In celebration of Independent Venue Week, we’re speaking to some of Manchester’s best musical talent. Next up, we have IST IST – Mancunian rock legends who are well-oiled with the city’s impressive array of independent spaces!

More importantly, the band dive into their appreciation and the importance of grassroots venues and the vitality of supporting them so that they can nurture the next generation of talent.

Let’s dive in – but first, be sure to click here to support the band themselves as they gear up for their biggest ever homecoming show, right here on our very own stage!

Which Manchester venues have you performed in so far and how has this journey been for you?

“This is our best attempt at a chronological order but after being at this for over ten years my timeline might be slightly incorrect… we’ve played Night & Day Cafe, Kraak Gallery (now Aatma), Sound Control, The Castle, Soup Kitchen, Dive NQ, The Peer Hat, Gorilla, The Ritz, Deaf Institute, Yes Pink Room, Academy 1 (which was a very surreal socially-distanced show in May 2021), Academy 2, 33 Oldham Street, The Yard and New Century.”

What’s your favourite local venue either to perform or attend?

“Favourite for performing, probably Gorilla; we’ve done three great shows there and it’s the type of venue where it’s big enough for you to feel the energy from a decent-sized crowd but small enough for it to still seem quite intimate and feel the crowd on top of you. Honorable mentions go to o2 Ritz which we finally headlined in March 2023 after playing about five support slots there and New Century which is just a stunning space. For attending it’s a close-run race between Albert Hall and the Apollo but the Albert Hall just pips it. Interpol there in 2017 ranks very highly in my all-time shows. Beautiful atmospheric surroundings with world class acoustics and you can see the stage well from anywhere in the building. Maybe it’ll be Albert Hall after May 1st.”

Why are grassroots venues so important?

“The fact that so many artists speak so passionately about grassroots venues isn’t a coincidence. Independent venues are lifebloods of communities not just in big cities but provincial towns and they are where pretty much every artist starts their career.”