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What's On · UK

What's On in Ipswich

Live music in Ipswich over the next four weeks — 29 Sept – 27 Oct. 5 gigs listed in Ipswich over the next 28 days. Saturday is the busiest night with 4. In total we track 26 grassroots venues and 14 regular open mics here.

Two pubs a day are closing, and last year 78 grassroots venues stopped putting on live music. Get Ipswich gigs in your inbox — and go to one.

Help keep grassroots venues open in Ipswich

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A UK venue stops hosting live music every 5 days — and turning up is what keeps a room open. Get a free weekly email of gigs in Ipswich. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy.

Updated daily · 5 gigs in Ipswich over the next four weeks

Last updated: 29 September 2026

Support grassroots music in Ipswich

Grassroots venues are where every act you have ever paid to see started out. Ipswich still has 26 of them.

Two pubs a day closed across the UK in the first quarter of 2026, and over the year to July 2025 78 grassroots music venues stopped putting on live music — 30 of them shut for good. Those are the rooms where new acts learn to hold an audience, where a first support slot happens, and where a Tuesday night can still turn into something.

This page exists to make them easy to find. It lists 5 gigs across Ipswich over the next four weeks, pulled from the venues themselves and updated daily — alongside the 26 grassroots venues and 14 regular open mic nights we track in the city. No algorithm decides what you see: it is simply everything we know is on.

The single most useful thing anyone can do is turn up. Buy a ticket, buy a drink at the bar, and go to a night you have not been to before. If you would rather be told than remember, the sign-up above sends Ipswich listings straight to your inbox. If you run a venue here, claim your page so people can find you.

Open mics in Ipswich

Turn up, put your name down, play. Most are free.

EVERY
Sun
Coda Colchester
Town Centre, Colchester
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Mon
Three Wise Monkeys Ipswich
Ipswich, Ipswich
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Mon
Steamboat Tavern
Ipswich, Ipswich
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Mon
BAR 82 The Espresso Lounge
Town Centre, Colchester
Time to be confirmed
  • Sign-up—
  • Slots—
  • EntryFree
  • PA—
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Tue
Three Wise Monkeys
Town Centre, Colchester
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PA—
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Wed
Thomas Wolsey
Ipswich, Ipswich
Starts 18:00
  • Sign-up—
  • Slots—
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
OTHER
Wed
The Smokehouse
International House, 6 South St, Ipswich
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Wed
Victoria Inn
North Station, Colchester
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots15 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
EVERY
Wed
The Bull
Colchester, Colchester
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›
MONTH
Thu
The Hunter Club
Town Centre, Bury Saint Edmunds
Starts 19:00
  • Sign-up19:00
  • Slots15 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians, Poets
View details›
MONTH
Thu
Isaacs On The Quay
Ipswich, Ipswich
Starts 19:30
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians, Poets
View details›
EVERY
Thu
Hole in the Wall
Colchester, Colchester
Starts 20:00
  • Sign-up19:30
  • Slots12 min
  • EntryFree
  • PAProvided
  • Backline—
  • Open toMusicians
View details›

All 14 Ipswich open mics →

What's on in Ipswich — FAQs

Common questions about live music in Ipswich, answered with this week's live data.

We currently list 5 gigs in Ipswich between 29 Sept and 27 Oct, across 0 venues. The listings above are the full set, sorted by date and refreshed daily from the venues themselves — no algorithm decides what you see. For everything beyond this window, browse the Ipswich gig directory or every city we cover.
None of the Ipswich gigs currently listed are marked free entry, though many venues do not publish a price at all. Ipswich open mic nights are your reliable free option — most charge nothing to watch or to play.
Saturday, with 4 gigs listed across the next 28 days. Saturday: 4 gigs · Friday: 1 gig. Filter by This week or This weekend above to narrow it down.
We track 26 grassroots venues in Ipswich — see the Ipswich venue directory for capacity, backline and opening times.
Ipswich has 14 regular open mic nights that we verify on a rolling cycle. Each listing carries the sign-up time, slot length, entry fee and whether a PA and backline are provided — see the Ipswich open mic finder, or the UK-wide finder.
Where a Ipswich venue publishes a price, the average ticket is £23.00. Grassroots entry is typically a few pounds on the door, and many nights are free. On the other side of the transaction, the Musicians' Union publishes national gig rates as the recognised floor for live engagements, and the ISM publishes guidance for self-employed musicians. Our own UK gig rate benchmarks show what artists are actually being paid by region and act type.
Grassroots rooms are where every act you have paid to see learned to hold an audience. Two pubs a day closed across the UK in the first quarter of 2026, and over the year to July 2025 78 grassroots music venues stopped putting on live music — 30 of them for good. Ipswich still has 26 on our list. Music Venue Trust campaigns for them nationally; venues themselves navigate PRS licensing and local authority licensing to keep putting music on. The single most useful thing anyone can do is turn up and buy a drink at the bar.
Listing is free and takes about two minutes — submit through the Ipswich gig directory and it is verified within 48 hours. No account is needed and there is no listing fee. If you run a venue here, claim your venue page to keep its capacity, backline and contact details current. Promoters and venues booking acts can also post paid work or find artists directly.

Go to one this month

5 gigs listed in Ipswich over the next four weeks, across 26 grassroots venues and 14 open mic nights. Buy a ticket, buy a drink at the bar, and go to a night you have not been to before — it is the single most useful thing anyone can do for a room like these.

Help keep grassroots venues open in Ipswich

—

A UK venue stops hosting live music every 5 days — and turning up is what keeps a room open. Get a free weekly email of gigs in Ipswich. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy.

Naumaan
Founder & Builder

Live gigs across the UK, kept fresh. Spot something wrong or missing? Let me know and I’ll fix it.

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