London's Best Small Venues for Young Musicians and Promoters
We explore some of the best grassroots venues in the capital…
London's best small venues offer musicians and promoters a vital platform to explore their music, find their sound and build an audience.
Despite their importance, these smaller spaces are facing plenty of challenges due to rising financial pressures and the impact of the cost of living crisis on gig goers.
125 UK music venues were lost during 2023, according to the Music Venue Trust, a figure showing why it is more important than ever that grassroots spaces are cherished and supported."
From Hackney in East London to Kilburn where ICMP calls home, there are plenty of brilliant smaller live music venues out there for your band or event.
Here, we profile ten of the best small venues in the capital.
If you're interested in learning the best ways to promote live events, then find out more about our BA Live Event and Festival Management.
The 100 Club
The 100 Club is one of London's most iconic spots for a live gig or club night with the space hosting almost every possible style of music over the years.
Beginning life as the Feldman Jazz Club back in the forties, it's seen everything from the unmistakable blues of BB King to the punk feedback of the Sex Pistols and the Clash. Britpop was a popular sound at the venue with Suede and the recently reformed Oasis among the event highlights.
In more recent times, Paul McCartney, Nas and Plan B have all performed too...
The Moth Club
Located in Hackney in a former servicemen's members club, the Moth Club's real name is the Memorable Order of Tin Hats and has supposedly served local drinkers for more than four decades.
In more recent years, it's been a unique small venue with the likes of James Blake and Connan Mockasin performing. It's so loved and on-point that everyone from Lady Gaga to the Foo Fighters have taken to its small and perfectly formed stage.
From Deptford Northern Soul club to Disco Bloodbath, alongside plenty of new and local bands, there's a colourful calendar of live events for London party goers to get their teeth into.
The Windmill
The community surrounding the Windmill in Brixton is a tight one, particularly when the Covid pandemic crash landed into our lives.
Many great bands who played formative shows on its stage - Black Midi, Black Country, New Road, Goat Girl and Fontaines DC - were among the acts who came together for a ‘Live at the Windmill’ compilation to raise vital funds to keep the doors open.
It's been a vital live music destination in the capital now for more than 20 years, giving a platform to plenty of emerging acts and promoters.
The Shacklewell Arms
A mixture of the unknown, the up-and-coming, and the frantically buzzy perform in the back room of The Shacklewell Arms with the pub becoming one of the go-to venues for fresh faced acts.
Everyone from the Menstrual Cramps to the yacht rock sounds of Grovesnor have graced its stage while post-punk club night Dance Yrself Clean is full of leftfield guitar music bouncing from New Order to LCD Soundsystem and beyond.
Solange Knowles has DJed with acclaimed artists and bands Vance Joy and Haim among some of the bigger names to perform.
Cafe Oto
If you're looking for experimental, eclectic or just plain weird musical sounds and performances, then Cafe Oto needs to be on your radar.
This 150 capacity space can be found tucked down a side street in the hipster capital that is Dalston in East London yet there are many musical rewards for the curious who can track it down. It's intimate yet has attracted plenty of big name artists, all drawn to play by its independent spirit and creative ethos.
Thurston Moore, previously of experimental titans Sonic Youth, is a huge fan of the venue and has played a number of residencies there.
229 London
229 London can be found in the heart of the capital on Great Portland Street. Launched in 2007, it is a multi-purpose entertainments venue which has played host to numerous gigs, club nights, awards ceremonies, comedy and fashion events, gala dinners and weekend festivals.
The music venue has hosted artists including the Kings of Leon, Florence and the Machine and Tinie Tempah across its two small spaces.
Blondies
Located in East London, Blondies manages to go further than just be a bar or live music venue. According to its website, this space is "a cultural hub where good times are guaranteed, friendships are forged, and memories are made".
Great beer and great music are part of the appeal of Blondies. Run by sisters Verity and Sharmaine Cox, the emphasis here is on the heavier side of the musical spectrum with bands such as Mastodon and Machine Head giving the venue a reputation for being what the pair describe as "tiny but lively". This dive bar has deservedly become a firm favourite on London's gig scene.
The Lexington
Located between King's Cross and Angel, the Lexington describes itself as "a classic London boozer turned lounge bar, with a hint of Kentucky charm and lashings of rock & roll excess". It's been a music pub since the late 19th century and has attracted many of leftfield music's greats to its stage upstairs.
Blur's Graham Coxon, Bill Ryder Jones and Sea Power are among some of the more notable performers in its contemporary music history…
The Fiddler
Our new local, the Fiddler originally opened its doors in December 1982 and welcomed the likes of legends such as Van Morrison, Johnny Cash and Paul McCartney to name a just a few before it closed its doors in 2002.
Vince Power, the founder of the Mean Fiddler live promotions business, is the man behind its recent re-opening and has so far booked plenty of new and upcoming talent.
ICMP acts are among those to taking the stage including a recent gig with alumna Macie Nyah performing.
Notting Hill Arts Club
Notting Hill Arts Club has been one of West London's biggest champions of pioneering live music and club nights since 1997.
According to the venue, "the Notting Hill Arts Club is best explained by the belief that a world created by artists would be a much better place. And a lot more fun!"
You can also get in touch with them about performing a show as they are always on the hunt for live talent…
The Grace
The team behind The Garage and Oslo are in charge of one of Islington's newest live music pubs. The venue doubles as a great location for live music alongside being a decent spot for a drink too.
In the past, the venue has hosted some of the best artists around including Grimes, Mogwai and Sheryl Crow.
Photo credits:
Moth Club Carolina Faruolo/Time Out | The WindMill Brixton Ewan Munro/Times | The Shacklewell Arms | 229 London | Cafe Oto | The Lexington | The Fiddler | The 100 Club Chris Redgrave/UCL | Notting Hill Arts Club Music Venue Trust | The Grace | Blondies
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Gain a holistic overview of the live events industry with our pioneering BA (Hons) Live Event and Festival Management degree. Explore the concepts of live production, event management and the live music ecosystem, as you expand and put into practice your creative and entrepreneurial skills. Developed in consultation with key bodies in the industry, it has the ever-evolving live music ecosystem at its core.
Hit the link below, or speak to our friendly Admissions Team via our Live Chat or phone on 020 8038 3325, to find out more.