Music to our ears: Scott's Jazz Club and a host of East Belfast restaurants join forces for 'BallyhackaMORE Fridays'
A top jazz club and restaurants in East Belfast have joined forces to celebrate the cultural growth of the area and the increased visitor numbers with a new scheme called ‘BallyhackaMORE Fridays’.
Neil’s Hill, Bistro Este, Il Pirata, Banh Boy, and Oliver’s will offer a pre jazz club discount of between 10 and 20 per cent on Friday evenings to anyone with a Scott’s Jazz Club ticket.
The jazz club, which specialises in putting on world-class concerts every week, often with touring international artists, is now recognised as one of Europe’s top jazz venues, attracting tourists and locals on a weekly basis for the last four years to what they now often refer to as ‘Belfast’s cool upper East side’.
The success of the venture has even spawned a radio Series, ‘Live from Scott’s Jazz club’ and also a BBC documentary about one of the club’s most active supporters - Belfast writer Colin Harper, who just so happens to have written the definitive biography on perhaps jazz music’s greatest living guitarist, John McLoughlin.
Co-founders of Scott’s Jazz Club, Cormac, Scott and Richard, said: “Having no money for marketing, we decided to rely on our hunch that the sheer quality of the music itself, combined with our innovative lighting and sound skills would gradually build an audience for this missing gap in Belfast's music offering. Running it every Friday night of the year was a key ingredient. You never have to wonder when it’s on. If it’s Friday, it’s happening!
“The amount of repeat audience attendance would be a dream for most arts venues, but is happening on the top floor of the Hack club, and not a bespoke arts venue. The club has now seen many audience members return to the concerts over 130 times to see what musical treat is up next.”
To celebrate Scott’s Jazz Club’s fourth birthday, the club is also offering a chance for diners at participating restaurants to win two free tickets to the club for each week of November. To stand a chance of winning, simply eat at one of the restaurants on any night of the week and you could win two tickets to the club.
For more information on Scott’s Jazz Club visit: https://www.scottsjazzclub.com/