A&R Music Bar Concerts 2024-2025

If you see that a band you like is playing here, follow the tour to the next stop. This is not a great room for bands. I've been here a few times. About half the crowd can fit in front of the stage. The rest are tripping over each other in the traffic area in front of the bar trying to see around the columns. I used to go stand near the front on the side of the stage but they don't allow the crowd over there anymore. You could literally put the stage anywhere else in the room and improve the place. It's cozy and the sound is okay so if you don't expect a large crowd it would be fine. For The Record Company we would have had to arrive when doors open and stand in our space for four hours to maintain a spot where we could see the band. Promowest has a number of good venues. This isn't one of them. I don't like to show up two hours early just so I can see the band. I'll take a venue like The Newport where you can see well from nearly everywhere. A&R is a poorly conceived, poorly laid out, inhospitable, uncomfortable mess. I'm a veteran of hundreds of concerts and I'll choose a different venue next time. The columns make this room a challenge. Promowest has figured out how to lay the room out in quite possibly, the worst way. In my experience, if you walk into a venue and have to walk by the stage to get in...you're not in a great room. Add five or six columns that perfectly sit between half your audience and the center of the stage and it's a recipe for a bad experience. See my picture for an example of what you're in for.

Nice little (approx. 400 person capacity) indoor venue. Free cups of water was a great way to stay hydrated. There is a small outdoor area where you can go to escape the crowds inside and is a place for smokers. Staff was all very friendly. There are some stairs to get in so the person we saw in a wheelchair had to walk up the stairs and have someone carry the wheelchair up. Parking is easy to get in and out when using the McConnell garage directly across the street.

Went here because we were informed by an employee that u can wait in line for Kemba inside the bar so we got to have a drink, listen to some music and chill for a few hours while we waited for our concert. We had fast passes as well and an employee from Kemba comes and lets u in to the venue the same time as the people waiting outside in line. Also our highlight was the bartender Kenny who made my friends and I really cool drinks and they were only $10 he was super nice and friendly thanks Kenny 😁

We saw Olivia Jean play her Raving Ghost tour here. The show was suppose to be in The Basement but got moved upstairs, we never learned why. This is a very cool smaller venue. We were able to get first row spots. The sound was great. On the night of our concert there was a baseball game and a pretty big event at Kemba Live so parking was at a premium, typical for downtown, no complaints.

My daughter and I attended Natalie Jane at this venue, and the small atmosphere was wonderful for her first big concert out of state. Natalie put on a great performance. The staff was friendly and helpful, and the food was good. A nice merchandise table, and clean bathrooms. We will attend another concert at this venue.