One of the most intimate and stunning gig venues in London. Great sound and even better if you’re watching acoustic stuff.
Get there early for a good seat as it’s unreserved seating in the pews.

Islington’s lovely Union Chapel is, in fact, first and foremost a beautiful church. Its round chapel area also happens to host frequent performances by acoustic indie stars, secret gigs by megastars like U2, and a certain breed of folk-rock singer-songwriter. I saw outsider artist Daniel Johnston here and it was one of the most moving gigs of my life.

It's seating only, with long, curved church pews. Artists perform up on the stage, as if preaching to the crowd. You're never far from the performer, which makes it feel very intimate. The acoustics are amazing as well, like many churches. The interior is beautiful (again, as you'd expect from a church), and it really adds a feeling of importance and grandiosity to the performance.

There is a café room on one side, and toilets on the other, but don't expect all the comfort and concessions of a purpose-built theatre or music hall. It is, simply, an ornate place of worship that recognises there are things besides the divine that are praiseworthy.

The Union Chapel is an increasingly popular music venue in North London.
It hosts the Little Noise sessions, which will see the likes of the Babyshambles, the Kooks and Kate Nash, perform in November. Its emergence is probably due to the fact that it has great acoustics.
They also program more low-key and international music like the Salaam Music Festival in 2006.
I keep this venue and their directors close to my heart for initiatives like the “margins” homelessness projects.