,000 transformation.
The famous Pumphreys in the Cloth Market - which was initially a coffee shop before being turned into a bar - has undergone a revamp to become the Blues Cafe which will bring a whole new addition to the area's party city reputation when it emerges from lockdown.
The Blues Cafe is promising a heady mix of southern soul and rhythm 'n' blues music which will be served up seven nights a week alongside southern-style cocktails and beer in a setting which - as first pictures show - has undergone a sensitive makeover.
Striking traditional features of the building have been retained and alongside the likes of the staircase and fireplace are ornate ceiling designs, arches, tilework, shades of mustard and olive green and dramatic feature lights.
The Blues Cafe is the latest project by the team behind The Market Shaker next door, which Tommy Byron and Rob Clarkson opened on the former site of the old Ember Lounge a year ago.
This time they are taking over the two floors of Pumphreys with the aim of offering something to appeal to all, from live sports, music and dancing to an upstairs cocktail bar and a snooker room.
They told ChronicleLive: "Our aim is to update the downstairs offering for after work drinkers and weekend revellers and maximise the currently underused space upstairs creating a speakeasy-type cocktail bar-come live music and snooker room venue with a careful nod to the building's historic uses."
Newcastle-based company Barnes Thompson Developments carried out the revamp of Pumphreys bar - a listed building which secured a Heritage Lottery Fund regeneration grant for a facelift in 2018 - and as the Blues Cafe makeover reaches its final stages, it is expected to announce an opening date at the end of July.
Those keen to bag an invite to its launch should keep an eye out on its Facebook page here.
