Manchester isn’t short of storied music venues but Band on the Wall is arguably the best. This multiple award-winning music venue in the city’s Northern Quarter dates back over a century and wows visitors with its diverse live programme.
Manchester isn’t short of storied music venues but Band on the Wall is arguably the best. This multiple award-winning music venue in the city’s Northern Quarter dates back over a century and wows visitors with its diverse live programme. The Band on the Wall started life in 1862 as a bustling pub called the George and Dragon. By the 1930s the pub’s quirk of placing its house band on the building’s back wall landed it the nickname ‘Band on the Wall’, a name which it took on formally in 1975. The venue’s reputation began for hosting traditional forms of music such as jazz, folk and blues, but it has since acquired a greater legend for its role in incubating local punk and post-punk acts such as The Fall and Joy Division. Today Band on the Wall’s programme remains as eclectic as ever after the venue was completely renovated and refurbished in 2009. The venue is proud of its commitment to equality and diversity – in 2015 it became the first small venue in the UK to be awarded ‘gold status’ for deaf and disabled music fans. With its cosy 340 person capacity and buzzy vibe, nights at Band on the Wall are made to be remembered.