Hello, me and a friend will be spending a few weeks in England this summer and want to find out what is behind this hype about the Sheffield music scene :D
Could anybody give us a hint, please, as to what are the best places for live music - preferably indie, alternative, rock...
Best wishes for 2008 from Germany
T-fix

the leadmill! bit hit n miss, but thats yu best bet

There's also The Boardwalk - and if it is open (not sure) the new Carling Academy, but you'd need to check on the opening date for that.

Casbah used to have live bands on on Thursday nights too.

Also the dove and rainbow and west st live....

A good place to start would be to pick up a copy of Sandman listings magazine

http://www.sandmanmagazine.co.uk/

or "The Sheffield Telegraph" (every Friday) has a good listings section.

The Boardwalk is great venue but tend more towards cover bands and "bl**dy h*ll I thought they'd split up years ago" type bands. The Leadmill used to be *the* live venue in Sheffield - but is more geared up towards its club nights these days - but is still a good place to see a band and has recently been given a good run for its money by Plug which does a lot of medium sized gigs. Shef Uni has 3 venues of varying sizes and so has loads of gigs on and the new 2000+ Carling Academy is due to open in spring. For up & coming indie bands - the Grapes is well worth checking out and for rock/metal/punk - Corporation is the main venue.

Enjoy your stay...

When you get here, pick up a copy of exposed.
If you want to see Sheffield bands, West street live is good (and usually free) The Howard also has them on, occasionally the Frog and Parrot, the Cremone, Grapes, and the Boardwalk are making more of an effort as well. DQ also are promoting a few up and coming sheffield bands. There is usually something on most nights of the week. If you go on myspace and link to some of these venues pages, you'll be able to see what bands they promote.

As far as the Arctic Monkeys go, I hear Manchester is good for them... ;)

What about Under The Boardwalk? They do live bands 7 days a week. Also Nylon, the grapes and loads of others. Sheffield actually has a very healthy live music scene

Try the Riverside on a Sunday evening for the very best in new acoustic talent.

And Broken strings at the green room for acoustic sets by some of the members of some of the Sheffield bands sometimes. Usually quite eclectic and can be hit and miss but i've seen some good uns there.

Wow, many many thanks! You people from Sheffield are all very nice :) I am sure we will find something interesting to watch and listen to (probably around mid July).

Sorry, forgot to ask one question: What is the policy in Sheffield clubs, etc regarding admission of under-age persons?

It varies depending on the band. Most gigs tend to be 14+ with some being 18+. You need to check it out before you go. I think most places chuck all the under 18's out once the gig is over and it turns into a club night.

OK, thanks.

There's also The Boardwalk - and if it is open (not sure) the new Carling Academy, but you'd need to check on the opening date for that.

Casbah used to have live bands on on Thursday nights too.

Good band on there tonight (Friday), called The Chapman Family.

www.myspace.com/thechapmanfamily

Thanks for the tip, the Chapman Family sound cool. But we will be in Sheffield only in July.

Most gigs at Plug are 14+. We've got 2 rooms, one at 1200 and the other 350.

It's a total mixed bag music policy-wise but artists coming up include The Go! Team, Justice, Athlete, Simian Mobile Disco, U.N.K.L.E, Joe Bonamassa, Hanoi Rocks, Hawkwind and Alabama 3.

We've got some new up-and-coming bands like Glasvegas who are in the top 5 tips for superstardom this year. www.myspace.com/glasvegas

You can check the listings at www.the-plug.com