Halifax Entertainment
City Guides > Halifax > Entertainment
Halifax Nightlife and Entertainment
f 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 theatre 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.
Theatre and Classical Music
Neptune Theatre , 1593 Argyle St (tel 429-7300). The doyen of Halifax’s live theatres, 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.