If you want to go out and
groove, Halifax has a vibrant
live
music scene with around
fifty of its café-bars and bars
offering everything from blues
and jazz through to indie and
techno. Many of these places
have live music on just a couple
of nights a week, and detailed
entertainment listings, along
with reviews, are given in a
free weekly newssheet,
The
Coast , which is available
at record shops, bars and the
tourist office. The local
newspaper
The
Chronicle-Herald carries
reviews and listings on
Thursdays, and
Where , a
free magazine supplied by the
tourist office, has a section
describing the city's most
popular bars and giving some
opening hours. The venues listed
in this section of the website
are places where you can expect
to see live music on most nights
of the week. The main musical
event
is the eight-day Atlantic Jazz
Festival, held in mid-July and
featuring many of the biggest
international names. Halifax, as
the provincial capital, also
attracts major live acts in key
classical
and theatrical performances and
has a fairly prestigious
theater
scene.
Folk, jazz and blues
Bearly's House of Blues
, 1269 Barrington St (tel
423-2526). Near the HI youth
hostel, this low-key bar has
regular acts with the emphasis
- you guessed it - on blues.
Thurs-Sun.
Birmingham Bar and Grill
, 5657 Spring Garden Rd at
South Park St (tel 420-9622).
Wide range of wine and beers
with nightly jazz.
Lower Deck , in the
Privateer's Warehouse, one of
the Historic Properties down
on the waterfront (tel
425-1501). Traditional
Maritime folk music most
nights of the week.
Contemporary music
Café Mokka Ultrabar ,
1588 Granville St (tel
492-4036). Fashionable
downtown spot showcasing
up-and-coming local bands plus
jazz and blues.
JJ Rossy's , 1883
Granville St (tel 422-4411).
Varied DJ sounds with a dance
floor on the main level,
big-screen TV action up above.
Popular with students.
New Palace , 1721
Brunswick St (tel 429-5959).
Massive, brash and noisy
nightclub where Halifax's
young more than get
acquainted; open till 3.30am
nightly.
Reflections Cabaret
, 5184 Sackville St (tel
422-2957). Halifax's main gay
and lesbian bar and nightclub.
House music predominates.
Tickle Trunk , 5680
Spring Garden Rd (tel
429-2582). Wide range of music
featuring local bands, some of
whom just turn up and play.
Cinemas
Empire Bayers Lake ,
190 Chain Lake Drive (tel
876-4800). Mainstream
multiscreen near Hwy 102,
about 6km west of downtown.
Park Lane 8 , 5657
Spring Garden Rd (tel
423-4598). Mainstream cinema
in the Park Lane Mall.
Theater and classical music
Neptune Theater, 1593
Argyle St (tel 429-7300). The
doyen of Halifax's live
theaters, offering a wide
range of mainstream dramatic
productions; closes for three
months in summer.
Symphony Nova Scotia
, box office at the Dalhousie
Arts Centre, 6101 University
Ave (tel 494-3820 or
1-800/874-1669). Professional
orchestra that usually
performs at the university's
Rebecca Cohn Auditorium - at
University Ave and Marchant
St. Concert season from
September to April. Everything
from Piaf to Beethoven.
