All Our UK Gigs Folk Music Venues

229 The Venue

229 is a multi-purpose entertainments venue which first opened its doors in 1965 as part of International Students House (ISH). The Charity opened essentially as an accommodation centre supporting British and overseas students whilst they studied at different Universities in London. Since then the venue has played host to, many gigs, awards ceremonies, club nights, weekend festivals and music related events. All profit is ploughed back into the Charity and helps funds our Scholarship programmes for students from less advantaged countries.

In April 2007 after a major refurbishment and a technical overhaul, 229 was launched as a dedicated live music and entertainments venue and in its early days, hosted the likes of The Beta Band, The Sneaker Pimps, Razorlight, Biffy Clyro, The Twang, The Noisettes, The Duke Spirit and The Mystery Jets.

In 2008, Island Records showcased Florence and the Machine in the smaller Venue 2 and a year later she won her first Brit Award. Likewise in 2010, we hosted Tinie Tempah, in what was a special gig for his label, friends and family and that night he went to number one in the download charts, with ‘Pass Out’. A year later he also won a Brit!

Since those early years some of the other artists who have played at 229 to date include: Example, Friendly Fires, Foals, Gnarls Barkley, The Magic Numbers, Primal Scream, Keane, Steve Cropper, The Correspondents, Ill Nino and Steel Panther.

More recently, Chrissie Hynde, Labrinth, Newton Faulkner, Seasick Steve and James Arthur have all performed in the smaller Venue 2 space (150 capacity). Kings of Leon launched their 2016 album, ‘Walls’ and Paul Weller warmed up for his World Tour in 2017. Both events took place in our main Venue 1, 620 capacity room.

In 2013 we hosted two celebratory events in honor of Nigerian singer/political figure Fela Kuti. This fantastic Afro Beats event also featured guest artists including legendary drummers, Tony Allen and Ginger Baker, plus Shingai Shoniwa of the Noisettes.

229 is becoming well respected for its cultural diversity in hosting acts from all over the world and we have continued to develop working relationships with promoters from all over Europe and beyond. In particular we host regular nights promoting the top artists from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
We also hosted some acts from further afield including; Bamboo, a legend from the Philippines, Josh from Pakistan and also Egyptian band, Cairokee.

In 2016 we Lebanese band Mashrou Leila, played their first ever London show, plus Iranian artist Shahin Najafi, also performed in the UK for the first time.

As well as working with many leading independent and national promoters, 229 runs its own promotions and supports grassroots music striving to give young and up and coming artists and bands a platform to perform and promote their music.

229 runs with D&B PA across all venues and we have invested significantly in lighting and production over recent years, including newly renovated back stage dressing rooms, green room and production facilities.

229 is available for hire and its multi-faceted layout and extensive technical capabilities means it is capable of handling a wide range of events including: live music gigs, club nights, private corporate events, live comedy nights, fashion shows, filming & photo shoots, gala dinners and radio shows plus much more.

Both V1 & V2 can run independently or together as one, and with good production facilities and a friendly, hard working team of staff, we can provide end-to-end delivery of a wide range of events and comprehensive event management.

Our location in Central London, excellent sound and production facilities make 229 one of the leading small – medium sized venues in the UK.