As a newbie to Madrid one of the first things I wanted to know about was the music scene (after finding out where I could get good tapas, of course). Having lived in London for the past 13 years I'd become heavily involved in both the punk/metal and the electronic/rave scenes, even putting on my own events sporadically. In London you are spoiled for choice when it comes to music events and themed bars that play a certain genre of music so I immediately wanted to immerse myself in what I think of as a little piece of home. I've only been in Madrid for a month but have already found a few places that have tickled my fancy and would like to share some of these with you.
WURLITZER BALLROOM: A great venue for live music covering an array of genres. Everything from indie to punk rock to death metal seems to kick off in here and a lot of underground British and American bands on tour seem to stop off here, according to my research. I haven't managed to catch anything on the heavier side here yet, but I did stop in for a couple of beers one night and saw a band playing traditional Spanish flamenco music. This place is super buzzing on a Friday night and is open until 5:30am!
STELLA: Have been to this club a couple of times and from speaking to some locals and friends that attend have understood that THIS is the place to be if you want to hear the most banging techno DJs from Madrid and beyond. Head there on a Friday night for the DUST event and get lost in hypnotic beats from a tasty sounding Funktion-One soundsystem. Is also a very popular hangout for the LBGTQ community.
LA COQUETTE: On the complete opposite end of the spectrum we have this tiny little hidden bar below street level where you can hear some fantastic live blues and jazz bands. Very cosy environment and if you were dropped there without being told where you were you'd be mistaken for thinking you were in New Orleans.
WRONG WAY: Not a live music venue but already my favourite place to drink a few cheap pints (yes, actual pints). This bar in Malasaña plays purely punk rock music (a luxury I didn't even have in Camden Town of all places!) and is always busy with skateboarders and old-school punks alike. The walls of this tiny dive bar are covered in framed posters from legendary punk shows and there are skateboard trucks attached to the walls for you to hang your jacket from. True southern California vibes going on here. Pretty rad, right?