St Luke’s & The Winged Ox ride the whirlwind to top award

ONSTAGE at the SLTN Awards 2022, the St Luke’s top team of operations manager Alex Riches and managing director Michael Woods, flanked by Tim Marchenay from sponsors X by Glenmorangie (left), and comedian and compere for the evening, Jason Manford

GLASGOW’S Saint Luke’s & The Winged Ox has been named Scotland’s ‘Music-led Venue of the Year’ in the country’s top hospitality sector awards.

Music is the heartbeat of many of Scotland’s pubs, bars and clubs, and the award, presented by the Scottish Licensed Trade News, in association with X by Glenmorangie, sought out a business with ‘music at its heart’, making the most of all the opportunities that a strong music offering can bring.

Housed in a disused church adjacent to Glasgow’s famed Barrowland Ballroom, the creation of St Luke’s and the Winged Ox saw the building painstakingly restored and specifically designed as a music venue.

The bar and performance space now offers every type of music event – from acoustic sets by local artists to full-scale shows by international touring acts.

But the venue has also become an integral part of the local community, with the management encouraging local clubs and associations to use the facilities.

“We’re delighted to have received such an amazing award for Saint Luke’s,” said operations manager Alex Riches. “It’s a real credit to all of our staff, management and promoters that we’ve managed to bounce back and host so many amazing gigs and events post pandemic.

“The first seven years here have been an amazing whirlwind and we’re really looking forward to continuing to push forward in the Scottish scene for the next seven and beyond.”

Also reaching the final of the nationwide awards in the ‘Music-led Venue’ category were the Twa Tams in Perth, and Glasgow’s BLOC+.