North West emerges as the gig capital of the UK, according to research for The London Essentials

LONDON, Dec. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The North West is the place where most people enjoy live music.

New research by The London Essentials reveals that people in the North West are most likely to attend gigs during the typical year – although London still remains the place where gig-goers go to shows most often.

As a leading international touring party band, The London Essentials polled a representative sample of 2,000 adults to get a picture of the public's support for live music around the UK – and at a time when many grassroots venues have struggled to keep their doors open during the cost-of-living crisis.

• People in the North West were most interested in supporting live music (87%) – and, nationally, gig-going has now become more popular in Scotland (81%) than it is in England (78%) and Wales (69%).
• People in the North West and Scotland were most likely to go to fewer, special concerts a year – for example, 29% people in the North West said they would typically go to concerts a couple of times a year, yet they were also happy to spend the most on tickets – 53% saying they would usually spend more than £50 a ticket.
• Whilst people in the North West are more likely to support gigs during the year, those Londoners that do go to gigs are the most likely in the UK to go to live shows most frequently. Ahead of all other regions, 18% of Londoners go to a music gig most weeks – with 19% supporting live music on a monthly basis.

Ben Matthews, Founder of The London Essentials, said: "The two overwhelmingly positive findings from our research are that seven in 10 people put a real value on live music experiences – and also that live music continues to be an important part of life in all regions across the UK. The ultimate international party band, The London Essentials spends a lot of our time flying the flag for the UK abroad, and delighting audiences worldwide with the best of British music – everything from Queen and the Spice girls to Ed Sheeran and The Beatles. Across the UK, music concerts are special occasions to savor and we also buy into that, our performances are all about special moments for special occasions."

Discover more at: https://thelondonessentials.com/