The city centre's grassroots scene đ¶
đ Article published on 15 October 2025. All information correct at time of publication.
âThe value of grassroots and DIY venues in Sheffield is super deep.â
Sheffield city centre is home to many eclectic independent venues, from long-running gig scene stalwarts to newer community-focused spaces.
We chatted to some of the people working behind the scenes at these crucial cultural hubs.
Frazer Scott admits that creating a DIY venue can be less than glamorous.
He is one of the co-founders of Gut Level, a not-for-profit DIY and community space.
Today it has a 6-000-strong tiered membership scheme, which creates a stable foundation for it to operate on, and a solid team.
As well as the parties and electroneonic music nights it was created for, Gut Level offers events with a social purpose ranging from film clubs to shared meals.
But it has been a long and, at times extremely challenging, journey.
âItâs all been built brick by brick, from the ground upâ, said Frazer.
âWe ended up having to raise ÂŁ100,000 for the building project, where weâd thought weâd just be able to put a bar in.
âThroughout nine months of the build we did everything. One day the soil pipe exploded everywhere when the plumbing was going in.
âWe were scooping up piles of festering sewage - it was not glamorous.â
Gut Level first began in an empty garage under a railway arch. The team now has a more secure lease on their central location on historic Chapel Walk, which they are hoping will become long term.Â
This home, complete with roof terrace, has been open for 18 months.
It is also one of the 15 venues featured on a new map produced by SIVA, the new Sheffield Independent Venues Alliance.
This network wants to bring operators together and highlight independent, grassroots and DIY venues in the city.
Almost half of the venues on the map are in the city centre.
The idea is to encourage more people to embrace these for their inclusivity, authenticity and openness to cross-genre experimentation.
A casual glance at upcoming grassroots events in Sheffield city centre just this month (October 2025) shows everything from a chance to party until 4am with Jamz Supernova to a night of gothic band glamour on Halloween.
The difficulty can be the wider public finding venues which, by their nature, operate under the radar.
Frazer, who also works on culture projects for Sheffield City Council, said: âIf you are new or visiting the city, you wonât necessarily know all this stuff is going on. But thereâs more on than I can possibly see in a weekend!
âWeâre trying to raise the profile of these venues just a little bit (through SIVA). Doing that might help a first-year student find somewhere they really want to go.â
Gut Level also exists to platform underrepresented communities through its events, namely women, queer, LGBTQ+ and non-binary people.
This provides a much-needed alternative space for members too.
Frazer added: âPeople talk about the economic value of grassroots venues and that is important. But what gets talked about less is the value of the creative communities that are built in grassroots venues.
âI think the value of grassroots and DIY venues in Sheffield is super deep. Itâs about platforming artists - they are real incubators for talent.
âGut Level is also really important to a lot of people because they feel they can go there and express themselves in a place with others who get them.â
When Mike Thompson and Adam Seymour took on Plot 22 eight years ago, they initially thought of it as an office.
RiteTrax, their community music organisation supporting and empowering people through music, was only two years old at the time.
Guitarist Mike said: âAt first we thought of it as a space to have our offices and studio space.
âIt was only because it was big enough that we thought it was quite a cool space to have music and club nights.
âPlot 22 has become something of a springboard where people can try different things out.
âPeople love the fact that it feels DIY and underground, temporary, like it could be here today and not tomorrow.
âHere itâs about doing things for the sake of doing them and giving people that experience.â
As a 120-capacity venue Plot 22 has hosted sober club nights, events with local promoters, activities with young people and regular club nights.
Above, studios house a radio station, called Kitchen Radio, or are rented out to local artists. This helps spark natural collaborations across different art forms.
Mike added: âPeople can pop in and bounce ideas off each other.
âRiteTrax as an enterprise got started after I spent 14 months in prison and studied at university. Iâd always been involved in music, and I knew a lot of creative people too, whether they were poets or graffiti artists.
âPlot 22 was the physical version of that.â
Plot 22 has also been involved with the Castlegate Festival for the last eight years.
The team co-ordinated the festivalâs street party along Exchange Street in September. It featured young grassroots musicians performing alongside legendary Sheffield MC Franz Von and other artists.
Mike added: âSome of the young people we work with took part in a showcase, for some it was their first chance to perform.
âItâs great they were able to do that on the same stage as the headline artists.â
The reality of running a grassroots venue can be tough.
One of Sheffieldâs most highly regarded venues, the Dorothy Pax at Victoria Quays, closed earlier this year with rising costs a key factor.
Challenges faced by grassroots venues nationally also include landlord issues and redevelopment.
Mike added: âIt is difficult. Weâve only got a small team, weâre not salaried. There is no core funding. The reality is that you need to really want to do it. The recognition comes from inspiring people, giving a stage to local musicians or promoters to put on an event for their communities.
âItâs about giving young people a place and a pathway to do this stuff.â
People in the industry are frank about what Sheffieldâs general music scene is still lacking.
A medium sized venue for touring artists, the creation of a dedicated music quarter, a local music press and a bigger musical vibrancy as seen elsewhere all come up in conversation.
But they are unified in praising Sheffieldâs diverse grassroots and DIY music scene.
Mike added: âI think Sheffield has a great scene. I like what Footprints are doing with jazz, âDelicious Clam have a really nice vibe around their label and Sidney & Matilda has music on pretty much every night of the week.â
The Washington has welcomed many musical legends - but itâs often the smaller acts that make the most impact, says Jack Hardwick.
The iconic pub on Fitzwilliam Street has hosted gigs since the 1970s and was a hangout for homegrown bands including The Human League and Pulp. Richard Hawley still pops in for the odd pint.
Events and technical manager Jack Hardwick says it still hosts on average three gigs a week, from local acts to international artists and everything in between.
âMost Tramlines Fringe stuff weâve had has been fantasticâ, said Jack.
âThere was a great gig with Hotel Lux a couple of years ago, they could have been playing at a venue five or six times our size.
âJarvis Cocker did a DJ set here once after a refurb too, that was surreal.
âBut last weekend we had a gig where the bar staff were absolutely buzzing about the band.
âThey might have had something like 400 followers but those are the best gigs, the ones that nobody really knows about.â
Despite its history and industry-standard tech, gigs at The Washington are free entry.
Itâs an arrangement that benefits music fans, starting-out musicians and promoters alike.
Jack added: âWe give people their first experience of what this is all about.
âThat feels like a really important part of the musical landscape and one that is probably not spoken about so much.
âBeing in the grassroots scene is where you are going to make the most difference to peopleâs lives.
âYou see people playing their first few times, they donât know how to soundcheck, but a couple of years later they are selling out venues.
âThat really is amazing and it's good fun.â
Constantly hosting multiple music events, asThe Washington does, means hard work and gritty stories. Some 70-hour work weeks come with the territory.
Around 18 months ago, the team also took on The Hallamshire Hotel on West Street.
Jack said grassroots music venues in the city already supported each other, and he hoped that could now be amplified through SIVA.
He added: âWeâve borrowed kit from Sidney + Matilda, theyâve helped us out multiple times as did Dorothy Pax.
âEverybody wants to see everybody doing well because it benefits the city.
âTogether we can share the reach that we have across different venues.
âWe might not do what one person wants to see but we can tell them that Dryad Works (in Kelham Island) does.â
Jack also hopes the network could look at events and âchanging the narrativeâ after the closure of the Dorothy Pax and The Leadmill dominated headlines.
He added: âI think, honestly, the grassroots scene is really great. I have been in Sheffield a decade and the venues are better than at any other point theyâve been.
âAnd it is pretty much all community led, by individuals.
âYou now (after the campaign to save The Leadmill) get people outside Sheffield say look at that time and go Sheffield musically is rubbish because theyâve lost the Leadmill. That couldnât be further from the truth.â
Check out The Washingtonâs gig lineup here đ¶