Independent Venue Week Spotlight: The Castle and Falcon, Birmingham

We are in the midst of Independent Venue Week, where special gigs are put on across the UK at the most important independent venues. The places that are crucial to the UK's grassroots music scene, you can have some of the most memorable nights of your life in them and they should rightly be celebrated.

We're taking a closer look at some of the independent venues we love and this time around we're focussing on The Castle and Falcon in Birmingham. Initially established all the way back in 1852, the pub later became a live music venue and has been welcoming in artists for decades.

(You can find tickets for Tide Lines on Saturday 25th March here)

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They have had some crucially important names come through the doors in their history including UB40 and Duran Duran. They also played a key part in providing a platform for bands during the Birmingham punk scene for years. In 2017 the venue had a complete renovation which transformed the way it operated.

Now, it has a capacity of 400 people to stand and is better than ever. They have artists from America, Canada, Australia and even Russia come to the venue. In the past, they've seen memorable names take to the stage such as Sam Fender, Mahalia, Tom Walker and The Night Cafe.

They all appeared when they were just rising stars when venues of this size were vital in launching their careers which proves just how strong the power of independent venues is. It just goes to show that everyone starts somewhere and for those who don't have a headstart in the industry, they have to build themselves a platform on stages such as these.

Always keen to keep themselves busy, The Castle and Falcon are keen to keep their calendar as full as possible. Adding in the most exciting talents that they can find, they have a talent for securing the most talented and interesting new creators. They don't limit themselves to gigs either, with plenty of club nights featuring their resident DJs.

(You can find tickets for Larkins on Tuesday 25th April here)

You can take a look at the upcoming events at The Castle and Falcon here. What you'll instantly realise upon entry here is just how inviting this venue is, with friendly staff always willing to have a chat, it is easy to feel like you belong to a buzzing independent community here.

Check out our What's On Guide to discover even 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.