Venues

The Bull is a traditional 18th century pub with a welcoming atmosphere. It attracts families, locals and shoppers who come in for the value for money food offers and competitive prices on a wide range of drinks. The Bull is centrally located in the heart of Dereham and boasts a great, popular back terrace seating area. The friendly team  welcome new and old customers alike. Weather permitting bands will play outside at the rear where there is wheelchair access.

Recently back on the live music circuit thanks to Sarah, Morgana and Gordon this centrally situated  traditional pub has lots of character and knows a good band as well as a good pint. Free house serving Green King, Molson Corrs they will also be providing a Barbecue from 2-9 pm on Sunday of the festival.  They have their own private spaces located in a large municipal shoppers car park that is right next door.

The Cock public house has been lovingly restored back to its original name as a traditiona, real ale pub. With a classy internal decor, The Cock is a Freehouse serving delicious and interesting beers from local and national brewers, as well as specials from around the world.  Conveniently located on Norwich Street, The Cock has a lovely relaxed and friendly vibe and will be hosting free entry music gigs throughout the festival.

A great friendly fun bar. This is an upstairs bar with a tardis-like feel as it's much bigger inside than it appears on the outside, providing plenty of room for folk who like to express their enjoyment of live blues through dance!

A popular and very central venue right by Dereham Market Place memorial. Nearest car park is the main Cherry Tree car park with free parking all day.

Dereham Cricket Club became a venue for the blues festival for the first time in 2019 and had a sensational evening of it, with barbecue, bar and fantastic crowd-pleasing live (and loud) blues music from Robin Bibi and his band . The cricket club is based in a lovely setting off the Norwich Road, next to the fire station, just 350 metres from the level crossing. There is a small amount of parking on site.  In 2020 the Cricket Club will offer pitches for a limited number of camper vans. There is a ramp giving access for wheelchair users into the club-house and bar, but the live music event and barbecue will be outside, weather permitting.

The Cricket Club is on Norwich Road, next to the Fire Station (NR20 3AS). Contact derehamcricket@gmail.com for info about camping.

A brand new venue for 2020 - chill out with a swift round in the surroundings of the beautiful golf course or relax in the comfortable lounge. Open to non-members on the 7th July with a friendly bar, outdoors barbecue and live music in the club house from 7pm. The golf club is just half a mile from the Market Place in the town centre, on Quebec Road.

Dereham Memorial Hall is rapidly becoming established as the major venue for a whole range of arts and entertainment events in central Norfolk! From meditation workshops to music and dance classes, the refurbished main hall is also a great venue for an extensive all year round programme of  theatre, music and family entertainment. The Memorial Hall has wheelchair access. 

​This year the Friends of Dereham Memorial Hall will once again host the opening concert with the amazing show-stopping boogie-woogie keyboard artist, Mr Mike Sanchez and his band, the Portions. This is an event not to be missed and the concert will open with the lovely 'When Rivers Meet' as a complete contrast. Tickets for this opening concert are £25 each, selling fast and available from this link. Don't miss out on your chance to catch this incredible and sought-after artist on one of his very few concerts in the UK this year.

G's Bar is a new live music venue to bring LIVE entertainment to the centre of Dereham town, with a large dance floor and comfortable seating around tables. They also have snooker, pool and darts. There is ground floor access. 

The Gemini pub and restaurant has long been a favourite with locals and is less than half a mile from the town centre. Under new management, it has an  extensive menu served in a large, welcoming restaurant. It is family friendly, with a very large garden and well equipped children's play area. It also has ample parking and a permanent ramp from the car park into the building for wheelchair users. 

The Greenstone is a traditional family-oriented carvery and pub situated on the south side of the A47 road and just one mile from Dereham Market Place. With a generous car park it is easy to access on car or on foot. The Greenstone takes pride in the quality of their food and drink and take care to ethically source their ingredients. In 2020, they will be holding a barbecue and ale festival and live blues bands in the garden on the Sunday afternoon. 01362 788080

Serving good pub food this freehouse has its own car park and accommodation and is in easy walking distance from the High Street and shopping precinct. This is one of the larger festival venues with an outdoor stage in a large, pleasant and enclosed beer garden. The hotel will provide a marquee or open up the function room if the sky is not as blue as the festival music. The Kings Head also offers camping at £15 for the whole weekend and has 11 rooms to let  at special rates. An all weekend barbecue will available. Wheelchair access is by the side entrance from Norwich Street into the garden. The nearest car park is the Cowper Road.

Deep in the heart of Dereham, at the crossroads of the Norfolk blues delta, 'Lou's Juke Joint' evokes the kinda barrelhouse, honky tonk you'd find in a town deep in the Mississippi Delta.

Hosted by Lou's Connections (including original artwork by Peter Shrank and Doreen Aitkin), 'Lou's Juke Joint' takes over the Metro for one day to bring y'all the finest acoustic blues that the Dereham Blues Festival has to offer.

Located in the cellar of the old Corn Exchange Building, now the town cinema, The Metro has a significant distinction of being in the building in which Jimi Hendrix played in 1967. He apparently managed to put his guitar through the roof! This venue, right in the middle of the town has a reputation for being both innovative and popular. In 2018, as last year, the Metro will host the atmospheric  'Lou's Juke Joint' providing a non-stop stream of blues and blues jam sessions. There are steps down into the Metro club 

What... a station? Yes, with a difference. The imaginative hard working team have built up this popular tourist attraction from a derelict Beeching casualty. They are frequent hosts to jazz events on the trains and on the platform and have hosted theatrical productions. They have hosted every year of the festival providing a  chance to experience blues in an exciting and  unique environment. Ample parking and a licensed event cafe serving snacks makes this a popular destination. It is also accessible to wheelchair users.

This licensed cafe preserves the premises of a once vibrant pub as a hub of the community. Being a very central venue, since it began taking part in 2016, the Old Eagle has become a popular destination for Blues Festival fans. A stones throw from the large free municipal car park, this family friendly venue serves a distinct and flavoursome menu that has become popular with locals.  This is a great place for your festival experience to start - or end - or just stop and let the live blues music come to you.  There are steps into the main refreshments area where the bands would normally play.

In a first for the blues festival, the comfortable Orion Cinema will be showing blues music movies over the festival weekend. Check their website for details of films and show times. The cinema is located very centrally in Dereham Market Place. The cinema has shallow steps to the front entrance. 

Very central traditional pub,  an ideal starting point either to the festival or to explore the town. Now under new ownership, the venue has been completely refurbished and boasts no less than four very large screens. Use a town centre car park, the Red Lion is right next to the cinema and the central Market Place. The staff have a ramp for help with wheelchair access but no disabled loo.