A few years ago, the idea of an Oran Mor-style music and arts hub in the Calton would have seemed faintly ridiculous. For this neglected part of the East End, with its endemic poverty and social problems, there were – and still are – bigger issues at hand than not having a place to watch bands, drink beer and gorge on delicious smoked meats.
Fast forward to 2016, and behold Saint Luke’s: a hip, vibrant, multi-purpose venue just yards from the Barras. The East End’s transition into the new West End might have stalled, but this converted church is at the forefront of the area’s regeneration.
A £1.2 million renovation has produced a cutting-edge facility that retains features from its original incarnation – the former St Luke’s and St Andrew’s Parish Church – while adding elements essential to modern-day hipsterdom. Chief among these is a bar and restaurant (the biblically-named The Winged Ox Bar and Kitchen), which serves up ribs, brisket, pulled pork, and all those other succulent staples of US-style barbeque cuisine.
It’s just one piece of a complex puzzle – one concert hall (and smokehouse) does not equal a gentrification boom, even if it can draw the likes of New York rapper Ghostface Killah and LA electronica artist Tim Hecker. But these are the first shoots of a reinvigorated Calton. The Restless Natives festival, which took place at venues across the East End earlier this month, was a multi-disciplinary festival showcasing the best in independent music, film and food from across Scotland. Safe to say it was an absolute triumph: if, in a few years, we’re talking about the Calton in the same way we’re talking about Finnieston now, it will be impossible not to think of this as a turning point.
Saint Luke’s
Q: Who’d be your ideal festival headliner?
1 Ashley Pollock, 23, Glasgow
Favourite Club? SWG3
Favourite Bar? Saint Luke’s
Favourite DJ? Nicholas Jaar
Favourite Band? The Doors
First Club? The Arches
What You Drinking? Tequila
Describe Your Dancing? Two-stepper
2 James Tato, 24, Parkhead, Kasabian
3 Rachael Beattie, 25, Parkhead, Paolo Nutini
4 Ruby Neely, 23, Garrowhill, The Beatles
Rebecca Cameron, 21, Mount Vernon, Carly Connor
5 Jennifer Cameron, 22, Mount Vernon, Bruce Springsteen
6 Jake Garthwaite, 22, Charing Cross, Robert Johnson
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here