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Grassroots to Greatness: the UK's Best Indie and Live Music Cities

Where to catch tomorrow's headline guitar bands tonight: legendary backrooms, student union mainstays and independent venues across the UK.

The lifeblood of UK music

British guitar and indie music runs on grassroots venues: small, loud, sticky-floored backrooms where touring bands learn their craft and build a following. Almost every act playing arenas now played a handful of these rooms first, and tickets usually cost less than a round of drinks.

Glasgow: the loudest crowds in Britain

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, the Barrowland Ballroom and the basement bars around Sauchiehall Street make Glasgow arguably the best live band city in the country. Touring musicians consistently rate Glasgow crowds as the most vocal and committed they play to.

Manchester and Sheffield: post-punk and northern indie

Sheffield's venues around Kelham Island and the city centre champion gritty indie and post-punk, while Manchester's Northern Quarter keeps a forty-year tradition going through rooms like Night & Day Cafe and Band on the Wall.

Bristol and Leeds: eclectic and independent

Leeds has the Brudenell Social Club, widely rated one of the best independent venues anywhere. Bristol balances math-rock, post-punk and alternative folk across spaces including the floating Thekla and a network of community-run rooms.

Getting the most out of it

Turn up for the support acts — that is where the discoveries are. Buy direct from the venue where you can, because independent rooms keep more of the money, and check curfews if the venue turns into a club night afterwards.

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