For the second year running the Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, has made the shortlist for the NME Small Venue of the Year award.
The Trades topped the North West category, becoming the first club in the competition’s history to make the final shortlist in the first two years of entering.
Trades Club entertainment manager Mal Campbell said: “This is a massive achievement to make this shortlist for the second year running and it is all down to our members and guests who have voted for us in huge numbers.
“Other clubs with big reputations haven’t made this shortlist and I think it is a mark of the high quality acts we have booked this year plus our investment in a new PA that has resulted in a record number of sell-out events.”
Putting on high profile gigs like punk legend Patti Smith has propelled the club into the final.
The Holme Street venue, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, will now take on legendary clubs like Stoke’s Sugarmill, London’s 12 Bar Club and Belfast’s Limelight.
This year the NME has scrapped its traditional panel of experts who decided the winner and thrown the final decision back to an open vote.
Mal said:“We are so grateful for the support we have but it is still a job half done. We are issuing a plea to everyone who voted for us in the first round and music fans along the valley to vote for us.
“If they do that and our guests join in then we have a real chance of picking up this prestigious national award.”
Last year the Trades Club missed out on the award, won by Tunbridge Wells Forum, which was once a public toilet and has hosted groups including Oasis and Coldplay in its 20 years as a music venue.
Voting closes soon, so to vote for the Trades go to www.nme.com/smallvenues/vote