Gig Venue: Cheese & Grain, Frome

Cheese & Grain, Market Yard, Justice Lane, Frome, BA11 1BE. Last updated 28.1.2024.

Frome is a 50-mile trip for me, by car from Poole, which takes about an hour and a half. The train isn’t a real option. But it’s always a pleasant outing in my experiences, providing I’m staying over.

The Cheese & Grain venue has put Frome firmly on my gig map. My first visit was in June 2018 to see The Skids. It seems to have grown in status over recent years – perhaps the legendary appearances of Foo Fighters and Paul MacCartney, as part of their pre-Glastonbury warm ups, have helped. Maybe I’ve just become more aware of it. (Somerset Live recalls the Foo Fighters gig.)

Amid the tribute band traffic, I have been over here to see Hugh Cornwell, The Undertones, Inspiral Carpets, The Sweet and for the special treat that was The Pretenders.

You can see from the photo that The Cheese & Grain is a practical yet attractive community hall type building in the middle of a large car park. It’s a not-for-profit organisation:  a registered charity ‘for the benefit of the people of Frome’. To the rear, where you come in, is a small bar area, merch stand and often an extra pop-up bar with some interesting stuff in the fridge. There is also bar service into this entrance area, which in the day is a café – worth a stop, especially when the sun’s out and you can sit on the outdoor terrace.

The standing capacity is 850. When it’s sold out it can be difficult to manoeuvre around, as I like to do to snap a few pics, as well as for bar refills. The bar in the main room is across the back wall and service is usually quite speedy after initial overload. Very friendly bar staff.

Pre-Gig Pint

The obvious place I find for pre-gig pint is The George, at the heart of everything on the main street, snaking down through the town. (The George was closed for major refurbishment in January 2024, due to re-open in March.) Up the hill is Italian restaurant, Castellos at 17 Palmer Street. For me, best of all, a few doors down from the Italian is Palmer Street Bottle, a craft ale bar that does a great cheese board and stunning ale selection.

With restaurants full booked when I visited on Saturday 27 January 2024 for Hugh Cornwell, a further option revealed itself: The Bath Arms Hotel. Stepping in beyond the uninviting exterior, is a very individual bar come restaurant with an extraordinarily expensive range of menu options – tapas, burgers, pizzas, fajitas and more. I was grateful.

Overnight Stop?

If staying over, The George is superbly convenient but usually books up early for gigs. I will be very interested to see what the place is like after its early 2024 refurb. The variety of rooms have provided varied experiences over the years – can be noisy on the front – but you are staying right where you need to be, with a lovely breakfast, and a good range of ales down in the bar.

Rook Lane House, just up the hill, was a very pleasant B&B experience – sitting down to breakfast in a historic room at a big table, with seven other Inspiral Carpets fans was a novelty. (It wasn’t open all week when I stayed. It is opposite an old carpet shop, as it happens.)

The usual suspect of the Premier Inn is on the edge of town so car/taxi required.

I’m interested in other Frome options that travelling gig-goers have found useful.

In January 2024, I tried The Archangel, opposite The George. Renovated in 2008, this grade II listed coaching inn dates back to the 14th century.

A quirky, rustic rabbit warren of rooms in the bar and eating areas downstairs. The creaking stairs lead up to the rooms. Five have huge roll top metal baths, including the room I was in which was elaborately decorated with huge old mirror and wall mural of an angel.

With a bit of time on your hands there is the new and second-hand record shop, Raves from the Grave, a stone’s throw from The George and well worth a visit.

Before I leave this one here, my top tip for visiting the Cheese & Grain: don’t park up overnight in the market spaces when the market is on the day after your gig. The market manager was very understanding even if a few stallholders were understandably put out. I think better signage is the answer, but didn’t push that line as he saw me out, hazard lights on!

Keep rocking Frome!