Manchester is to get a new 10,000 capacity gig venue this year

Manchester is getting a new 10,000 capacity gig venue called ‘Depot’ this year.

• Read More: What you need to know about Manchester’s next great music venue, from cult promoters Now Wave

Broadwick Venues who own London’s Printworks venue are behind the new project, which is being described as a “performance, community and studio space.” The venue’s first performance is expected in July this year as part of the Manchester International Festival.

The venue is located at the city’s old, historic train station, Mayfield, which is next to Piccadilly Station. The building has come about as part of a £1 billion regeneration of the area.

A new 10,000 capacity venue is coming to #Manchester, located at the historic former Mayfield Railway Station. Sign up to the newsletter to hear more: https://t.co/SiI1s0ctDr #DepotMayfield pic.twitter.com/gw8efGwhf0

— depotatmayfield (@depotatmayfield) June 12, 2019

A description of the venue on its website reads: “Alongside the main performance space at Depot will be two smaller areas. Concourse will be providing a range of free-to-attend community events, seasonal activities and food experiences.

“While the second space, called Archive, will offer a more intimate performance area as well as providing options for local artists.”

It added: “The new arts, music and culture space will open with a world premiere of ‘Invisible Cities’ by 59 Productions and Rambert, a contemporary ballet production combining theatre, choreography, music, architectural design and projection mapping, produced exclusively for Manchester International Festival this July, closely followed by Manchester Pride Live events this August.”

Meanwhile, an interactive map was  launched to shine a spotlight on some of the UK’s most popular small music venues last year.

The map, created by Insure4Music, covers all four corners of the UK and allows users to discover their own local venues through 12 regional pages.

Each regional page contains key stats for the region’s venues – such as capacity, contact details and which venues provide a backline for budding bands.

But as well as listing future events, the map also takes a delve into the past – offering information on the famous bands that have previously graced their stages and helping to support local venues in the process.

It was also backed by Labour MP Jon Spellar, who spearheaded the ‘Agent of Change’ Bill to save live venues from closure which gained public backing from the likes of Paul McCartney and Billy Bragg.