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The Cavern Pub, a sibling venue to the legendary Cavern Club, has hosted some top musicians. While other pubs put football on the TV, showing Euro 2024 matches and club matches the rest of the year, The Cavern Pub provides live music every night.

The venue hosts weekly open mic nights and gigs from residency artists, with a wide range of live music. Here are some of the talented artists to have already graced the pub.

The Amazing Kappa Band

Paul Kappa’s band, Amazing Kapper features screw-your-face-up guitar riffs and classic rock ‘n’ roll drums. Their song ‘Tick Tick’ highlights the fun and energy the band is all about –distorted guitar alternates with bars featuring only drums, with Kappa’s vocals matching the music’s tension.

Their song ‘God’s Left Hand’ was featured on Cavern Records’ compilation, Cavern Records Presents. The band have a residency at the Cavern Club and treats crowds to their high-energy blues-rock twice a week. Kappa also play at the Pub every Wednesday.

Xander and the Peace Pirates

Aside from a great name (and hats), Xander and the Peace Pirates bring delicately crafted melodies and rousing guitars. The band often manage to sound summery and melancholy at the same time, with songs like ‘Leave The Light On’ and ‘Order Out Of Chaos’ containing sad-happy vibes.

The band play an impressive range of styles. ‘Fire’ mixes energetic drum fills, scratchy guitar and wailing leads with understated vocals, and ‘Into The Water’ is mostly built from a single, delicately plucked guitar part and a sorrowful lead vocal.

Richard Batty

Another artist who holds a residency at the Club, Richard Batty plays shows at both the Pub and Club. Batty’s acoustic sets feature classic and new music, including songs by The Beatles, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. His solo release, Loaded Gun EP, mixed acoustic guitar with electric lead guitar and strings. ‘Good Weather’ showed Batty’s brighter side and ‘Losing Sleep’ was a more atmospheric, sombre cut.

The Arcadeans

Irish band The Arcadeans played the Pub in 2023, treating the venue to their dual guitar, feel-good rock. They released Ballad of a Fallen Man a few months later. The band count Keith Richards, Rory Gallagher and Billie Joe Armstrong among their influences, and it’s easy to hear those artists’ energy in their own sound. The EP’s highlight was the foot-stomping title track, a hair under 9 minutes, complete with group vocals and a chorus you can hear again and again. ‘99 Reasons’ had a similar singalong chorus, and it’s easier to imagine that song being a crowd-pleaser if the band were to return to the Cavern.

The band released a new single, ‘Let It Rain’, in June this year. It’s another rousing, energetic track with plenty more hooks to keep you coming back.

Ian Prowse

Ian Prowse hosts The Monday Club, a weekly open mic night at the Pub. The night eschews the usual covers of open mic nights to showcase artists’ original music. Ian also records his own music, with the 2020 album The Story of Ian Prowse featuring his acoustic guitar playing, some beautiful string arrangements, and his versatile voice. A highlight was the dreamy ‘Love Phenomenon’ with its feel-good chorus and some brilliant guest vocals.

More recently, 2022’s One Hand On The Starry Plough opened with ‘Battle’ which featured more upbeat strings and a little more bite in Prowse’s voice. ‘Swine’ from the same album had another memorable chorus, rollicking drum rolls and some blow-your-heart-out saxophone. Prowse’s softer singing and guitar arpeggios on ‘Big Feelings’ showed further range.

Prowse’s Monday Clubs are open to poets, playwrights, comedians and other creators, bringing the Pub a range of art to go along with its regular music nights.