#24 Deeper Into Outer Space | Gonzo's Two Room
With Norwich’s Gonzo’s Two Room voted Best Venue in the UK and Europe on BBC Radio 1, the club's Levi de Belgeonne shares how the space has become one of the UK's most lauded nocturnal spots...
Norwich might not necessarily be the first place that dances into mind when thinking of clubs but then the city’s Gonzo’s Two Room isn’t just any nocturnal space.
With the city centre building featuring a bar, restaurant and place to stay alongside a roof-terrace and intimate club, it’s a multi-level playground for DJs and dancers to immerse themselves in.
“It provides this weird, magical experience that people just don’t expect,” says Head Booker and Marketing Manager Levi de Belgeonne. “There aren’t many clubs that can offer so many things within the same building. And that’s why Skream, Erol Alkan or Ewan McVicar really shout about us. Skream came and loved it so much, he ended up spending 72 hours here.”
This 200 capacity club is one of the UK’s most exciting spaces right now but its dancefloor and DJ cage are just one element of a potent experience that goes beyond the sound system. This is part of why DJs are falling over themselves to play while BBC Radio 1 named Gonzo’s Two Room winner of its Best Venue (UK and Europe) category at the Dance Music Awards. It was a public vote that saw them up against the likes of Amnesia, Fabric and the Warehouse Project and Levi believes their win shines a light on a side of Norwich’s character that is rarely celebrated.
“The portrayal of Norwich comes through Alan Partridge, it’s seen as this backwater with a lack of diversity. But it’s the opposite, it has an incredible independent business scene, the art school, the university and this rich culture within it.”
The birth of Gonzo’s
So how has this small club in Norwich become such an important space in UK clubland in 2025? The journey has been a long, winding and sometimes bumpy one - for Levi, it began when he moved to the city fresh out of school with few qualifications to his name.
“I grew up in the Suffolk countryside and was always into rap,” he says. “There was this great collection of crews around here and Ipswich and they would put on these amazing free parties in the marshes with a variety of musical styles - from hard techno and hip hop to drum and bass. It blew my mind and I knew I wanted to be part of it.”
Under the spell of bass and late nights, Levi taught himself to mix and scratch records, then moved to Norwich without any expectations or much in the way of education. But landing a job at a clothes shop proved to be a game-changer which led to him throwing his own parties as the worlds of grime, dubstep and house all collided during the 2000s.
“I was lucky to get a job at this independent clothes shop which would sell brands like Carhartt and Stussy,” he explains. “It proved to be a bit of a social hub and I ended up meeting lots of people through the shop, all these like-minded individuals and started promoting events.”
The initial rumblings of Gonzo’s Two Room came out of another venue, Bermuda Bob’s, which was set up in 2018 by owners and brothers Mike and Brad Baxter. With Levi on programming, this collaboration was in a different area of Norwich before an opportunity came up in Gonzo’s current space. Mike and Brad had already established Gonzo’s Tea Room as a bar and restaurant in the same building the club now lives in too and asked Levi to continue working with them under this additional guise.
“We kicked the accountants out on the second floor who occupied the space, knocked down some walls, then opened Gonzo’s Two Room in there,” Levi explains. “But we were just starting to find our feet, the paint was drying and then Covid hit so everything suddenly stopped.”
Norwich’s evolution
During the late 2000s and early 2010s before Gonzo’s Levi recalls a thriving Norwich nightlife with spaces of various sizes catering for local talent and bigger touring acts alongside a vibrant DIY scene. Different promoters were hosting parties with healthy ticket sales until some of the spaces suddenly shut.
“We were having this amazing time, but then around 2016, these two smaller 300 cap clubs closed and our larger venue stopped promoting dance music events,” Levi explains.
“All of a sudden the scene died overnight. That’s why when we opened Bob’s, we straight away invested in a four-point Funktion-One sound system - there hadn’t been a venue like that with a sound system of that quality.”
Now, in part thanks to the work of Levi and the rest of the Gonzo’s family, Norwich nights are beginning to dazzle once again with an array of local talent, promoters and DJs working together to reanimate the scene.
“There’s an amazing venue called Space Studios, that puts on events each week for 150 people,” says Levi. “It has incredible representation, different genres and supports more underground acts and talent. They do a brilliant job.”
Gonzo’s looks after the next level of touring act while also providing an exciting platform to nurture its resident DJs. According to Levi, the fantastic footfall enjoyed by the venue due to its prime location in the centre of Norwich means up and coming talent have opportunities to curate their own parties or work on nights with artists from further afield.
“We make sure everyone gets paid properly, maybe do the door for free or a low entry point, then as the DJs grow, we give them support slots with bigger touring DJs,” Levi says. “The scene is small in Norwich but is very vibrant and there are some seriously great DJs here.”
“People just forget about these regional cities but we have talent that can go toe to toe with anyone. Sometimes, these local DJs have their following, know what resonates and understand how to work their crowd more effectively than touring acts.”
Drum and bass has been a prevailing sound and style in Norwich and across East Anglia but Levi is hopeful that this will expand with Norwich University recently launching a new BA in Electronic Music and Sound Production.
“The art school is doing this new course and we’re hoping to work to help them develop a talent pool of producers and artists that has been too small for a long time,” Levi says.
“I always say how there are more than 300,000 people in Norwich and the surrounding area but sometimes it’s hard to sell 200 tickets to a bespoke electronic gig. Hopefully the course will change this.”
Programming
Levi is responsible for the event calendar, with diversity and representation core parts of the booking process. He counts his ongoing immersion in electronic music culture alongside an ability to form relationships with some of the best agents that have helped keep DJs such as Maribou State and I.Jordan wanting to play. For newer acts, Levi stays glued to Bandcamp, SoundCloud, NTS and Rinse FM and ensures his ears are always open.
“We don’t just want to book top tier talent, we want exciting up and coming talent too,” he explains. “I’m still kinda young although edging 40 now so I Iisten to all our resident DJs alongside the online stuff. I try to soak that all up and be directed by everyone and everything. Our amazing resident DJ/Artist Liaison Only Child is also a key part of our space, he’s often first point of contact for all DJs and events wouldn’t run as well without him.”
So what is the secret source in the club’s success? As Levi has said it’s partly due to the rainbow of experiences on offer. On the building’s ground floor is Gonzo’s Tea Room, this maximalist late night bar and restaurant, then the club sits above this on the second floor.
Brix and Bones is their high-end restaurant also located on the second floor while above there is another restaurant and cocktail bar. Then down in the basement is an intimate 150 cap space that supports local live music and acts. Then there is the way the DJs are treated and the warm welcome Levi and the team offer.
“We recently had Benga for one of his first solo shows since his return,” says Levi. “We fitted him at 5pm in Brix and Bones with his son and partner, they had an amazing meal, came in to do the soundcheck and his son did the lights. They went, dropped their son off, then came back and he played the most amazing set.”
“Skream came early on the Friday to hang out with Ewan McVicar, then he played on Saturday, and loved the space so much, he invited Coki, Ewan and Benga to do this incredible B2B with him.”
Nightlife’s demise?
Gonzo’s offers a ray of light in a dark time for clubs - as anyone reading this Substack will know, somewhat depressingly, I’m regularly citing statistics from the Night Time Industries Association stating how none will be left by 31 December 2029 alongside other gloomy reports. But Gonzo’s is doing its best to turn this conversation inside itself.
“Our club is part of an ecosystem where each part supports the other,” says Levi. “We’re lucky that we can weather this horrible storm as we’re not just a nightclub - we have other elements to lean on. Although as a whole, hospitality is very much on the ropes.”
“Gonzo’s is only possible because Mike and Brad take risks, we built it from this venue that was all black with stained beds in it that ended up closing. Now we’re offering a high-end meal and these brilliant local and touring acts.”
While other venues are struggling with ticket sales or simply keeping the lights on, Gonzo’s is a regular sell-out with a high calibre of DJs all clamouring to play. However, despite their success, there are plenty of issues and challenges including fees surrounding DJ appearances that need to be discussed.
“We have worked hard for this and are so lucky a lot of DJs who are close to us have agents who will look after us,” Levi explains. “But some work with travel agents who have set parameters around what they want - they might have particular travel requirements, rider, accommodation, taxis to and from airports. I might have done the budget, tickets have sold out, then we’re suddenly hit with all of these extras. If there is no flexibility from management and agent, that could instantly wipe out all event profits. It’s unsustainable to run events at a loss, no matter how big the DJ.”
Norwich’s relative proximity to London also means it is competing for talent and attention with some of the bigger clubs in the capital, including Drumsheds too.
“We are only an hour and a half from Drumsheds and sometimes, we have to charge £20/25 to see one artist in a 200 cap room,” Levi says. “There are some amazing things that come with that but Drumsheds is able to put 20 of those artists on for £40. You can get a return train from London as it finishes at 10, you can get back by 11. Sadly, there are less places to play which gives us a bit more leverage when bargaining on fees - but the decline in the number of spaces for DJs and dancers is a shitty situation.”
Gonzo’s future
While there’s something increasingly tough about today’s landscape and plenty to ponder about what needs to change, Levi is buoyed by the DJs and artists he is able to put on.
Fridays in March have been curated by non-binary and female talent, discussions are ongoing about outdoor events while they’re also looking to overhaul the club’s bar.
“We’re excited to welcome everyone to the club, whether it be a new DJ or a bigger name,” Levi laughs.
“Our DJ Lily Ann (video above) is one of your youngest, most exciting residents, her dad used to be on our dancefloors and at parties I used to curate. It’s moments like this, seeing this next generation of talent coming through, this is what is amazing and kind of why we do it. That’s the magic…”
Visit instagram.com/gonzostworoom for more.
Club photos | Amy Lovett | Benga photo | Sophie Muscat | Gonzo’s team photo | Biff Cross
For more on club and rave culture, you can order a copy of my book, ‘Out of Space: How UK Cities Shaped Rave Culture’ via the Velocity Press website now.