Great music venues in London

In terms of music, the City of London has a terrific live music scene which is comparable to the finest in the world. Almost every night you will find gigs, musical performances and musical shows all around London.  Music lovers who are in the city will be overwhelmed by the variety of music venues to be found, which cater to all genres.

Whether you are at the East End or in the vicinity of the BW Plus Park Grand London Heathrow, you can pop into any of the venues and have a wonderful evening. Some of the best venues in the City of London are:

The Brixton Academy is a favourite among most of the young crowd and its top stalls and slanting floor make it a fun place to be. The floor has been designed in a way to gradually slope down on the stage. This gives you an excellent view of the performers or band playing and you could choose to move higher in the stalls to look over the crowd. Most of the gigs are enjoyed standing although they occasionally offer seating arrangements during an event.

Image Courtesy :  Biswarup Ganguly

Another interesting venue is Alexandra Palace, which is definitely worth a visit. It is a stunning palace that is located up on a hill and it offers an excellent view of the City of London below.  It has played host to some of the most incredible royal parties in the past. Nowadays it mainly is used as a venue for festivals and if there is any on at the time of your visit, make it a point to visit the place. There is an area cordoned off for drinking and eating and is ideally suited to have a tipple before the event begins.

The XX is another cool venue for gigs with many great performances and musical events being staged here. For club nights Village Underground is a lovely place with great vibes and a pleasing ambience. It lies beneath the rail arches at Shoreditch and houses a slap dash bar with exposed brick walls that give it laid back and cool appearance. A great place to hang out with the lads!

Shepherd’s Bush Empire the name sound almost legendary and it feels as great when you pop in. It is managed like most other places by a telecom company O2, which calls the shots but it has managed to retain its own unique charm and vibrant atmosphere. It is spacious and can accommodate a large number of people and has played host to some gigs over the years. Check out the listings when in town as there is the possibility of some great shows being on at that time..

The atmosphere at KoKo is just super cool and one of its most attractive aspects is its theatre layout, which offers ample viewing space at the venue. It is designed in a way that offers visitors the choice of being in any of its four layers. There have been some superb performances and gigs hosted here, which makes it definitely the place to spend a fabulous evening at.

Bush Hall may not be as famous as its neighbor the Empire but still retains a distinctive charm of its own. It is ornately decorated and has a stunning baroque hall with incredibly high ceilings that assist in giving it excellent acoustics. It also has a separate bar to enjoy your drinks away from the gig going on inside. Its atmosphere is redolent of that of a venue that hosts wedding receptions and has greats like REM, The Killers and Sugababes play here. 

When in Soho travel to Brewer Street, which lies in its very centre and where you will find Madame JoJo's. It was like any other nightclub, till real estate tycoon Paul Raymond bought it and thoroughly transformed the place. In the process he had art deco fittings moved over from Whitehall Theatre to Madame JoJo's, which gives it a glitzy look and feel. When you move downstairs you will feel as if you have stepped back into the 1970s with the carpeted walls, geometric railings and red and gold sequined drapes etc. 

More and more chapels and churches are used for musical worship these days with Union Chapel being one of them. It was built in 1877 and has earned the distinction of being a Time Out live venue a few years ago in 2002. It has a great atmosphere suited for intimate concerts with an awesome gothic styled interior, exposed stone wall, a large octagonal chapel and wraparound balconies etc. It is the venue for Little Noise Sessions an event hosted annually, which has seen musical greats like Coldplay and Amy Winehouse perform here. 

Visit the Lexington and you will find this imposing corner pub has an atmosphere that is a mix of an old English pub and an American lounge bar. The first thing that attracts your attention is the massive chandelier that hangs in the area where the main bar is situated with an animal skull peering down from the wall. Move downstairs and you will find a luxurious and relaxed ambience that makes it a pleasurable place to spend a musical evening at.

Move to the area of Dalston, which is famous for its vibrant arts community and you will find Cafe Oto. It is relatively new having opened in 2008 but has managed to carve a niche as a fantastic venue for alternate music genres. Artists such as Miki

Yui, Rolf Julius and Ghedelia Tazartes have performed here. Its minimalistic ambience with plain white walls minus a stage, makes it ideal for bands to express themselves without any genteel vibes to live up to.