The Milton Arms and The Old Barn in Portsmouth get a rousing final weekend of DJs and live music

ANOTHER pub and music venue will be hosting its final band and serving its final pint this weekend.
Mr Clean - The Sounds of The Jam will be playing at Mod Fest 8 on the final night of The Old Barn in MiltonMr Clean - The Sounds of The Jam will be playing at Mod Fest 8 on the final night of The Old Barn in Milton
Mr Clean - The Sounds of The Jam will be playing at Mod Fest 8 on the final night of The Old Barn in Milton

The Milton Arms, on Milton Road, Portsmouth, and its adjacent live music venue The Old Barn, are closing down at the end of play on Sunday.

The final weekend’s entertainment kicks off tonight with PunchFunk – The Final Encore. The DJ crew, comprised of Chris Vaux and Simon Blann, The 24hr DJ will be in residence from 9pm to 4am.

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Tomorrow night, Zeal Movement will present their second Danse Club takeover, which runs a full 12 hours from 3pm to 3am.

And then the final night’s honours goes to Portsmouth Mod Fest 8, with the bands Mr Clean – The Sounds of The Jam, and The Butterfly Collective.

Mod Fest organiser Jack Gibson said: ‘The first Mod Fest was in 2012 and we were always at The Cellars at Eastney, and they always sold out, but that’s sadly no longer there.

‘We did one last year at the bandstand and that went well, but we wanted to find a proper new home.

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‘The guys at The Barn came to me and said they had this venue that’s a similar size to The Cellars and I thought we could settle down there for a good few years. Then we got the news that it’s shutting down. It’s an iconic little venue that people love and they were just starting to get live music back in there.

‘It’s absolutely shocking that it’s closing, especially considering that people are going out to live music again – and the venues are all closing down. We want to send it off in style. I really don’t know where we’re going to go for the next one.’

Tickets are still available at £8. Doors open 7pm. Go to oldbarnmilton.co.uk.

Departing landlord Steve Hudson had previously told The News that he had decided not to renew his lease at the pub after failing to reach an agreement over terms with owners Ei Group – formerly known as Enterprise Inns.

A statement from Ei Publican Partnerships said: ‘We’re currently working hard to find a new tenant and want to reassure regulars that the pub will very much remain a hub for the local community.’

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