Birmingham caters for all music tastes

If you're interested in music then Birmingham is a really great place to experience it. As a large city it has so many different venues to go to, hosting a whole range of various gigs and concerts.

One of my favourite venues is the O2 Academy which is situated right in the centre of the city. A lot of major cities have one now so if you're used to going to gigs regularly your safe in the knowledge that you can carry it on in Birmingham. The Academy invites loads of various artists to play there and tickets are very reasonably priced. It's not a massive venue, but it is still pretty big, which gives you the best of both worlds – a large excited crowd as well as the opportunity to get really close to all your favourite acts. A brief look at the line up list over the next few months proves how varied the artists who play are; I just checked it out and found Gym Class Heroes, Ting Tings, Tai Cruz, Lost prophets and Death Cab for Cutie. These all represent a massive range of music tastes so there really is something for everyone. The O2 Academy Two is next door to the main academy and they invite up and coming bands to play there. The CA2 hosts smaller gigs that have a great atmosphere, tickets are cheaper and usually the bands make it to the big time a few months after playing there so it's pretty cool to say you 'saw them before they made it'! As well as being a concert venue, the academy also hosts an event called 'Ramshackle' every Friday night. It can only be found in Birmingham and Bristol and it's one of the biggest indie, alternative and rock events in Brum – great fun.

If you fancy going to a more mainstream gig then the National Exhibition Centre is for you. The NEC Arena is a massive venue with a capacity of thousands, situated just outside the centre of Birmingham. It's easily accessible, especially by rail as it's literally next to Birmingham International Airport Railway Station; you don't even have to step outside to get into the arena from there! They invite major acts to play as well as hosting events like the X Factor tour. When you think about gigs at the NEC, think glow sticks, flashing lights and toys that spin!!

The National Indoor Arena is another huge venue (seating 4,500) right in the centre of Birmingham. Most people know it as the place where they filmed the TV programme Gladiators! It's located just off Broad Street, which students will probably know well as that is where a lot of pubs and clubs are located. Being in the city centre makes it very easy to get to by train, bus or even walking! Like the NEC the NIA hosts comedy events and exhibitions as well as major music concerts.

If you're looking for a smaller, more chilled out venue then Birmingham is a great place to be. There are loads of relaxed, bar-based venues where up and coming bands can play, one of the most prominent of which is the Sunflower Lounge. Again located in the city centre it's easily accessible and offers a mix of retro and alternative music which is based in the basement of the building with a bar situated on the floor above where people can chill out after the bands have played. It's a different night out, a bit quirky and something that a lot of students will attend every now and then to get away from the mainstream.

If you much prefer strobe lighting and dancing til' 5am then fear not, as Birmingham can definitely provide something for you. The one venue you'll probably spend a lot of time in is the Custard Factory. It's located in Digbeth around 15 minutes walk from New Street Station in Birmingham city centre and event tickets can be bought in advance from student online ticket sellers (who also sell advance tickets for many student club nights) as well as 'Old Skool Daze', a ticket agency located in Selly Oak, a few minutes from the University of Birmingham. They host loads of different nights, mostly drum and bass, dance and trance raves, the majority of which are on a Friday night, so you can see in the weekend in style! It's probably the only reason you would be awake at 6am on a Saturday morning! If you're not into drum and bass and don't plan on becoming a regular, it's still a really fun thing to try at least once, especially if you and your friends want to do something a bit different and go absolutely mental! If you prefer more dance and trance music then you can watch the line-ups for the major clubs in the city centre, who often host events like Gatecrasher.

Obviously as well as the city centre, universities themselves will often invite bands and DJ's to come and play at the student's union. Whilst I've been a student at the University of Birmingham I've been to a DJ set of Vernon Kay's and partied like it's 1998 to the Vengaboys in our Guild's nightclub, The Underground. They were both great fun, really cheap (because the Guild subsidised the ticket prices – sweet) and my journey home was a 5 minute walk so I didn't have to pay for travel.

Overall, whatever you're into music-wise, you're going to find something that suits you. Birmingham is a large city and someone somewhere will be organising the kind of event you want to attend. It's just a case of finding it!