The best places to listen music in Lisbon

Source: timeout.pt

Music, when played live, is something else. We leave you with a range of places to listen to music in Lisbon. Good music.

There’s a lot to be said for the places we go out at night, especially when music comes into the equation. There are those who go for the atmosphere, for the price of the glasses, there are those who never go unless the artist in their life comes along, there are those who don’t even take their bodies off the sofa. As there are, in this list that follows, classics from the capital or more recent things that such good music provides. From Casa Independente to Zé dos Bois, passing through Musicbox, these are – in alphabetical order – the best places to listen to music in Lisbon.

Casa Independente

Opened in 2012 in Largo do Intendente, Casa Independente functions as a cultural association, concert hall, bar and restaurant. And it played a fundamental role in the redevelopment of an area that until then was completely excluded from Alfacinha nightlife itineraries. It is located in an old mansion, which was also the Casa da Comarca de Figueiró dos Vinhos and has a regular program of concerts and parties. At the end of 2016, the space also expanded to the upper floor, as they called it, and gained one of the best balconies in Lisbon (it overlooks the famous Casa Independente courtyard).

Damas

There is a night of Graça a.D. (before the Ladies) and d.D. (after Checkers). The bar, which also functions as a restaurant and concert hall, was opened by Alexandra Vidal and Clara Alice in April 2015, and it didn’t take long to establish itself as a mandatory stop for many Lisbon residents and beyond. The secret of this success lies in the good atmosphere of the space and, above all, in an alternative and eclectic programming in the best sense of these words, where there is space for all types of electronic and experimental music, such as Creole rap, garage rock or folk songs. It depends on the night. Sometimes there’s everything in the same night. (Almost) always free and with free entry.

Fábrica Braço De Prata

The building where the administration of the War Material Factory once operated was one of the first to gain new cultural life in the East of Lisbon, in 2007. And it continues to be one of the most dynamic cultural factories in the city, with 12 rooms where everything can to happen. From concerts to dance classes, from gatherings to raves, including theater plays. It’s just a matter of paying attention to the schedule.

Fábrica Musa

Fábrica Musa is everything you want: bar and factory. That is, you can drink a beer facing the metal silo that produced it. There is no feeling like this. The national brewery, registered in the Lisbon Beer District, which is Marvila, also has a very interesting musical program on the weekends and beyond. Names from Cafetra, Maternidade, emerging or established indie artists in Portuguese music and beyond regularly pass through here. Wonder.

Hot Club De Portugal

It is the oldest jazz club in Europe, operating in Praça da Alegria since 1948 by Luiz Villas-Boas. The jazz school, now called Escola Luiz Villas-Boas, founded by double bassist Zé Eduardo and currently with 170 students, opened a few years later, in 1979. The jazz club is open to the public and has concerts every week, from Tuesday to Saturday, between 10pm and two in the morning. On Tuesdays there are jam sessions, with a guest musician who leads the session every month. The concerts generally have two sets, one at 22.30 and the other at 00.00. Entry for members is usually free.

Lounge

The Lounge is one of the best places in Lisbon to go out at night. And there is not a syllable of exaggeration in the previous sentence. Programming is one of the house’s biggest bets, which manages to please Greeks and Trojans. On a normal night – which could even be a Sunday – it is possible to start listening to a raw and sweaty rock’n’roll concert and end up dancing to the sound of obscure electronic pearls at four in the morning. And the best thing about it all is that entry is free. On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the bar is so busy that it’s difficult to find a space to dance – and we’re not even talking about the queue for the bathroom.

Lux

Watching the sunrise from Lux’s balcony is a must-have for any Lisbon resident or visitor. In 2014, the British The Guardian distinguished it as one of the 25 best clubs in Europe, something we were already tired of knowing. This is the most famous nightclub in the city — and in the country, to be honest. It opened its doors on September 29, 1998, the penultimate day of Expo 98. Manuel Reis, the late owner, had already opened Frágil, in Bairro Alto.

MusicBox

The music box on the pink street has one of the most generous concert programs and goes on well into the night. We are not going to use the expression “eclectic” here to define Musicbox’s offering because we are saving that expression for when someone we barely know wants to talk about music – “I like everything, I’m very eclectic”. The nightclub opened in 2006 and has music every day of the week. When most of the bars in Cais do Sodré close their doors, around four, the night here is still far from dead – and lasts until six.

RCA Club

This has been Lisbon’s main metal and heavy rock concert hall for some time now. It is located in the industrial area of Alvalade and has live music every weekend (and even on some days of the week, when the schedules of international artists require it). Whether they are cover or original bands, Portuguese or foreign. Every month there are at least one or two big concerts.

Titanic Sur Mer

It is one of the faces of Cais do Sodré, which is flooded with people every weekend. Manuel João Vieira – although it may not seem like it – knows what he is doing. He took a building that served the fish auction and turned it into a bar/concert hall that couldn’t be closer to the sea. Titanic Sur Mer is the spiritual successor to the late Maxime, but with a more eclectic program. Depending on the night, you can hear jazz, samba and forró, African music and indie rock. Plus the occasional Ena Pá 2000. And there are still parties, almost always with a barrote. Between drinks and concerts, choose what you like most.

Zé Dos Bois

Lisbon wouldn’t be the same without Zé dos Bois. It’s not a rhetorical exaggeration, it’s a fact. The programming and curation work developed there over more than a decade by successive programmers was decisive in opening Lisbon to other music, and the Bairro Alto gallery continues to be absolutely essential to our cultural life. It is the main alternative and exploratory music venue in the city, but not only that. Drinks are served here, there are exhibitions, events on the terrace, and the city’s most famous aquarium is right next to the Oceanarium.