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What's on Stage
Equipment and backline available at this venue. We verify and update this section regularly.
PA system
Drum kit
Guitar amp
Bass amp
Keys / keyboard
3 vocal mics
In-house engineer
About The Portland Arms
The Portland Arms is a grassroots music venue in Chesterton, Cambridge with a standing capacity of approximately 200. Full backline is on stage including drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp, PA and vocal mics, plus an in-house sound engineer — so you can travel light.
The Portland Arms on Chesterton Road in Cambridge (CB4 3BA) is one of the city's premier grassroots live music pubs, and for decades it has been an essential part of the Cambridge scene, welcoming local, national and international acts of every genre. In 2012 the original 100-capacity room was enlarged into a modern, high-tech 200-capacity dedicated gig room, and the venue now hosts gigs up to six nights a week. With a full backline and an in-house sound engineer it is a properly equipped step up from a back-room pub stage, comfortable for both originals and covers, touring bands and first-timers alike. Open midday to late (later on Fridays and Saturdays), it pairs a busy gig calendar with a genuine pub atmosphere.
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Seven things people ask about booking The Portland Arms.
Full backline: drum kit, guitar amp, bass amp, PA and vocal mics. In-house sound engineer included. Bring your own instrument and pedals. Looking for other venues with full backline? Browse Cambridge venues and filter by backline.
Contact the venue for genre preferences. Most Cambridge grassroots venues book a mix of rock, pop, folk, and acoustic acts.
Sign up free on GigXchange to view The Portland Arms’s booking contact, fee range, and submission process. Most grassroots venues accept email submissions with a link to your music or EPK. Check current UK fee benchmarks before quoting.
The Portland Arms has a standing capacity of approximately 200, classed as a medium venue. See all Cambridge venues for size comparisons.
Yes — The Portland Arms hosts open mic nights. Check the listing for day, time, and signup details on the Cambridge Open Mic Finder.
129 Chesterton Road, Chesterton, Cambridge, CB4 3BA. See the map below for directions. Browse more Cambridge venues nearby.
Fee ranges are available to signed-up artists on GigXchange. Grassroots venue fees in Cambridge vary by event type, band size, and whether the deal is a flat fee or door split. The GigXchange Rate Calculator shows current UK percentiles.
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