Live Rock and Roll in Nice
Crank it up to 11
There is so much live Rock & Roll happening in Old Nice, especially on weekends, that from Place Rossetti you are less than a minute away from at least 8 different bars crankin’ the rock & roll up to 11.
Get off the tram at Cathédrale and walk down rue Centrale for 30 seconds to the Blue Whales, which used to be a live-rock legend, but sadly now only does DJ (sell out). But Blue Whales is the pivot point, where you can go up rue rue de la Loge to Jonathan’s Pub with live music downstairs in the arched cellar, or continue toward the Cathedrale and you’ll see (hear) the Oxford Pub on your left. (All links are Facebook links as that’s usually where you can find the most up-to-date info on upcoming gigs)
Now continue down rue Mascoinat past the Cathédrale and keep going. Take the first right on rue de l’Abbaye for Bulldog Pub Pompei, or continue 10 more steps and take a right on rue de la Prefecture for King’s Pub, the most metal of them all (and just know that the owner used to play with Deep Purple.) Continue down the street to Le Master Home Irish pub, and the iconic and ever-popular-with-the-Brits Wayne’s Bar, and from there, just cross the Palais du Justice to the bottom of Cours Saleya, where you just follow your ears to find AkaThor to the left, and Ma Nolan’s Irish Pub to the right.
And that’s just in the Old Town!
Le Ketje is a fun little hole-in-the-wall type hangout deep behind the Port with a local clientele, cheap drinks and live rock music on Friday and Saturday nights… check their Facebook page to see what’s coming up. No cover charge. 15 rue Auguste Gal, Tram stop Port Lympia.
Zonme is worth checking out… part music club and cultural association, which encourages all sorts of indie music endeavors from jazz to rock to who-knows-what, so this is really the spot to discover local talents and cutting edge rock permutations. Closed Mondays and Wednesdays, 7 Bis Rue des Combattants en Afrique du Nord, tram stop Liberation.
Best Rock Concert Venues
Here is the current slate of upcoming rock concerts, plus a little on the venues:
Stockfish is Nice’s newest university music hub, with great energy, cheap tickets, and super easy access: just a few tram stops beyond the Old Town, right across from the Vauban tram stop. They have a varied slate, but often feature indie-rock or metal.
Nice Music Live throws in an occasional rock concert at the Theatre de Verdure, a fab seaside open-air amphitheater, and one of the best concert spots in town, tram stop Massena.
The big guns play at Palais Nikaia, which is farther out of town but still easy to access right across from the last stop CADAM on tram line 2. On major concert nights they have reinforced trams to get you back into town.
Altherax is the headbanger’s favorite concert hall, but you have to be a dedicated fan because it’s a major pain to get to.
Le 109 is a notable indie-culture-hub and concert venue set in a former slaughterhouse, holding “happenings” including cutting-edge music and indie-rock. The name is a play-on-words: 109 is cent neuf which sounds the same as sang neuf, which means new blood. After bulldozing a giant former squat, illegally inhabited for years by artists and musicians, the city gave the abandoned former slaughterhouse to local artists to use to create, no strings attached. The vibe is young, happening, and passionate, and they do a constant slate of exhibitions, concerts, and happenings. 89, route de Turin à Nice, tram stop Vauban then 10 minutes on foot.
Nice’s own Rock festival
1MDB Max de Bruit Rock Fest is a super-fun fest in June at the open-air Theatre de Verdure, that is 100% tribute bands with the proceeds going 100% to charity.
…And the verdict? Nice Rocks.
- Back up to Nice by Night page
Photo still from the film This is Spinal Tap, available from Amazon