Mascara Bar: Pub in Hackney, London

Mascara Bar is an art venue that does its best work with sound and words. The programme leans toward live bands, record release parties and poetry pamphlet launches, so a night here is usually built around a single release, a reading or a live set. That makes it a good pick if you like hearing new work before everyone else has written about it. Musicians, writers and the people who follow them tend to fill the room, which keeps the mood easy and sociable. It suits a plan built around one event. Arrive for the set or the reading, and stay for the conversation afterwards. Art, music and poetry are the common thread, and the listings below show what that looks like in practice.