Angus Robb was getting ready to retire after 30 years shaping Dundee’s music scene when the pandemic changed his plans.
The man who ran Fat Sam’s for 20 years and brought acts big and small to the city in venues like the Caird Hall and Bar Chevrolet, decided to retrain and “reset” during lockdown.
A pivot to golf tourism reinvigorated his passion for business, culminating this year with the opening of Dundee’s newest venue, LiveHouse.
Gus, as he’s also known, says he is incredibly excited about the bands they will be able to attract to the city more regularly with the new concert hall.
This is evidenced already with Gen Z chart-topper YungBlud and art-rock legends Franz Ferdinand announcing their only upcoming Scottish dates at LiveHouse — shows he says venues in other cities would have “bitten your hand off for”.
But it is the venue’s potential as a larger event space — hosting business and university conferences, club nights, darts tournaments and boxing matches — that he is keen to explore.
LiveHouse will be ‘multifaceted’
Gus says the way people pay and engage with media has changed since 2020.
This meant the city’s newest music space in the city has to be different.
“It’s all about the experience and making the venue an experience for people to come to,” he said.
“It’s not just about buying a ticket and that’s it.
“We’re trying to do added value for the people coming to gigs. It’s changed dramatically in that respect.
“When we built Fat Sam’s Live the idea was for it to be in between the Caird Hall and the original Fat Sam’s in terms of size. But it never really hit that spot.
“With LiveHouse we’ve got the opportunity now.”
Angus said the expansion of the venue capacity would take place in phases. The first sees it sit at 2,150. By phase three, it should reach 3,500.
“So what’s presented at LiveHouse is much bigger than just the live music side of things.
“There’s to be darts, boxing, fashion shows, conferencing. LiveHouse will be totally multifaceted. The whole industry and the way people socialise has been turned upside down.”
LiveHouse boss on life in music
The music promoter will be sharing his experiences on Tuesday, June 24 at the Courier Business Conference.
He promoted some of the country’s biggest acts — including Lewis Capaldi, Paolo Nutini and Biffy Clyro — in various Dundee venues.
“I was actually getting ready to retire. But the pandemic was a reset for everyone,” he said.
“So I retrained. I’m involved in golf tourism in Fife and I retrained to do that.
“And then the opportunity itself for LiveHouse. How could I refuse? I’m Dundee born and bred.
“So it is very exciting to be involved in something of this scale, which is probably towards the end of my career.
“It’s the biggest thing in terms of the size and scale and opportunity, that I’ve done.”
Courier Business Conference 2025
Featuring Little Lies fashion designer Jade Robertson, Creative Dundee boss Gillian Easson, games entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl and DF Concerts supremo Geoff Ellis, the conference will focus on powering Scotland’s creative economy.
Tickets are available from the conference website, which is being hosted in partnership with Henderson Loggie at The Big Real at Water’s Edge in Dundee.
Conversation