Watford’s biggest live music venue has shut down despite trying its hardest to keep operating.

On Saturday evening (October 21), The Horns, in Hempstead Road, confirmed that the night would be its last.

A message from the team said: “We’ve tried our hardest to get us through this, but sadly we can’t.

“The pub is totally unsustainable, and I can’t keep it running any longer. I’m truly very sorry for any inconvenience caused.

“Thank you massively to the bands, friends, and customers for all your help fundraisers and gigs over the years.”

Covers band ChapterSix then announced, on Sunday, that “sadly” its planned gig next Saturday was cancelled “as the venue was forced to close down last night after facing unsustainable costs”.

They added that the venue “will be greatly missed".

Watford Observer: The HornsThe Horns (Image: Stephen Danzig)

Around this time last year (October 30, 2022), The Horns initially announced it had closed “for the last time” before an “extraordinary” response from locals and meetings with its brewer produced fresh hope it would be able to keep going.

It reopened with a fundraiser and #savethehornswatford campaign before eventually making Saturday’s announcement, with the "so sad" news generating hundreds of comments from locals.

Manager Jane Giles had warned the venue was in danger as early as 2019, due to dwindling customers and high running costs, before joining a campaign launched by the Music Venue Trust called Save our Venues in 2020.