The legendary bassline brand returns at Network Sheffield on Saturday 17 October, bringing its old skool and next generation together and beginning a new phase for Niche
For more than three decades, Niche has occupied a unique place in the city’s musical history. Established at the club on Sidney Street, it gave a home, an identity and a dancefloor to the fast, bass-heavy sound that Sheffield helped shape into bassline, while providing a platform for the DJs, MCs, producers and vocalists around it. That influence travelled far beyond the building. Through tapes, CDs, car stereos and packed dancefloors across the country, ‘Niche’ became shorthand for a distinctly Sheffield sound. Few club names have come to describe a venue, a community and a genre at once which is why this return matters well beyond a single night.
The return begins with a night designed both as a homecoming and a statement of intent. Artists who helped define Niche will share the bill with Sheffield DJs and producers carrying bassline into new spaces, before a wider programme expands the name through events, a record label, artist development, content and clothing. The line-up brings together names closely associated with Niche’s history alongside artists representing its next chapter, including Michelle Platinum, live performances from Bassboy and Kaylee, DJ EJ with a live PA from Zoe, Nev Wright and Dom Brown going back-to-back ‘to Sidney Street’, plus JTJ, Wardy, JYB and Thorpey, the Sheffield producer closely associated with Off Me Nut Records. Host Forca is the Sheffield MC, DJ and artist behind Wub Club, a label and event platform championing new UK bass talent. Together, the bill reflects both the residents, performers and audiences who gave Niche its meaning and the new generation carrying that sound forward.
The new team behind Niche is a Sheffield-rooted group with decades of combined experience across music, DJing, club promotion, event production, grassroots projects, hospitality and venue operations. It includes people who have performed under the Niche banner and others who have spent years building nights, audiences and music projects in the city. They came together because they did not want a name of this importance to fade. Their ambition is to ensure Sheffield-created dance music continues to reach new audiences for years to come.
Drew Garber, Operations Director of Niche, said:
“We’re so happy to announce that Niche is back! The relaunch is the first step in building a new future for the name while keeping it connected to the people, the sound and the city that made it.
“People care deeply about Niche and we know our responsibility is to keep that legacy in safe hands while giving the residents and artists who built it a home, and the next generation a genuine platform.
“We want to build Niche into a Sheffield super-brand the city can be proud of, rooted in the city but active all year and creating global impact through events, releases, artist development, content and clothing.”
Former owner Kate Baxendale passed ownership of the Niche brand to the new Sheffield-based team and is pleased to see its legacy continuing in the city. The new team say their focus is on respecting the people and culture that built Niche while creating a sustainable future for the name.
The relaunch is the starting point. Plans include an artist collective and record label to support emerging underground producers through official Niche events, collaborations, releases, remixes, live sessions and digital content. The longer-term ambition is to establish Niche as a Sheffield super-brand: a year-round platform spanning events, music, artist development, content and clothing. The city remains its home and its source of credibility. The opportunity now is to protect a history that belongs to Sheffield while reinvigorating the brand for a new generation.
Niche Relaunch runs from 9pm to 4am at Network Sheffield, 14–16 Matilda Street, on Saturday 17 October 2026. Tickets are on sale through Eventbrite, with ticket prices starting at £15 plus booking fee.
Tickets: Niche Relaunch on Eventbrite
