Into The Lion's Den: Deansgate's Favourite Open Mic Night

On the Deansgate Mews in the Great Northern Warehouse sits Lion’s Den – a cosy bar that houses a large venue space on its upper floor. While Lion’s Den hosts a wide range of concerts and events, it is the Wednesday night, Farrow & Friends open mic night that has drawn the most consistent attention, becoming a creative hub for like-minded students interested in meeting others who are also passionate about creating music.

The open mic nights at Lion’s Den were first started by Laura Farrow in July of 2019. Being familiar with the gigging and open mic scene around Manchester and having graduated from a song writing course herself, Laura began running the open mic nights at Lion’s Den when owner, Dave Foran, was looking for a regular weekly night he could put on. From there, the popularity grew with many other venues around Manchester beginning to run their own open mic nights.

The format is relatively simple. Artists interested in performing book a slot from Laura or one of the other organisers at the start of the night and are then given the chance to perform three songs in front of an audience consisting of both members of the public and fellow musicians. The genres that you see performed can range anywhere from soft, acoustic ballads to electronic pop music to spoken word pieces and Lion’s Den welcomes a wide range of musicians.

One of the best benefits of these open mic nights is the fact that a large portion of the audience are musicians themselves. This leads to many opportunities to make new connections and oftentimes artists end up discussing creating music together or their creative processes after seeing each other perform. This all reflects Lion’s Den’s devotion to supporting grass-roots music and stopping a ‘pay-to-play' atmosphere in the local live music scene (something that Laura Farrow attributes the success of the nights to).

Undeniably, this is a large part of why Lion’s Den has become such a hit amongst music students. Not only is it only an 8-minute walk from popular music university BIMM, it does not charge artists to perform in front of a crowd which allows students to gain experience and confidence in live performance as well as developing their audience at no sacrifice to themselves. It gives the chance for them to meet other music students to collaborate on projects with.

For example, take film student Oisin who has written a song about Lion’s Den and the open mic nights. He says that Lion’s Den was the first venue that allowed him to “come out of his shell” and was the first time he performed live

in front of an audience. Oisin is now a regular at Lion’s Den, going most weeks with his song being a particular favourite amongst the crowd.

The need for places like Lion’s Den is even more prevalent now in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Live music took a large hit throughout lockdown and, for many artists that are just starting out, it is increasingly difficult to find opportunities to perform in front of an audience. Lion’s Den has managed to carve out a space where young musicians feel comfortable to grow as artists.

This attitude of supporting independence and creativity in growing musicians reflects a distinctly Mancunian approach to making music – and art in general. The ethos of doing what you want to do, the way you want to do it is why Manchester has always been a huge draw for young creatives looking to make a lasting impact in their field of choice and Lion’s Den wears that ethos on its sleeve, making it the perfect hub for students looking to get a good start on their creative journey.