STUDENT GUIDE 2019 small wo
Sean Greenhorn checks out the best independent music venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh, where you can get up close and personal with your favourite bands before they hit the big time 118 THE LIST 1 Sep–31 Oct 2019
E ver been to a concert and heard a band proclaim ‘this is one of our favourite cities to play’? These love affairs start somewhere, and usually this is at your local independent venue – where you can catch ‘the next big thing’ and witness something truly special.
John McWilliams, owner of Edinburgh’s Liquid Room, says he sees independent venues as ‘the last voice for individuality’ in today’s live music scene; ‘without these venues we will be left with mainstream corporate groups doing the same shows time and time again’. So here’s our pick of some of the best of these venues in Glasgow and Edinburgh, two cities where every music lover will find themselves spoilt for choice most nights of the week. First up in Glasgow is the rather legendary
King Tuts Wah-Wah Hut, which famously played an instrumental role in the discovery of Oasis. Such is its fame that last year the Killers, fresh from a headline set at TRNSMT, played a special late-night show. Two other small ‘basement’ venues, Broadcast and The Hug & Pint, each offer vibrant bars with full kitchens to accompany their gig spaces. Upcoming highlights at these venues include Our Girl (Broadcast) and Dan Mangan (Hug & Pint). Elsewhere in the city, Stereo, Mono and The Old Hairdressers are all owned by the same vegan-loving business family. The Old Hairdressers is the smallest of the three, looking like an under-furnished living room and hosting many of Glasgow’s up-and- coming acts. Mono is an open plan café-bar with a stage in one corner, opposite Monorail record-shop. Stereo, although the largest