Why Not? Stage

In Boothstown, we’re proud to have the Why Not? Cafe Bar—a gem of a spot that was crowned the most unique pub in Britain in 2020 by the Daily Star’s Great British Booze Off. This cozy venue has also achieved global fame for its Tiger bread chip butty, featured by the likes of Ladbible, Secret Manchester, and more.

The Why Not? Cafe Bar is equally celebrated for its vibrant Open Mic nights and intimate live gigs, both indoors and in its garden space. The garden stage, with seating for up to 50 people, adds a special charm to these performances. Over the years, the stage signage has gone through some adventures. After losing its "S" and becoming "TAGE," another letter disappeared during a recent makeover, leaving the stage without its signature sign.

Enter Risch Designs, a local business eager to support the community. We stepped in to create a new sign for the stage—but we didn’t want to stop at just a standard replacement. As a technology-driven company, we saw an opportunity to innovate.

Initially, we planned to 3D-print the text for the sign. But then we thought, why not take it a step further? We decided to integrate LEDs into the design, making the sign sound-reactive so it could respond dynamically to the live music.

The letters were crafted using rainbow filament, which gives them a beautiful gradient of colors. To achieve the perfect lighting effect, we applied LED strips along the inside edges of the letters, ensuring a soft, indirect glow instead of exposing individual LEDs.

For added flair, we programmed the LEDs to follow a pen-stroke pattern—modeled after a left-handed writing style—so the letters appear to "write themselves" as they light up. To make it even more exciting, we used NeoPixel LEDs, allowing us to create a variety of dazzling effects. In total, 124 LEDs were embedded inside the letters, all controlled through the versatile WLED project.

But we didn’t stop there. Since WLED supports up to four lighting segments, we added 22 more LEDs to each side of the sign. These additional LEDs visually display the noise level during performances, while the main STAGE letters run their own unique effects.

The sign is WiFi-enabled and can be configured through a browser or a mobile app, making it easy to control and customize.

With this vibrant, tech-enhanced sign, the Why Not? Cafe Bar’s garden stage is more than ready to light up Boothstown’s music scene!