The beer house on Brown Street, which opened in October 2023, served its final customers on Saturday, December 28 during sets from DJs FIRZA, Keltz, The One Spoon, DubbleT and Zak Cox.
Rude Giant Brew Co had announced the venue’s closure five days earlier to focus on running The Royal Oak in Great Wishford and selling beer to commercial customers.
Company director Ethan Davids said it was clear Rude Giant “aren’t the right people for the beer house” and doing business in Salisbury is “tough”.
Rude Giant Beer House held its last event on December 28 (Image: Newsquest) Before its final event, a Rude Giant spokesperson said: “We appreciate every single person who has entered the wonky door.
“It’s time to celebrate the beer house and party in style and give it the send off it deserves”.
Chris McKeegan, 42, says he became a “resident DJ of sorts” at the venue over the last year and played there several times a month, including a summer residency.
The personal trainer from Andover has been a DJ for more than 20 years and used to have a residency on BBC Radio 1Xtra under the name Beat Cleaver.
Chris McKeegan DJs in a shipping-container-turned-booth at Rude Giant (Image: Chris McKeegan) He last played at Rude Giant on December 23, bringing ‘dancefloor bangers and classics’.
Chris said: “The venue was pretty cool. It was really spacious, the sound system was wicked and I liked the outside area.
“It brought something a little bit different to the area. It was an awful lot of fun.
“Ben (Goldsmith, general manager) and Emily (Hilton, assistant manager) were awesome. Adam (Batchelor), the general manager when I first started, was really cool.
“It was a bunch of people who believed in what they were doing. They were top notch – I can’t fault them.”
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“Punters would come up to me and have a little chat,” he added.
“They were cool and up for a bit of a boogie.
“I was gutted when I was told it was closing. I honestly felt it was starting to go in the right direction.
“They were booking more bands and DJs. I thought, if they keep going down that road, it would have picked up and got the character it needed.
“The music scene in places like Salisbury is dying. With more closures, it’s getting harder for bands and DJs to get out there.
“There’s nothing I love more than getting a dancefloor moving, especially when it’s something I love playing.
“Rude Giant never restricted what I could play. It’s rare that you get places that say, ‘do whatever you want to do, what you think will work’ and give you that space and freedom.”
Inside Rude Giant Beer House on its final night (Image: Newsquest) Other DJs and event organisers have also expressed their sadness at the venue’s closure.
Emma Ryalls, a DJ, producer and broadcaster, said: “Wish I could come say goodbye to the team! You’ve been amazing to support me [and] kickstart my event this past year.”
Make Salisbury Rave Again, a group that held an event at Rude Giant in December, wrote: “Ben, Emily and the team were doing a great job turning Rude Giant into a great live music venue in the city.
“We’re certainly sad to see you closing your doors.”