Artist News Gigs & Festivals

Barbican shuts down Just Jam on police advice

By | Published on Wednesday 26 February 2014

Just Jam

The 1 Mar edition of Just Jam, which was supposed to take place live at the Barbican in London, was called off yesterday at the recommendation of the City Of London Police, who raised “public safety concerns” with regards to the event’s management.

The usually basement-based night was due to move above ground for the one-off show, with acts like JME, Mount Kimbie, Loefah, Newham Generals and Omar Souleyman all booked to play against a giant screen, and have their sets streamed live via JJ’s online channel.

Citing amongst other issues the fact that alcohol would be on sale at the event, despite it being open to ticket-holders aged 16 and over, City Of London Police issued a statement yesterday that read (via FACT): “Additionally, there were worries about the lack of adequate measures in place to address potential issues that might arise, including overcrowding if more people decided to attend than the venue could cater for”.

“Ultimately”, it continued, “after consultation the decision to cancel the event was taken by the Barbican as the venue”.​​​​

Reacting “with great regret” to news of the event’s cancellation, an apparently baffled Just Jam HQ said: “We’re struggling to understand why this has happened and will try to start a dialogue with the police so we can discuss whatever issues they have with Just Jam at the Barbican”.

And: “The workshops we’ve recently ran with the Barbican in Fellows Court in Hackney have shown how the artists we work with can get young people from all backgrounds excited about making art and music, we hope to continue working on this and on other projects, with the Barbican in the future”.



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