Room with a view: Live music at the Deaf Institute

Matthew Britton

Once derelict, Manchester’s Deaf Institute is now arguably the best small live music venue in the city

Not so long ago, the Grade II-listed Deaf and Dumb Institute was an abandoned shell, loved only by pigeons and history buffs. All that changed when the folk behind the Trof chain of bars got their hands on the place. They swiftly turned neo-Gothic decay into decadent wonder thanks to a winning combination of food, booze and live music.

In the blink of a fashionable eye, the Deaf Institute went from crumbling building-on-the-block to one of Manchester’s best-loved live music venues. Now, while perhaps not the live music force it may have been a couple of years back (when promoters Now Wave seemed desperate to put on a groundbreaking act there every other night), the Deaf Institute has gone from a bright young upstart to one of the most stable venues in the city.

Once a bright, young upstart; now a stable music venue

Though most nights are taken up by student-centric club nights (aimed more at the art-school crowd than anything else, mercifully), the enchanting surrounds of the upstairs music hall, complete with giant glitterball, means that the Deaf Institute is still possibly the best small (ish) venue in the city. Of course, the move away from constantly putting on live shows is likely based on economics – club night-goers spend more and turn up in numbers far more plentiful than, say, the fans of a Fleet Foxes side-project – but few other spaces have the capacity to make show as special as here.

Spotlight on

Things to do in Blackpool

Fancy a day trip? Explore our guide to Blackpool and build yourself an itinerary featuring attractions, galleries, restaurants and more.

Take me there

Culture Guides

Good Fridaze Family Social at Freight Island
Family things to do in the North

As we edge towards spring we take a look at the best events and activities for families, from theatre to festivals, dinosaur adventures to family raves.

Poet Evan Jones
Literature Events in the North

Some of our favourite leftfield live literature regulars are back with their first events of the year – we’ve picked a weird and wonderful heap we think you’ll love.

NEXT: A Primer on Urban Painting production still
Cinema in the North

Street art, LGBTQ+ History Month, and the first film festivals of the year are amongst our cinema highlights this month.

A painting of a young child being bathed in a sink of a 197s style kitchen. Around the sink are a rubber duck, a bottle of  washing up liquid, a jug, a kettle and a mug.
Exhibitions in the North

Galleries are racing to announce new exhibitions so check out our top picks, from art films and nostalgic paintings to Hockney's collages.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Feminist farce, a magical circus show and Oldham Coliseum return with a brand-new off-site show. All in our latest theatre guide.

FKA TWIGS
Music in the North

Masters of minimalism, leftfield electronica and cutting edge pop. We bring you the lot in our latest live music round up.