Inferno Firepit
For a few years, Tewkesbury had one of the best grass roots music venues in the south-west.
It began in the early 2020s, when The White Bear pub on Bredon Road, after years of struggling with local flooding, closed down and was converted into offices. One of the outbuildings, an old skittle alley at the top of perilous iron staircase, was converted into a tap room by local brewer Chris Bowley. As well as selling his own beer there, he put in a stage and a sound system, and somehow persuaded some of the most talented bands and musicians in the area to come and play there for him and his customers, for free. He also organised a free festival in the field next to the venue every summer that I personally think was better than the bigger well-known ones.
Even though I live in Tewkesbury and love live music, I didn’t hear about the Inferno straight away, and when I did it still took me a while to summon up the courage to venture inside – those stairs were quite intimidating. As soon as I did though, I was hooked. I became a regular, attending every live event could, dragging family and friends along with me.
The Inferno Firepit had so many great things going for it: fantastic live music, friendly atmosphere, and it was near my house! The amazing beer was also a key part. Did I mention that Chris is a brewer? He made his beer on the premises, in a room underneath those metal stairs. Well, I don’t know if it was the party atmosphere, or the fact that the beer was served so fresh, or if Chris is the most talented brewer in the world, but I have never had a more enjoyable pint than Prometheus in the Inferno Firepit. So good!
The music was what really made it special though. Black Bear Kiss, Rebel & the Banned, Super Blue Moon, Chug, The Leon Daye Band … I had not heard of any of these before I saw them live, but they all totally won me over. The venue, and the bands that played there, made me feel like a teenager again, when I was a regular at a similar place (sadly, also now gone) in Newcastle.
I made a Spotify playlist of all the bands I saw at The Inferno. Go on, give it a listen. The first few tracks on this playlist are some of my favourite songs of recent years, but they are all by bands who are not exactly household names.
I could tell The Inferno was struggling at the end of 2025; sometimes it was busy, but more often than not there would just be a handful of regulars there. I thought maybe people didn’t know about the venue, so I decided to offer to help out with publicity. I had a few ideas, including creating a website like this one. Before I could speak to Chris about those ideas though, he announced that the Firepit was closing down. Apparently the increase in business rates that was coming into effect in April 2026 was the last straw. I very much doubt that my ideas would have made much difference, but I left it too late anyway, so I will never know.
Sadly, the Inferno Firepit closed down in March 2026.
As you can see, I made the website anyway. After all, I need to find a new venue to become a regular at, and since I am doing the research anyway, I might as well share it with you. Still, if anyone ever decides to bring back The Inferno (preferably with Chris’s amazing beer, he still makes it!) please let me know.
https://www.facebook.com/Infernofirepit/
Thanks to Mike Martin for (most of) the photos.
