Independent Venue Week 2024

If you’re here, chances are you like a bit of live music. Whether it’s a rave or a gig, Skiddle is all about celebrating and sharing the love, joy, and connection, the beauty, that is live music. But without venues, these moments wouldn’t happen.

Independent Venue Week is all about celebrating the grassroots venues that give us the space to enjoy live music. They’re the lifeblood of our beloved industry. 

“When is independent venue week?” we hear you wondering through the screen. Independent Venue Week 2024 goes down from Monday 29th January to Sunday 4th February. Since it’s just around the corner, we thought we’d highlight some of the best indie venues their upcoming events. 

With plenty of devastating news circulating about how our venues are being forced to close, it’s more important than ever to get out to an event and support our venues. And the good news is, they’ve made it pretty easy with loads of fantastic events! 

Check out what’s going down at some of the best grassroots venues across the UK below and book your tickets now.

 

The Engine Rooms 

Upcoming events: IVW// Cheidu Oraka, IVW/ The Kut, IVW// Black Market Karma, IVW// Crae Wolf

Grassroots venue and rehearsal studio The Engine Rooms is a true gem of east London, having provided the city with cracking gigs since 2014. With a capacity for 120 music lovers, Engine Rooms has hosted punk gigs, rap battles, club nights, and more. 

Loads of great acts have torn up its stage including Idles, Static Dress, Wargasm, and more. Just a 5-minute walk from Bow Road and Bow Church DLR stations, heading over for a gig is super easy, so why not head over this IVW? 

 

Find tickets for events at The Engine Rooms 

 

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The Jacaranda, Liverpool

Upcoming events: The Sedition With Special Guests, Brad Stank, JohnsysShots Presents: Independent Venue Week, The Malakites, The Hoosiers 'Confidence' Album Performance, Parlours headline for IVW 

A pretty famous venue in Liverpool, The Jacaranda has an incredible history, but continues to be a go-to venue as it champions local artists while also booking famous artists from across the globe. 

Providing artists with the opportunity to make their first appearances on stage with open mic nights, it’s clear that over its decades of history, The Jacaranda knows a thing or two about nurturing up-and-coming talent, having also been the place where The Beatles first played as The Beatles. 

To sweeten the deal, their events are always stellar! Check out what they’ve got coming up. 

 

Find tickets for events at The Jacaranda 

 

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Hare & Hounds, Birmingham

Upcoming events: 93:00 Presents Indigo Marshall & Friends, Sam Greenfield and Diddy Sweg, Hinds, Chartreuse [Independent Venue Week], Broken Minds Presents Nicky Blackmarket 

A beloved Birmingham institution, Hare and Hounds has become a crucial venue for indie artists to play on their way to the top. UB40 played their first gig here, and artists like Alt-J, Ed Sheeran, and George Ezra gigged here, too. The beautiful Grade II listed building hosts all sorts of events, including bands, raves, comedy nights, and more, with something on pretty much all the time. 

 

Find tickets for events at Hare & Hounds

 

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The Old Fire Station, Carlisle

Upcoming events: Janey Godley 'Not Dead Yet' Tour, The Zutons, Chris Difford from Squeeze and Melvin Duffy, Jon Amor Trio, Trevor Nelson - Soul Nation, Dead Men Walking    

The Old Fire Station is a cracking little venue with a capacity of up to 500 people. This haven for music, arts, and culture, including comedy, is known for its charm and its intimate vibe. Its sound system is incredible, and so are the events they book! For Independent Venue Week, they’ve got a solid variety of events including comedy and music covering a variety of genres. It’s looking fab, as always. 

 

Find tickets for events at The Old Fire Station

 

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The Ferret, Preston

Upcoming events: HASSAN K. + Beija Flo + OORYA + Polypores, Ist Ist, Skinny Living, Baba Ali + guests, #IVW24 All-Dayer ft Cowtown, Pleasureinc, Ginnel, Better Joy, Dubinski with Revivalry & Cadaver Beach 

 The Ferret is the most popular live music venue in Preston, hosting both popular, established bands and upcoming artists to have on your radar. They have gigs throughout the week and on weekends, being a crucial venue for any live music fan in the area and keeping Preston’s scene thriving. The Ferret has some brilliant events coming up during IVW (listed above), but also some brilliant events before and after. Check them out! 

 

Find tickets for events at The Ferret

 

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Kanteena, Lancaster

Upcoming events: Dead Men Walking, Jeramiah Ferrari: Independent Venue Week, IVW - Pill Fangs, Dean McPhee & more

Social space and venue Kanteena is a repurposed warehouse in the centre of Lancaster with food, drink, and entertainment including live music, with a huge outdoor area often used as a beer garden or stage. With a capacity of up to 700 people, Kanteena has few limits when it comes to the events it hosts, bringing music, club nights, festivals, pop-up events, and more. Check out what they’ve got going on for Independent Venue Week 2024.  

 

Find tickets for events at Kanteena

 

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The Black Prince, Northampton

Upcoming events: Skinny Living + Sonny Tennet, Hotel Lux + bloody/bath + Latent Dream, Empyre + Fountain [Independent Venue Week], Ten Tonnes + Katie Malco, TVAM + Phantom Isle, Steve Mason + Lite Sleeper

Venue, pub, and beer garden The Black Prince in the centre of Northampton, just 20 minutes from the train station, has been supporting the local music scene since the 60s. Black Prince even supported local artists during the COVID pandemic by hosting socially-distanced outdoor gigs! 

Shows indoors have a small capacity of 250, allowing music fans to get up close and personal with their favourite artists, welcoming all sorts of artists from a wide variety of genres. In summary, it’s a blessing of a venue that you should definitely check out if you can.  

 

Find tickets for events at The Black Prince

 

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McChuills, Glasgow

Upcoming events: Ramoaners, The Bonnevilles at McChuills, ALTERN 8 / Bosco & Rob Mason, U2 Tribute: Rattled & Hummin'

Established in 1993, McChuills is a legendary Glasgow venue and pub that welcomes music, comedy, cabaret, and more. Valuing artists and giving them a platform, venues like McChuills play a vital role in supporting Glasgow’s music scenes and emerging artists - the chart-topping headliners of tomorrow and the underground heroes. 

 

Find tickets for events at McChuills

 

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The Rockin Chair, Wrexham

Upcoming events: Stuntface, The Blow Monkeys live, Gaz Coombes, The Marley Experience Live, Elvana, ANTONY SZMIEREK @ The Rockin Chair Wrexham

Located in Wrexham's city centre, The Rockin Chair, formerly Central Station, has welcomed some huge names including Pendulum, Chase & Status, Robert Plant, and more over the years. Easy to get to, even via public transport, the venue is the city’s most iconic and clearly has some brilliant events coming up. And while the venue books acts from all over, they’ve also welcomed local Wrexham artists to the stage too. 

 

Find tickets for events at The Rockin Chair

 

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Rebellion, Manchester

Upcoming events: Jungle Cakes, Rammlied, Evil Scarecrow, DSS @ Rebellion, Dead Poet Society

If you love heavy music and live in Manchester, you should already be familiar with Rebellion. And if you aren’t, take this as your sign to check it out. Welcoming all corners of heavy music, even hosting nu metal club nights, Rebellion sits opposite Deansgate Locks and has welcomed plenty of fantastic heavy bands including Static Dress, Vended, and Municipal Waste, but has also expanded to include some dance music events.  

 

Find tickets for events at Rebellion

 

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If we can, IVW is the time to get out there and support our local grassroots venues to keep them alive and thriving before they’re gone, turned into offices or a block of flats. 

Want to help your local venues during Independent Venue Week 2024 by going to some brilliant events? Check out IVW events all across the UK - HERE 

 

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Check out our What's On Guide to discover more rowdy raves and sweaty gigs taking place over the coming weeks and months. For festivals, lifestyle events and more, head on over to our Things To Do page or be inspired by the event selections on our Inspire Me page.

 

 

  

 

 

Header image credit: The Black Prince / Facebook.com