When the Journal newsroom received a press release about a drum and bass night taking place at Salisbury’s historic, council-run Guildhall, I thought ‘I have GOT to go to this’.

Rumbling bass and ravers in the banqueting hall, watched over by portraits of mayors from years gone by, all taking place at a venue in which celebrating Burn’s night is considered cutting edge - this was something that simply had to be witnessed.

Organised by friends Bevan Ward (aka DJ Bevwaan) and Charlie Gale, the Out In The Streets launch night featured five DJs and a bar run by local craft beer purveyors Sips.

With a shared love of drum and bass, Charlie and Bevan wanted to create a ‘club’ style night with a tasteful twist. They said: "Our aim is to bring together a diverse group of music lovers (age, gender and ethnicity) in a unique venue with selected top quality partners (Sips and Professional Party Hire) for a niche night of culture and music appreciation."

Arriving around 9.30pm, my partner and I were greeted by the sound of a throbbing bassline as we checked into the totally transformed civic building.

Initial fears that we would be the oldest ravers in town were quickly allayed as we found ourselves among a mixed demographic of twenty, thirty, forty and fifty-somethings.

The Crown Court room - with all its civic chattels on display - had become a minimalist bar, constructed entirely of lit-up IBC water tanks - the kind you normally find on Wiltshire’s farms. The Banqueting Hall meanwhile was a rumbling rave pit, with an eclectic selection of junglists worshipping at the altar of Jungle and DnB, played by the array of mainly Bristol-based DJs from a makeshift, but impressive stage.

Whilst this genre of dance music has had a major commercial resurgence in recent months (see Chase & Status), it has to be said this was a night for true lovers of the old-school drum and bass and jungle. At times it seemed the sound system, and the atmosphere, couldn’t quite cope with the unforgiving, high ceiling of the Guildhall, but you’ve simply got to hand it to the promoters and Salisbury City Council for getting this together and letting it happen.

Big up yourselves Out In The Streets, you 'did a thing' and you did it amazingly well.

Hopefully the first of many dance events our former mayors will bear witness to, in portrait form at least – I think the real ones may well have been terrified.