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Band on the Wall

Manchester's Sunday-night free open mic at 25 Swan Street, M4 5JZ — historic music venue, full backline including piano, 10-minute slots.

Venue at a glance Band on the Wall · Manchester
c. 520
Capacity
standinglarge
Varies
Live music
flexibleper week
Start time
doorsnightly
Full
Backline
on stagegear
World Music
Books
originals+5 more
Verified
Directory status
openGX directory
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Last updated: 4 June 2026

Band on the Wall — Quick Facts

Manchester's Sunday-night free open mic at 25 Swan Street, M4 5JZ — historic music venue, full backline including piano, 10-minute slots.

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The Details

Everything you need before you book

Capacityc. 520 standing
Live nightsContact venue
Curfew
Sound limiter
Outdoor stageNo
OriginalsYes
View on map

Where

Band on the Wall 25 Swan Street
Northern Quarter
Manchester M4 5JZ

Genres

World Music
Soul
Funk
Reggae
Folk
Jazz
+1

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Booking Information

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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 Band on the Wall

Band on the Wall is a live music venue in Northern Quarter, Manchester with a standing capacity of approximately 520. 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.

Band on the Wall books World Music, Soul, Funk, Reggae, Folk, Jazz acts. Both original music and covers are welcome. This listing is part of the Manchester venue directory.

Band ‌​‌​‍on the Wall is a historic and internationally renowned live-music venue at 25 Swan Street in Manchester's Northern Quarter. Run by the registered charity Inner City Music as a not-for-profit, it presents the best music from around the world — soul, funk, reggae, world, folk and jazz — alongside resident club nights from the likes of Craig Charles, Mr. Scruff and Don Letts. The main room holds around 520, with a full professional PA, backline and in-house engineering, and it programmes touring international artists most nights of the week. It's a key concert venue rather than an open-mic pub, welcoming established and emerging original acts across a genuinely global spread of genres.

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Find Band on the Wall

25 Swan Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 5JZ

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The Manchester League

Band on the Wall is #7 of 83 Manchester venues for live music — ranked by gigs on the calendar over the next 30 days, refreshed nightly.

  1. #1 ▲1 The Deaf Institute 16 gigs
  2. #2 ▼1 Holy Diver 11 gigs
  3. #3 ▲2 Co-op Live 8 gigs
  4. #4 The Blues Kitchen 8 gigs
  5. #5 NEW New Century 7 gigs
  6. #6 The Abbey 7 gigs
  7. #7 ▲1 Band On The Wall This venue 6 gigs
  8. #8 NEW The Irish Club 6 gigs
  9. #9 ▼2 Wythenshawe Park 6 gigs
  10. #10 NEW Manchester Gorilla 5 gigs

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Common Questions

Seven things people ask about booking Band on the Wall.

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 Manchester venues and filter by backline.
Band on the Wall books World Music, Soul, Funk, Reggae, Folk, Jazz. Both original music and covers are welcome. Browse artist profiles by genre on GigXchange.
Sign up free on GigXchange to view Band on the Wall’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.
Band on the Wall has a standing capacity of approximately 520, classed as a large venue. See all Manchester venues for size comparisons.
Yes — Band on the Wall hosts open mic nights. Check the listing for day, time, and signup details on the Manchester Open Mic Finder.
25 Swan Street, Northern Quarter, Manchester, M4 5JZ. See the map below for directions. Browse more Manchester venues nearby.
Fee ranges are available to signed-up artists on GigXchange. Grassroots venue fees in Manchester 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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