It’s Friday night and the prospect of being grinded on by sweaty eighteen-year-olds in a deafening club just isn’t floating your boat, but if you spend one more weekend in your pyjamas with takeaway and Netflix, someone is going to send for help. Don’t stress – there is a happy medium for people who would like to have a pleasant evening out, with friends who aren’t their cat, and without the doof-doof headache that follows a night of clubbing. Ladies and gents, we give you the best Brisbane live music venues for a dinner with a soundtrack, so you can enjoy some good tunes, a delicious feed and a cold drink without the hassle.
Il Verde | Bowen Hills
Il Verde is combining two of life’s greatest pleasures (cheese and music) and serving it up every Tuesday and Thursday. ‘Take the Wheel’ nights not only give you the chance to try their signature cheese-wheel carbonara, but also provide some back up tunes so that your not doing a pasta-induced happy dance in silence. Want a pizza advice? Make a booking ahead of time, with a line up like this seats fill up fast!Collective Kitchen & Bar | CBD
Believe it or not, we may have found the PERFECT spot for Friday arvo drinks. Collective Kitchen not only boasts an impressive collection of craft beers, delicious food and provides games (whose difficulty level rapidly increases as your beer intake increases), they also have live tunes every Friday from 5pm! So grab your work mates, order a fig and prosciutto pizza, and treat yourself to the perfect start to the weekend.Sasquatch Bar | Chermside
Throughout the week, Sasquatch Bar delights our taste buds with craft beer, delectable nibblies and a whole lot of grilled goodness, but on the weekend they take it to the next level and treat our eardrums too! Swing by Sasquatch on Friday, Saturday or Sunday (or just camp outside all weekend), tuck into a stupidly good hero sandwich and get ready to groove in your eating pants. The perfect weekend does exist.The Dalgety Public House | Teneriffe
Is there anything more satisfying than a REALLY good Sunday sesh? Well yeah, okay, if every Monday was a public holiday that would be much better, but let’s not get too carried away people. To ease our collective case of Sunday-itus, The Dalgety Public House serve up a swinging Sunday deal. From 2-7pm you can forget about the week ahead and enjoy a $20 cheese or charcuterie board and be serenaded with live guitar music. Wine and cheese makes everything okay.Barcadia Kitchen & Bar | Bulimba
Whether you’re working your way through some smoked maple wings, or slow cooked brisket tacos, or diving face first into pan-fried gnocchi or skirt steak with jalapeño slaw, there’s a chance you’ll be too absorbed in your meal to stand up and applaud when the band takes the stage at Barcadia. From 4pm on Friday’s and 6pm on Saturday’s, Barcadia treats diners to a killer lineup and menu, so check out their Instagram to see which musos will be providing the soundtrack to your weekend.Kettle & Tin | Paddington
We feel that the old adage, ‘hair of the dog that bit you’ doesn’t get nearly enough recognition as it deserves. Because really, we all know in our heart of hearts that nothing can cure a hangover quite like a cold beer the next day. Every Sunday from 3pm Kettle & Tin teams up with Stone and Wood to bring us a glorious combination of beer, food and music to help soothe our aching heads, or for the more responsible among us, end your weekend on a deliciously relaxing note.River Quay Fish | South Brisbane
Looking for the perfect way to unwind this Sunday? Jump on the ferry and head down to River Quay Fish Brisbane’s ultimate Sunday sesh with a view. Every Sunday from 5pm, South Bank dishes up live gigs on the green, which, much to our delight, is conveniently located right in front of River Quay Fish. So if you’re lucky enough to score an outside table, you can sip on your wine, nibble on your flathead and enjoy some tunes from the comfort of your table. Otherwise, grab a takeaway soft shell crab baguette and have a picnic on the lawn.Farrier Bar & Supper Club | Fortitude Valley
Who knew an old horse stable could have such whinny-ing acoustics? Treat your tastebuds and your eardrums to fresh eats and local talent at this sophisticated gem that claims to be “Brisbane, all grown up.” If by grown up they mean somewhere we can get our fill bao buns, red curry brisket and music that doesn’t hurt our eardrums of an evening, we’ll take it.Lock ‘n’ Load Bistro | West End
The tunes may not start until 10pm on Fridays and Saturday nights, but if you’re only young at heart and actually a bit of a nanna when it comes to bedtime, Tuesdays at the West End bar are a little more senior friendly. Live jazz kicks off from 2pm, providing the perfect soundtrack for eats like house made porcini gnocchi – or just a big pile of crispy wings and fries if you’re not that classy.The Milk Factory | South Brisbane
Whether you’re eating your way through their tempting snack menu, which includes fried tortilla chips with maple bacon and pork bits, or digging into a hefty main, such as slow braised cocoa and chilli beef ribs, you’ll be to busy eating to even stand up an applaud when the bands take the stage at The Milk Factory. This laidback venue is host to tonnes of talent, so check out their gig guide to see who you can catch this weekend. If you’ve long since hung up your clubbing shoes and prefer a night that focuses on the important things, like food, music, food, conversation and food, these venues will have you venturing out of the house faster than you can say “encore!” Words by Adrien Van Bruinessen
