Manchester Gig Venues: Where to Go for a Treat Before or After the Gig

AO Arena is Manchester's landmark arena, built right at Victoria Station on the northern edge of the city centre. It opened in 1995 and has been known as the NYNEX Arena, the MEN Arena and the Phones 4U Arena, before online retailer AO took on the name in 2020. The arena holds up to 23,000 people and describes itself as the largest indoor sporting arena in Europe. More than a million visitors come through its doors every year.

Its stage has hosted U2, The Rolling Stones, Prince and Madonna, along with Manchester's own Oasis, Take That and New Order. The arena has staged major sport too, including events at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. It won the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the This is Manchester Awards 2025. Victoria Station sits right beside the arena, with rail links across the city.

The Stoller Hall is a concert hall on Hunts Bank, directly opposite Manchester Victoria station. It opened in 2017 and belongs to the same charity as Chetham's School of Music and Chetham's Library. The building was designed by Stephenson STUDIO and won a national RIBA Award. Its box within a box construction keeps outside noise very low.

The acoustics were engineered by Arup, with a variable acoustic system that adapts to different kinds of performance. The programme ranges from classical and chamber music to folk, jazz, contemporary music, spoken word, comedy and family events. Alongside the main hall, the building includes the Carole Nash Hall and the Oglesby Atrium. Its opening concert was broadcast on BBC Radio 3, with jazz pianist Gwilym Simcock and conductor Sir Mark Elder among the performers.

The O2 Ritz is a Grade II listed concert venue on Whitworth Street West, at the city centre end of Oxford Road. Architects Cruickshank and Seward designed it in 1928 as a dance hall with a sprung dancefloor and a revolving stage, and it was one of Manchester's favourite nights out through the 1930s and 1940s. It still has one of the city's only surviving sprung dancefloors, along with its 1920s art deco interiors. The room holds 1,500 people, with a balcony that wraps around the hall.

The Beatles and Frank Sinatra both played the Ritz, and The Smiths gave their very first concert here. The 1980s and 1990s brought The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, R.E.M. and New Order, and Liam Gallagher chose this stage to launch his solo career. Arctic Monkeys and Ian Brown have played here in more recent years. The building backs onto the Rochdale Canal, close to the former Haçienda site.

Manchester Academy sits at the heart of the University of Manchester campus on Oxford Road, as part of the Students' Union. It has four rooms: Academy 1, a stand-alone hall with a capacity of 2,600, plus Academy 2, Academy 3 and Club Academy inside the Students' Union building. That mix means the Academy hosts big touring bands alongside emerging and niche artists in its smaller spaces. The venue is part of Manchester Students' Union and has no connection to the Academy Music Group venues around the UK.

The Academy has been welcoming bands to Manchester since 1963. Its roll of honour includes AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Queen, David Bowie, Stevie Wonder, Nirvana, Blur, Oasis, The Rolling Stones and Lady Gaga. Prince played two surprise shows here as part of his Hit and Run Tour. The venue stands opposite the medical school and Holy Name Church, and many bus routes stop nearby on Oxford Road.

The Royal Northern College of Music is one of the world's most forward-thinking conservatoires and one of the UK's busiest live music venues. It was founded in 1973 when the Royal Manchester College of Music merged with the Northern School of Music, and today more than 900 students from over 60 countries study here. Its public programme runs from large orchestral concerts and full-scale opera to intimate chamber concerts and solo recitals. Performance spaces include the Concert Hall, the RNCM Theatre and the Carole Nash Recital Room.

The 500-seat Concert Hall is a 1970s modernist space with one of the largest black box stages in Greater Manchester and walls more than a metre thick. A refurbishment added a balcony while keeping the hall's distinctive organ. The programme covers classical, jazz, pop and rock, with Manchester Camerata, FKA twigs, alt-J and Tim Burgess among the artists who have played here. Studio 8 has the UK's first Meyer Constellation acoustic system in higher education.

The O2 Apollo is a Grade II listed art deco theatre in Ardwick, south east of Manchester city centre. It opened in 1938 as the Apollo Cine-Variety Theatre, showing films and variety acts, and became a dedicated live music venue in the 1970s. The hall can be set up fully seated or part standing, so it works for rock, pop and comedy nights alike. It took the O2 Apollo Manchester name in 2010 after a refurbishment.

The Beatles played the Apollo in 1965 and The Rolling Stones followed in 1966. David Bowie appeared as part of Iggy Pop's band here in 1977, and Arctic Monkeys filmed their Live at the Apollo DVD on this stage in 2007. The venue also features in 24 Hour Party People, the film about Manchester's music scene. Piccadilly Station, just under a mile away, is the nearest main rail station.

Co-op Live is the UK's only music-first arena, built on the Etihad Campus in east Manchester. Its smart bowl holds 23,500 people, and it was the first venue to bring The BRIT Awards outside London. The arena is a joint venture between Oak View Group, City Football Group, Harry Styles and Co-op. Step-free access runs throughout the building, with wheelchair viewing platforms on every level.

Co-op Live runs entirely on electric power, with solar panels on the roof and a rainwater harvesting system, and it sends zero waste to landfill. Through the Co-op Foundation, it gives £1 million a year to good causes across the UK. Trams on the Ashton line stop at Etihad Campus, right next to the arena. You can also walk in on the CityLink route from Piccadilly through Ancoats, New Islington and Holt Town by following the blue lampposts.