Editorial
Liverpool is a music city to its core, and the proof is not the arena but the cellars and pubs where bands still play most nights. The Cavern Quarter holds the Beatles history, the Baltic Triangle and Ropewalks run the new rooms, and the Georgian Quarter keeps the grand old pubs. We worked the venue histories, the local press and the gig calendars to land on these ten, every one a bar where you catch a set with a drink in hand. Skip the stadium. This is where the city actually plays.
Mathew Street and Ropewalks hold the famous rooms and the new ones, the Cavern, the Jacaranda and the basements where rising bands play. Start in the center and walk between them.
The Cavern Quarter and Ropewalks run the nightly stages and the small basements. The Baltic Triangle and the Georgian Quarter reward a short walk for a garden venue, a dock road ale pub and the grand old rooms.
For the history, the Cavern Club and the Jacaranda carry Mathew Street and Slater Street. For nightly new bands, Jimmy's and EBGBs lead the basements. For intimate jazz with a drink, Berry and Rye wins. Liverpool plays somewhere every night, so check the listings and follow the sound off Bold Street.
The Altitude. A sharp Asia Pacific eye for skylines, rooftops and rooms where the drink has to stand on its own. Notes the booking window and the dress code so you do not have to.