The room matters: A good venue is just as important as good music
If you’ve ever seen the same artist multiple times on the same tour, you’ve likely noticed the glaring truth that no two shows are the same, even when the setlist and every choreographed move are completely locked in.
Other than the fact that different cities bring their own unique energy and that enjoyment also depends on personal matters, like whether you wake up on the right side of the bed, it’s simple: a good venue is just as important as good music.
It might seem like an entirely obvious observation to make, but there’s more to why that’s the case than you might think. After all, when we’re immersed in the wonderful world of live music, a lot of things naturally happen to the brain, making us more susceptible to enhanced emotions and other behaviours we wouldn’t typically get away with in the office.
According to some studies, it’s akin to a legitimate social experiment. When we experience live music, our chemical responses intensify due to what one researcher from the University of Zurich called “its free-flowing, dynamic nature”. That raw burst of energy you get when you hear your favourite song in a crowded room comes from pure excitement and unpredictability, amplified by the joy of feeling like you’re experiencing something completely spontaneous, even when it’s anything but.
That said, that atmosphere doesn’t just materialise from nowhere. There are, of course, many elements at play, such as whether the artist puts on a good show, who you’re there with, how good the setlist is, whether the people nearby are being annoying, and so on, but the venue is also a significant part of the experience, impacting everything from the sound and view to broader feelings of safety.
A good example of how this rings true is Arctic Monkeys’ 2023 The Car tour. Here was a cycle of shows where truly no two nights felt the same, and it mainly came down to which venue you were lucky enough to get. After all, Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium proved to be an incredible night, with unobstructed views from almost any position and a free-flowing atmosphere that made you feel comfortable and safe.
Sheffield’s Hillborough Park, however, was a completely different experience, with overcrowded spaces and poor sound quality in some corners. The venue created a show that was only good if you were already a few cans in by the time ‘A Certain Romance’ kicked in. Granted, one was a stadium and the other a field, but it still says a lot about how sound quality, environment, safety, and overall enjoyment can vary from place to place, even when the show itself remains almost exactly the same.
One venue that seems to have it all figured out is Coop Live. A few excellent events and concerts have taken place there recently, many as part of wider tours and others as one-off events like the Brit Awards, a first following its usual home at London’s O2 Arena. The range of events, therefore, makes it easy to compare the experience to other major venues, like the O2, as well as Utilita Arena Birmingham, or even smaller-scale ones, like Leeds’ First Direct Bank Arena.
Comparing the previous year’s Brits to this year, there was a noticeably different atmosphere, something that can partly be owed to Manchester’s lively, energetic crowd, as well as the unique atmosphere that only somewhere like the Coop Live can bring. The same can be said for recent gigs held there, which spark a different sort of experience and enjoyment than other venues, and not just because accessibility around the venue is easy and the parking even easier.
According to Guy Dunstan, General Manager at Coop Live, all of this was intentional when designing the ideal venue for all sorts of events and occasions. From his perspective, there are things that a great venue can add to a concert experience that an artist alone can’t, like setting the entire tone of the show and providing the ‘core backdrop’, as well as every logistical and practical aspect from arrival to when you leave.
A big part of this was also bringing the fan closer to the artist. As the largest purpose-built indoor arena in Europe with a 23,500 capacity bowl, you’d likely assume that the venue would create an atmosphere that makes you feel more distant from the artist, but the vision was to ensure shows still felt intimate, in precisely the same way a much smaller venue would.
“There’s a lot to be said for the setting in which events are enjoyed,” says Dunstan, “That experience can be vastly enhanced by the venue. For a fan, the event begins from the moment they arrive at the venue, and not just the moment the artist takes to the stage. Everything they encounter during that time will impact their overall impression, their feelings and emotions, their enjoyment, and ultimately the memories they make.”
Perhaps that’s precisely it; more than many other venues, Coop Live seems to understand things from the fan perspective rather than the artist perspective, and how other elements, beyond the actual show, also impact enjoyment and the making of memories. Harry Styles’ recent One Night Only show was a good example of this. Before fans had even entered the venue, there was already a sense of camaraderie, helped by venue staff, organisers and film crews who contributed to a welcoming atmosphere and made you feel a part of something bigger.
“The key here is to develop and evolve not just alongside technological advances but also as fan behaviour and expectations shift.”
Guy Dunstan
The show could have been anywhere, especially given its exclusivity, but holding it at the Coop Live cultivated an environment that felt naturally fan-focused rather than performative, adding to the experience rather than appearing overly forced or overwhelming. And perhaps it’s because all the groundwork was already there, with an understanding on both sides that a good live show is far more than the live music itself.
“Fan experience stretches across safety, security and wellbeing to food and drink, access to venue facilities, the team members fans interact with, accessibility, and acoustics, among others,” says Dunstan, “[We] continually focus on ensuring these many elements are delivered at the highest standard”, from “frictionless entry” to “exceptional acoustics” and “spacious free-flowing concourses”.
Dunstan adds, “The key here is to develop and evolve not just alongside technological advances but also as fan behaviour and expectations shift. Not only are we purpose-built with state-of-the-art facilities, but we also employ a team with genuine passion and with their fingers firmly on the pulse of the industry. We’re not prepared to rest, and we actively strive against complacency. Even I can’t wait to see what the next twelve months have in store for the venue.”
Every aspect, therefore, has been “designed to ensure the experience matches the standards expected by fans”, with a continued focus on making things even better. And above all, therein lies the truth of it: because every aspect has been taken care of, it becomes easier to let loose, enjoy yourself, and even make some new friends with like-minded people who are there for the exact reason you are.
