TONIGHT Doors 8.30 · 487 cap · 18+ A FEW LEFT
Manchester's loudest five-piece, off the back of "Wet Cement" — their best-reviewed record yet. Limited release stage, no opener slots filled till seven days out. Get in early.
A small selection of the 2,408 shows we've hosted since 2009. Most started as a phone call to a booking agent and ended at four in the morning, sweeping the floor.
The building has been a foundry, a vehicle depot, a sail-loft for a defunct shipping company, and — briefly, in 1973 — a bingo hall. We took it on in 2008, gutted the ground floor, kept the original iron columns and the loading-bay doors at the back, and opened to a sold-out show by Wild Beasts on the 14th of November 2009.
Since then we've put on 2,408 gigs. We have one rule that's stayed constant: nobody on stage at The Foundry has ever had their cut renegotiated downwards after the show. Guarantees are guarantees, in writing, paid in cash if requested. Most other things have changed at least once.
We have a capacity of 487 in the main hall, 120 in the back bar, and a bookings policy that turns down roughly half the offers we get, because we'd rather put on a small thing that's properly ours than fill the room every night with whatever's touring.
— TUE 11 NOV · BIG THIEF · 487 / 487 ★
The building is split into a main hall (built into what used to be the foundry casting floor), a back bar with its own stage for smaller acts, and an outdoor yard for summer shows.
The original foundry floor — 14m × 18m, with 6m ceilings, original iron columns, and a stage at the south end built from reclaimed pier-piling timber.
Smaller room with its own bar and stage. Used for free acoustic shows, open-mic nights, book launches, and the late-night DJ extension on club Fridays.
The yard at the back of the building — opens to ticketed weekend afternoons in summer, with a small stage built off the loading-dock and one of the better pints in the city.
§ 05 — IN THE PRESS
"Manchester's least-pretentious, best-curated 500-cap venue. The room sounds like a record."
— Private hire · Mon, Tue, Thu only
We hire the rooms out three nights a week — for album launches, label parties, weddings (yes, several), gallery openings, and the occasional birthday. £900 for the back bar, £2,400 for the main hall, sound & staff included.