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We are a community magazine, bringing you the best of Sheffield.
Herd Hangouts - Venue Spotlights
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Scene and Herd
EVENT OF THE WEEK
w/c 19th October 2026
Sheffield’s grassroots music scene has plenty to celebrate this week as Under The Wire marks its first anniversary with a full day of free live music. What began as a weekly open mic at The Porter Cottage has grown into one of the city’s independent live music communities, bringing together local artists, musicians and music lovers while making its mark at events including Sheffield Food Festival, Leopold Square and Sharrow Vale Spring Market.
Now, the community is celebrating a landmark first year with an all-day showcase at The Church House in Sheffield city centre on Sunday 25th October, from 2.30pm.
Expect an eclectic celebration of Sheffield’s musical talent, with an impressive line-up of solo performers and bands taking to the stage throughout the day. Solo acts include Alexandra Wild, Harri Larkin, Paul Kenny, Junaina Rahman and Rose Ingalill, alongside bands Babies Floating in Space and Slothstalgia. The Under The Wire Showcase Band will also perform, before the Ryan Taylor Trio Band brings the evening towards its finale with a jam session.
Beyond the anniversary celebrations, Under The Wire is continuing to build opportunities for grassroots musicians, with a developing booking agency connecting local artists with performances at restaurants, pubs and private events.
The anniversary is a chance to celebrate how far the community has come in just 12 months, while looking ahead to what’s next for Sheffield’s independent music scene.
With free entry, a packed programme and a welcoming atmosphere, Under The Wire’s first anniversary promises a day built around the things that matter most: live music, local talent and bringing people together.
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Herd the Word
EVENT OF THE WEEK
w/c 19th October 2026
As Halloween approaches, Showroom Shorts returns with a specially curated evening of dark and unsettling cinema at Sheffield’s Showroom Cinema on Tuesday 20th October. Starting at 8.30pm in the Main Bar, this free screening brings together ten short films exploring everything from supernatural encounters and local legends to psychological horror, murder and monstrous secrets.
Spanning different styles and settings, the programme taps into the uncanny, turning familiar places and everyday situations into something far more sinister.
The line-up includes Whether, which explores the unsettling implications of predicting the future, and Across the Loch, where ancient folklore fuels fear and violence. Industrial trauma and buried secrets surface in Them Bloody Miners, while the music video Sorry revisits the story of a murderous 1970s landlord. Elsewhere, Chance Meeting offers an absurd and bleak encounter, Hush Little One blurs the line between nightmares and reality, and Sold as Seen turns a house viewing into a disturbing discovery. Rounding out the supernatural and sinister themes are The White Lady of St. John’s Road, The Salesman and The Intruder Trilogy, a trio of short horror films featuring unsettling scenarios and characters alone at home.
Beyond the screenings, audiences can hear directly from the filmmakers, who will introduce their work and discuss the ideas and creative processes behind it. The evening also offers opportunities to meet fellow film enthusiasts and connect with Sheffield’s filmmaking community. Entry is free, with a raffle featuring film memorabilia, cinema vouchers and other prizes.
For fans of independent cinema and all things macabre, it’s an opportunity to discover a diverse selection of short films and join the conversation behind the screen. Free entry.
OCTOBER 2026
TOP 4
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Your guide to the month ahead.
Check out our weekly event recommendations every Monday.
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Off the Shelf Festival
Sheffield’s Off The Shelf Festival of Words once again brings an impressive range of writers, journalists, historians and performers to venues across the city. Among the headline names are Marina Hyde, whose sharp political commentary has made her one of Britain’s most recognisable columnists; crime novelist and screenwriter Chris Chibnall, best known for creating Broadchurch and leading Doctor Who; and thriller powerhouse Lee Child, appearing with his brother Andrew Child to discuss the latest instalment in the hugely successful Jack Reacher series. Visitors can also hear from Booker Prize-winning novelist Ben Okri, forensic scientist Sue Black, and neuroscientist Hannah Critchlow, ensuring a programme that spans literature, science and contemporary affairs.
The festival also has a strong Yorkshire and Sheffield flavour. Local journalist and author Daniel Dylan-Wray will present Groovy, Laidback and Nasty, his celebration of Sheffield’s musical heritage, while historian David Templeman explores the city’s past in Ye Olde Sheffield Part 2. Poetry remains central to Off The Shelf, with appearances from Helen Mort, Katharine Towers, Carolyn Forché and Kwame Dawes, alongside an event marking the conclusion of Beth Davies’ tenure as Sheffield Poet Laureate. The programme demonstrates the festival’s continuing commitment to both internationally renowned guests and distinctive local voices.
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Contemporary British Painting Prize
As part of Sheffield’s busy autumn cultural calendar, the Contemporary British Painting Prize returns to Yorkshire Artspace this October, showcasing some of the most exciting painting being produced in the UK today. Running until 17th October, the exhibition brings together work by shortlisted artists from across the country, offering audiences the opportunity to engage with a diverse range of styles, subjects and approaches shaping contemporary painting. The prize has established a reputation for highlighting both emerging and established talent, making it a key event for anyone interested in current developments in British visual art.
Rather than focusing on a single theme, the exhibition celebrates the breadth and vitality of contemporary painting, presenting works that explore personal identity, politics, place, memory and the changing nature of representation itself. Visitors can expect to encounter everything from large-scale figurative canvases to more abstract and experimental approaches, reflecting the richness of Britain’s current artistic landscape.
Hosted by Yorkshire Artspace, one of Sheffield’s leading centres for contemporary visual art, the exhibition provides an opportunity for local audiences to experience nationally significant work without leaving the city. For those interested in painting, contemporary culture or the wider visual arts scene, the Contemporary British Painting Prize is one of Sheffield’s most notable exhibitions this autumn and a strong reminder of the city’s growing reputation as a destination for contemporary art.
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Steel City Beer & Cider Festival
Steel City Beer & Cider Festival returns to Kelham Island Museum from Wednesday 21st to Saturday 24th October, marking its 50th edition. The festival will feature around 200 cask ales, 70 rotating keg beers and 30 ciders and perries, alongside street food, live entertainment, traditional pub games and demonstrations of the River Don Steam Engine.
The 2026 programme includes talks, tours and tutored tastings, including Where Are All the Women?, a Women On Tap session at 1pm on Saturday led by Rachel Auty, founder of Women On Tap CIC. The session explores women’s role in beer and features three beers brewed by women. Other highlights include a beer-and-music pairing with Pete Brown, a history of Kelham Island Brewery and the popular Heritage Walk, while live music comes from Highway Child, Soul Battalion and The 88s.
The festival opens from 5pm on Wednesday, with earlier preview access for CAMRA members, trade and sponsors, then from 11.30am on Thursday and Friday and 11am on Saturday. Entry is free for CAMRA members, while non-members pay £5 on Thursday and £8 on Friday and Saturday, with a £3 festival glass required.
With its mix of Sheffield brewing heritage, guest beers, cider and a packed programme of events, the festival promises a lively end-of-October celebration at Kelham Island.
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Sensoria Festival
Sensoria returns to Sheffield from 22nd - 25th October for its 19th edition, bringing together music, film and digital creativity across venues throughout the city. This year’s theme, “Plantasia”, takes inspiration from the cult 1976 Moog album Mother Earth’s Plantasia, exploring connections between technology, music and the natural world. As ever, Sensoria’s appeal lies in its willingness to move beyond the conventional festival format, creating a space where experimental sound, cinema and visual art can collide.
One of the weekend’s standout events comes on Saturday 24th October with Turntablism and Tapes: analogue audiovisuals at the University of Sheffield’s Drama Studio. Reel Steel and Zaron (Interworld) will mix vinyl film scores with live VHS cinema, before Sculpture deliver an immersive set built from samplers, tape reels, cassette players and custom projection. Their use of turntables to create zoetrope animation promises an especially tactile experience - nostalgic and radically inventive.
Elsewhere, the programme ranges from live electronic music and audiovisual performance to film screenings, installations and SynthFest UK, while SensoriaPro brings together composers, filmmakers, music supervisors, publishers and games developers. Taken as a whole, the 2026 festival continues Sensoria’s distinctive fascination with the space where music meets moving image and technology. For the full programme, click here