ABOUT US

The creation of The Royal – Glenside’s newest 100-person capacity live music venue – was driven by life experience, daily struggles, and a desire to be inclusive. 

 

The COVID-19 global pandemic changed our world forever. Over the past few years, many cherished Glenside businesses, including The Blue Comet, The Bike Works, and others were forced to close their doors. The music community was especially hard-hit by the loss of music venues, not just in Glenside but throughout the Philadelphia area.

 

Our founders – Bridgett Gordon and Jerry Clarke – believe that Glenside and its neighboring communities needed a destination, a home for music, as we inched our way out of the pandemic.

 

Our vision is to provide a creative home where people of all backgrounds, music of all genres, and musicians of all experience levels feel welcome. We invite members of the community to come together and celebrate the local music and comedy scene, local artists, and local businesses. We want the musicians and comedians who play in our venue to feel they are participating in a “red carpet” event, whether they are novices just starting out or professionals who have toured for years. We want to treat musicians – and their listeners – like the royalty they are.

 

We chose the name “Royal” as our way of expressing the high status we believe artists deserve in our society. But by no means does the name suggest we expect lofty perfection. Quite the opposite. There is no expectation for being flawless. Some of the best music has come, and will always come, from an artist making a “mistake,” one that leads to a new and surprising path. We embrace that. Make mistakes. Make tons of mistakes - BUT learn from them.

 

As Miles Davis said, “Do not fear mistakes – there are none.”

 

In 2022, after celebrating our first anniversary, we transitioned to a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and expanded our mission. While music is our core, we knew this community needed more - comedy shows, karaoke, musical bingo, private parties, vendor fairs. The Royal is no longer just a listening room, it is a community resource, a gathering place, and a venue for artists to thrive.