Capacity: 400 in the main room. There’s also a smaller room, with a near-identical layout, which is sometimes used instead.
Who plays there: Mostly folk and acoustic-based acts: Oysterband, Heidi Talbot, Eddi Reader, the Staves, Lloyd Cole, Midlake, Mark Eitzel, Laura Cantrell, Caitlin Rose, Scott Matthews, the Albion Band. A pre-fame Jake Bugg had a residency here in 2011.
Cloakroom: No.
Admission: £8 to £17, typically around £10 to £12.
Bar: There’s a long bar at the back of the room, easily accessed throughout the shows.
Food: Although food is available on most comedy nights, it’s not served on music nights. Downstairs, Cafe Glee serves pre-show meals, with a bistro-style menu and real ales – but you should try to finish eating by 7pm (see below). However, on quiet nights where only the second room is in use, food hasn’t always been available.
Toilets: Directly adjoining the main room and easily accessed throughout the shows. This does have its drawbacks, though (again, see below).
Wheelchair access: Spaces are limited but available; the box office should be notified as far in advance as possible. Spaces may not be available for standing shows, but these are rare.
Sound: Good. The venue is geared towards acoustic music, and the sound system handles this well.
Where to sit: Glee doesn’t officially permit late admissions, so you need to be seated before the support act starts. As seats can’t be reserved, queues form before the doors open at 7pm and it’s important to bag a place in the seating block directly facing the stage. Arrive much later, and you’ll be way off to one side, with a significantly skewed view; at least half of the seats fall into this category. Leg room is tight, but if you opt for the front row of a section, your view will be impeded by the mid-show toilet-breakers.
Overall: This is not a place where you can expect to rock up five minutes before the headline act: prepare for an early start and a 30- to 60-minute wait, in small, tightly packed plastic chairs, before the support begins. Happily, the quality of most shows more than compensates for the ordeal.
Address: British Waterways Building, The Waterfront, Nottingham NG1 7EH.
Telephone: 0871 472 0400.
Website: glee.co.uk/nottingham
Public transport: Five minutes’ walk from the train station and its adjacent tram stop; 3 minutes’ walk from the Broadmarsh Centre bus stops.
