The Water Rats

Camden Town / Islington, London –

Housed in an old theater, The Water Rats is a rather run-down pub and nightly live music venue that hosts primarily new bands playing indie, rock, pop, and acoustic music.

Frequented by a laid-back urban crowd of music lovers, the club is widely regarded as one of the best venues in town to see new artists and has featured many famous performers – in fact, Bob Dylan claims that his first UK show was at Water Rats.

The club is split into a front bar and pub area, somewhat shabbily furnished, and a sparsely decorated standing-room-only concert stage in the back – the only reminders that the space used to be a theater are a dusty chandelier and some faded curtains.

Despite the club’s grungy appearance, however, its schedule of consistently high-quality bands and its excellent sound system continue to draw in hundreds of indie fans and music junkies nearly every night of the week.