Music in Leicester
Leicester is a city of music lovers who don’t just listen to music and enjoy music festivals but they pretty much run the music lounges and cafes. Check out these places for yourself! The Shed, The Donkey, and The Soundhouse are among key Leicester music venues. The Shed is Leicester’s oldest music venue, run by a group of music lovers, open 6 days a week as a coffee shop & co-working space transforms into everyone’s favorite nighttime spot. The Donkey in its 200 capacity Victorian room has played host to great acts like Fun Lovin Criminals, Alabama 3, The South, The Dub Pistols, Duke Special, Seth Lakeman, David Ford, Raghu Dixit, Mark Morris, Martin Stephenson, Pete Williams, David Wyatt, The Kirkland Turn, Uncle Frank and By The Rivers. The Soundhouse is an established independent live music venue featuring a mix of local and touring artists in a range of genres to cater to all music tastes, as well as hosts one of the best-loved open mic nights in the city. If you are up for some music lessons check out the Soar Valley Music Centre, they offer lessons and performance opportunities in groups such as Orchestras, Big Band, Chamber Ensembles and Musical Theatre.
Live Music in Leicester
If you love live music, Leicester cafes are your paradise. 2Funky Music Cafe is a 350 capacity live music venue with a balcony/seating area overlooking the stage and run by a passionate team of local Leicester music lovers. They feature local upcoming talent as well as established artists. The Musician is the Midlands premier independent music venue playing live music 6 nights a week, seating capacity of 220 with comfortable seating, and a selection of real ales. The Musician's reputation has been built on attracting the very best homegrown and international performers and regularly featuring everything from contemporary singer-songwriters to rock, blues, folk, ska, punk and from bluegrass, reggae, metal to soul, indie, avant-garde, and Americana. The Cookie is an ideal venue for less crowded club nights and concerts. Boxed Bar and Music Venue, The Swan Pub and Restaurant and Firebug are some more music venues you can check out.
Music Festivals in Leicester
The Leicester International Music Festival (LIMF), running annually for over 30 years boasts of distinguished Patrons including the composers Sir James McMillan KBE and Thea Musgrave CBE, and BBC Ceramicist, Lars Tharp. LIMF continues to gain international recognition for the high quality of its musical performances, attracting world-class artists to its concerts and assembling a superb team of artists for the September Festival. They host some of the best Leicester concerts. The Music Barn Festival launched in 2013 with the purpose of raising money for a local palliative care hospice, the Cransley Hospice, features a wide variety of music with a mix of established and unsigned upcoming bands, across musical genres. Fake Festival is a unique kind of Leicester Music Festival, a fun packed music day featuring 6 top UK tribute bands bringing a true summer music festival experience with songs that everybody loves. Music in Leicester (MIL) online magazine, in association with Firebug Leicester & Duffy's Bar, proudly hosts 'LET'S FACE the MUSIC', a celebration of the Leicester live music scene with 13 Acts across 3 Stages.
