Before the Headline Tour: Why Student Bars Still Matter

I've just finished my undergraduate degree which calls innately for a time of reflection and response. It's been three years of hard moments and work, and I feel like Benjamin Button at times as I think I've come out of it feeling younger than I did going in. Memories have been flooding my mind for months now as I recall the imperative moments central to my time studying, whilst none of them involve studying. They involve meeting fellow musicians and promoters, playing in my first band, watching my friends and strangers play their first or one hundredth gig, starting to write about all of these moments; and a lot of these memories were made in so-called “student bars”.

The student bars in Belfast are one and few, a lot of them qualifying simply based on the fact that they are in student areas. As much as both universities have their own within their student union, I can only account for the memories made within the Queens union as it holds a laboratory for hosting and nurturing young musicians whether they go to Queens or not. Student bars occupy a rare middle ground between public and private life as they’re social spaces first, which means audiences already exist. Unlike commercial venues that depend heavily on ticket sales and alcohol margins, student bars can (at least in theory) prioritise participation over profit. That creates an environment where emerging musicians can fail safely; and failure is a necessary evil to the road of success.

We see this in the “wee bar” section of Queens’ Union Bar. I’ve seen that bar packed to the brim with friendly faces, filled with strangers I’ve never encountered and far and everything in between. It’s seen me working at gigs, playing them, witnessing them or drinking a bit too much at them; so I've held a lot of space for it. The importance of it within our scene comes from just that; variation. Scenes require physical proximity and musicians need to encounter one another accidentally. Audiences need regular gathering points and friendships, rivalries, collaborations and identities emerge through repeated interaction in shared spaces. You can be watching a gig one week, writing about it the next and playing the week after that, and this type of atmosphere is one that has helped grow not only a consistent audience but respect for the gigs within it whether they’re sellout shows or just playing to your housemates.

The Queens students union is even more unique as it not only hosts the “wee bar” but also hosts one of my favourite Belfast venues; Mandela Hall. I've attended too many gigs to count in that place but none share the same technicalities, and I think that’s why I like it so much. The place transforms itself based on who you're watching, and the crowd transforms with it. I've been there while you're packed into a small corner at gigs like The Happy Mondays, or witnessed my friends play on stage while wailing like their top fan (even having the pleasure to play there myself) and a place of diversity as such is so imperative within Belfast. It’s locked within an area packed with students, lying within the students union, so the positives are never-ending. People who are attending the bar upstairs can see and hear the inner goings on and stumble into bands playing, or people who haven't studied in the past 20 years and have been waiting for a certain gig for months can enjoy a double and a mixer for £4.50; endless positives.

One of my favourite characteristics that Mandela hosts was ‘Levels”; a monthly showcase that gives local and unsigned musicians the opportunity to play at one of the country’s top venues. As I said previously, I have received the pleasure of playing a Mandela show and it is one of my fondest memories I've made as a university student. The feeling of playing a stage so high, in a venue so big is a feeling of no other. For the 30 minute set, I forgot I was just a 19 year old from Belfast and was made to feel like a rockstar; and feelings like that are such an important motivator for musicians within our scene to keep pushing for a glimpse of that feeling again.

However, despite their cultural importance, student bars face immense pressure. Live music is expensive to host. Equipment costs money. Security costs money. Staff costs money. Insurance costs money. Noise complaints create legal complications. Universities increasingly operate like corporations, with branding strategies and reputational calculations that often make unpredictable live music scenes seem undesirable and the financial logic is difficult to ignore. A DJ night playing familiar chart music in BABBA may generate more consistent revenue than hosting emerging bands with uncertain audiences and from an administrative perspective, safe commercial programming appears rational; but cultural value cant be visible on a balance sheet.

This value of student music spaces extends beyond musicians themselves; live music venues teach organisational skills, technical production, journalism, design, promotion and community-building. Student radio stations collaborate with bands, photographers develop portfolios, writers review performances, sound technicians learn under pressure; and entire creative networks begin to emerge. This is why places like this are so vitally important. They are the breeding ground to the future of inner city music, so must be nurtured as so.

With university terms ending, and graduations happening this week it's really made me think about our student bars and their worth. Once again, some of my most valued memories were made in these bars so whether you're planning on coming to study in Queens next year, you've still a couple years left or you're graduating alongside myself, the consistent audience attendance and support of these gigs make them possible. So get yourself and your housemates down and support people making a dream, get some cheap drinks on the way and continue this support long-term. If you told me in first year I would not only have played live in a band but wrote about and made music the center-fold of my life I would probably not believe you so, if you're looking to find something new, the question could literally be hiding round the corner.