A new blockbuster exhibition, 70 Years of The Cavern Club will open at Museum of Liverpool on Saturday 16 January 2027 – 70 years to the day since the Cavern opened.
Created in collaboration with The Cavern Club, the exhibition charts the club’s journey from a post-war jazz club in a Mathew Street cellar to a global cultural phenomenon and thriving live music venue synonymous with the city. At its heart are the people who have shaped the Cavern across seven decades – from the performers to the fans. Their stories are brought to life through rare photographs, instruments, personal objects and memorabilia that capture the relationships and moments behind its remarkable history.
The Cavern Club began life in 1957 as a jazz cellar, but it did not stay one for long. From lunchtime sessions that gave young Liverpool bands a stage to the arrival of the city’s new ‘beat groups’, the club became a place where new sounds could find an audience.
The Beatles played there a staggering 292 times between 1961 and 1963, while a young Cilla Black worked in the cloakroom. Gerry and the Pacemakers helped carry the sound spilling out of Liverpool’s best-known cellar across the Atlantic, becoming part of the Merseybeat phenomenon and scoring US Billboard hits with songs including ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey.’
Also on display will be a brown suede jacket worn by John Lennon as The Beatles embarked on their first North American tour, with Beatlemania surging across the world. The jacket was made by Cecil Gee, the Lithuanian-born Jewish tailor who helped shape the global fashion scene of the 1960s.
A recreation of the iconic Cavern stage sits at the centre of the exhibition. The design takes its cues from the Cavern’s front and backstage worlds, inviting visitors to discover the people, music and stories that have played a part in the venue’s legacy and helped cement Liverpool as a world-renowned city of music.
As a working music venue, The Cavern Club remains a place of pilgrimage for emerging bands, who come not only to see where The Beatles once played, but to follow in their footsteps and take to the iconic stage. Over the decades, it has welcomed everyone from The Rolling Stones, The Who, Queen and Elton John to Oasis and Arctic Monkeys, while home-grown acts including Jamie Webster and Red Rum Club continue that story today.
That tradition of nurturing young talent continues. In July 2026, 12-year-old Irish Beatles superfan Riordan Hopwood made his Cavern Club debut, fulfilling his dream of performing at this world-famous venue.
Jon Keats, Cavern Club Director, said: “70 Years of The Cavern Club is a reminder that our story is not only about preserving musical history, but also about inspiring its future. We continue to welcome and showcase talented performers from around the world to play on our famous stage. Young artists like Riordan represent the next generation of musicians who are discovering The Beatles and keeping their legacy alive.”
The Cavern’s legendary status and intimate atmosphere feel inseparable from the spirit of Liverpool. As Paul McCartney put it when he returned for a surprise gig in 2018: “Liverpool! Cavern! These are words that go together well.”
Karen O’Rourke, Curator of Sport, Music and Performance at Museum of Liverpool, added: “This exhibition is our chance to tell that fuller story of the Cavern: the rise, the fall, the emotion, the people and its life today. We want visitors to leave our exhibition feeling The Cavern Club the way generations from across the globe have felt it, not only as a historic place, but as a living, breathing part of our amazing city.”
70 Years of The Cavern Club opens at the Museum of Liverpool on Saturday 16 January 2027 and runs until Sunday 31 October 2027. A programme of events and learning activities will run alongside the exhibition, with further details to be announced. Priority booking is now open to National Museums Liverpool members, with general tickets on sale from 14 September. All memberships include unlimited free entry to charged exhibitions.
To find out more about and to sign up to become a National Museums Liverpool member, visit: www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/