The Peer Hat
A music venue, events space and characterful pub-style venue in The Northern Quarter, which first opened in 2017.
It is a venue with historic beginnings, with the first musician to play there being Thurston Moore – formerly of Sonic Youth.
The Peer Hat is known for its communal feel and variety, with live events and music frequently taking place on the atmospheric underground stage. The ground-floor space and bar often also features exhibitions and local artwork, which in late 2018 included a feature from Manchester Gothic Arts Group (M:GAG).
In 2018 The Peer Hat also served as the venue for Foundations Festival, a community and arts-meets-music festival, which took place on 14-15 December. This included poetry and spoken word performances, soapbox sessions and a ‘poetry vs. noise’ event as well as live music, panels and discussions. It also involved HAUNT Manchester’s ‘Black Christmas’ event and network Christmas party, with readings from a number of esteemed writers including Rosie Garland, Helen Darby and Violet Blonde.
The Peer Hat hosted Manchester Folk Horror Festival in 2018, encompassing many aspects of Folk Horror culture, and again in 2019.
There are regular events on at The Peer Hat which incorporate spoken-word and poetry; whether that’s in a gig format or at an open mic night. Stay tuned to the venue’s social channels to find out more and keep updated with opportunities.