Southampton is certainly a lively city – there’s always plenty entertainment going on here for visitors to enjoy! And with many great venues around the city you’ll have plenty to choose from, whatever your tastes; live music, theatre, a nightclub, or a night at the movies, it’s all here in Southampton!
Live Music Venues in Southampton
From small and intimate, to large and loud, Southampton has a music venue for all of them, where smaller and relatively unknown bands play, or cover bands of world famous groups, and then there are the world famous groups themselves!
The Brook is a great entertaining place to catch live music in Southampton. This relatively small venue can hold up to 600 people and has a great atmosphere. It’s like a pub upstairs with big comfy sofas and tables and chairs where you can watch the bands playing on the stage below the balcony. Being fairly small the sound really fills this venue, whether you’re listening to rock, blues, R’n’B or any of the other genres that regularly play here. There are often tribute bands in The Brook’s line up including acts like Green ish Day, Achtung Baby, Bon Jovi Experience, and Hi On Maiden, but you’ll also find some original big names here too, such as Hawkwind, Magnum, and more.
The Brook is a little way out of Southampton city centre but it’s easy to find and easy to park at, located at 466 Portswood Road.
At over double the capacity of The Brook, Southampton Guildhall holds 1,749 people and has seen some very famous bands play on its stage – the likes of Pink Floyd, David Bowie, Manic Street Preachers, The Kaiser Chiefs and more have all played here. This isn’t just a live music venue though, Southampton Guildhall features many other events throughout the year including comedies, classical concerts, children’s shows, and CD and Record Fairs. Southampton Guildhall is located at the Civic Centre in the heart of Southampton.
In addition to these two there are many other places where you might catch a band playing, including The Joiners, Turner Sims Concert Hall, Soul Cellar, the Hobbit Pub, and Talking Heads.
Southampton Theatres
If the arts are more your thing, Southampton has you covered with numerous theatres, large and small. Southampton’s most famous theatre is The Mayflower where there are many different performances including touring musicals, opera and ballet. You can enjoy shows like The Sound of Music, High School Musical 2, and Chicago, or come to The Mayflower for a stand up comedy, a night at the opera, or a family or children’s show.
The Mayflower is in the centre of Southampton and if you’re driving here there are several multi storey car parks nearby.
Southampton Nightclubs & Other Entertainment
For nightclubs and lively bars Southampton is the place to go! There are numerous bars and clubs in Southampton if you’d like a night on the town. Some of the clubs that stand out from the rest include Bar Risa and the attached Jongleurs. Bar Risa is a modern bar where you can enjoy all sorts of drinks, whilst Jongleurs is the largest comedy club in the UK. They’re both located on the High Street so are very convenient to get to.
For a different experience visit Oceana Southampton where there are themed clubs and bars and top of the range technology to help you have an unforgettable night! In total Oceana can hold up to 4,000 clubbers!
Whatever you enjoy doing you’ll find a venue in Southampton that’s just right for you!