Theatre's & Venues

Glasgow is home to an impressive number of theatre's and music venues.

Carling Academy

The Carling Academy on Eglinton Street in the Gorbals area of Glasgow is a relatively new music venue in the city, opened in March 2003.  Originally the new Bedford Cinema which was rebuilt in the 1930s, the building itself has many of the original art deco features and has played host to many big names including; Alanis Morissette, Amy Winehouse, The Fratellis and The Killers.

SECC

The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) is Scotland's national venue for public events and plays host to, concerts, conferences and exhibitions.  Situated just to the north of the River Clyde the SECC was completed in 1983 and has good rail and road links from the city centre.  Also part of the SECC complex is the Clyde Auditorium which has been nick named the "armadillo" by many Glaswegians, owing to its distinctive shape.

King Tut's

King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, known to most simply as king Tut's is one of Glasgow's live music venues.  It opened in 1990 and is owned by DF Concerts.  The venue has a small capacity of 300 people but has an impressive back catalogue including names such as Radiohead, Travis, Oasis, The Charlatans and Gomez.

ABC

The ABC, so called because the building used to be home to the "ABC Cinema", is on Sauchiehall Street in Glasgow's city centre.  The building holds two venues (ABC1 & ABC2), opened in 2005 and is home to the world's largest genuine spinning disco ball.  The venue is used for concerts and also as a night club, playing a mix of Soul, punk, rock and indie dance music.

The Arches

The Arches is one of Scotland's leading multi-arts venues and is located under the "arches" of Glasgow's Central Station.  The venue is used for club nights, live music, theatre, visual arts and corporate events and is a not-for-profit organisation which reinvests any revenue made back in to its arts programme and encourages ground breaking productions and experimental theatre.

Barrowlands

The Glasgow Barrowlands (or Barrowland Ballroom) is one of the city's major dance halls and concert venues.  Known particularly for excellent acoustics and a sprung dance floor "the barras" is a firm favourite among many noted rock/pop acts.  Big name who have played in the past include; R.E.M., Kula Shaker, David Bowie, Sheryl Crow, Marilyn Manson and Elvis Costello.

The Garage

The Garage night club on Sauchiehall Street is well known in Glasgow for the large yellow truck which protrudes from the front of the building.  As well as being a student night club, The garage is also a music and arts venue with regular acts including;  Kaiser Chiefs, Lostprophets, Pam Ann and Jimmy Carr.

Barfly

Barfly is a music venue located on Clyde Street near the city centre and regularly features live music in the rock, alternative and independent music genre.  Previous names who have graced the stage at the nightclub include Bloc Party, Zane Low and Dodgy.

Citizen's Theatre

The Citizen's Theatre situated in the Gorbals area of Glasgow includes a 500 set main auditorium and two smaller studio theatres.  The building contains the oldest original working understage machinery in the United Kingdom and holds regular shows, musicals and performances, giving concession tickets to local residents in order to promote accessibility to 'the citizen's' of Glasgow.

King's Theatre & Theatre Royal

The King's Theatre on Bath Street in Glasgow which was opened in 1904 primarily hosts touring musicals, dance, comedy and pantomime.  The theatre is also periodically lent to some local amateur productions.

The Theatre Royal is located at the top of Hope Street and has a varied history which began in 1867 when the first theatre was built on the site.  There have been three theatres at the present site, which also saw a brief conversion into one of STV's television studios.  The theatre had an external refurbishment in 2007 and is now home to Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet.

Both theatres are run by The Ambassador Theatre Group, the second largest theatre company in the UK.

Pavillion Theatre

Opened in 1904 The Pavillion Theatre on Renfield Street is one of Glasgow's oldest theatres and is the only privately run theatre in Scotland.  The Glasgow Pavillion is unsubsidised and receives no funding from the Scottish Arts Council

Ramshorn Theatre

The Ramshorn Theatre located in Glasgow's Merchant City is part of Strathclyde University.  Originally the Ramshorn Church the building was converted in 1992 presents dynamic seasons of drama from Strathclyde Theatre Group and is one of the venues for the Glasgow International Comedy Festival and the Merchant City Festival.

Tramway

One of Glasgow's contemporary visual and performing arts venues, Tramway began its life as the Coplawhill Tram Shed in 1893 and is located in Glasgow's southside in Pollokshields.  The building which underwent extensive refurbishment in 2000 due to Scottish Arts Council National Lottery funding is one of the key venues for the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art.

Glasgow Winterfest

Glasgow comes alive in the winter period with the Glasgow Winterfest.  This program of events runs from the middle of November until mid January and will include; the Christmas Lights Switch on at George Square, Glasgow on Ice, Santa's Grotto, the Irn Bru Carnival and the Hogmanay Street Party.  There is something for everyone to choose from.

Piping Live

Every August Glasgow plays host to The World Pipe Band Championships.  This International competition attracts musicians from all over the world.  The weeks program of events brings the city to life with the traditional sound of the bagpipes and drums.

Football

Glasgow is home to the two largest football clubs in Scotland, Celtic FC and Rangers FC.

The two teams have a history of fierce rivalry and collectively are known as the old firm.

The city is also where you will find Hampden stadium, home to the Scottish National football team.