10 musical bars in Barcelona

Barcelona is a musical city. Hidden between the most primitive streets, we find a wide variety of venues where dance and sing or simply have a drink at the sound of music.

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Argüelo013

In the middle of the oldest quarter of Barcelona, we find a restaurant called Argüelo013. From the outside it seems small and modest, but once we are inside, we see a modern pub which has three floors. The middle floor, located at street level, works as a musical bar. Beside the bar, there are a battery, a saxophone and a keyboard that play along harmoniously. However, to have dinner, the waitress takes us to the upper floor -small, cosy, with a low ceiling formed by wooden beams and wide windows- or downstairs -although it is wider than the previous one, the old architecture with arches and vaults, along with the warm light that is emitted by the lamps, generate a very nice environment.

Harlem Jazz Club

If we keep walking along the streets of the medieval Barcelona, we arrive at Harlem Jazz Club, a small venue which gathers, from Tuesday to Saturday, a huge variety of jazz, soul, rhythm & blues bands. This premises provides us the opportunity to chill out with a drink and enjoy good music with a closeness hard to find. The fact that the musicians play just a few metres from us lets us live a one of a kind moment. Besides, between the seats and the bar there is enough room to, if we are cheeky, free our bodies at the rhythm of the music.

Ocaña

Between the narrow and old streets from the Gothic quarter we arrive at the Royal square, one of the most beautiful ones of Barcelona. In this square surrounded by an arcaded gallery and bars and restaurants of all kind, stands out a poster of yellow lights in which we read Ocaña. What is especially highlighted about this restaurant is its quite tacky mood and its decoration, which can be described as a mix between what is kith and what is trite. However, Ocaña gives us the chance to have dinner with live music and, afterwards, go downstairs to the cocktail bar -venue that still preserves the medieval arches from the first constructions that took place in the square- and keep enjoying live music  while we have a drink. 

Jamboree

Also in the Royal square, we find the Jazz Club par excellence of Barcelona: Jamboree. Beside a flamenco premises, Jamboree has been offering live jazz, soul and rhythm & blues in the last 50 years. Moreover, since the sixties, it has achieved the great jazz stars’ tours to have a stop in Barcelona. Jamboree means “tribe meeting” in Zulu, what describes perfectly this musical bar, since in this cave-shape venue (thanks to the domed ceiling and its brick arches) gathers very different people: women and men, young and old, primps and discreet, wealthy and humbles… In general, there are seats to calmly enjoy the concert, but depending on the band playing, the seats are removed and the room is taken an advantage of to dance and sing at the sound of music.

Sidecar

If we feel like jumping and dancing to the rhythm of Rock n’Roll, it isn’t necessary to leave the square, since in the same Royal square there is the Sidecar venue. At street level, it seems a very normal bar, with its terrace tables and the bar inside, but if we go downstairs, we find a limited room with a small stage that let us enjoy the music pace with the maximum intensity and an uncommon familiarity.  This makes Sidecar one of the best venues in the musical scene in the underground Barcelona.

Nevermind

Crossing las Ramblas and going up until the street Tallers, we can go deep into the world of Nevermind. This bar for young people is totally decorated in the hip hop culture. Dark, lighted only by dim colourful lights, the music at full volume and its walls covered by graffiti and skateboards create a unique atmosphere. However, the icing on the cake is at the back of the venue, where there is a half, where skaters can show their skills the days that it isn’t crowded with people playing cards and drinking bear.

O’Barquiño

If we like wandering the inhospitable streets of el Raval, we arrive at an extremely eccentric bar-restaurant: O’Barquiño. Although from the outside it seems a quite vulgar premises, it has a highly surprising upper floor. 

O’Barquiño is a Galician restaurant where, at the weekends, we can have dinner in a very entertaining way. Upstairs –considerably small, by the way–, the room between the tables become the stage of the coplas and boleros singers who enliven the night. The artists, mostly man and trans, the more the public takes part, the more they devote to transmit their passion, producing a joyful and spontaneous ambience with no waste.

Farola

On the other side of Via Laietana, right in the centre of the Born quarter, there is La Farola. Located near the Born Avenue and the Catedral del Mar (Sea Cathedral), this bar is perfect if we want to have a bear or a cocktail with our friends or our couple, while a jazz quartet delights us. Besides, not only stands out for its live music, but also for the quality of its Mediterranean tapas and its cosy atmosphere.

 The Philarmonic

Getting out from the ancient part of Barcelona and heading for the Eixample, modernist building zone, we arrive at the Philarmonic. This tavern seems an Irish pub, and not only because of the climate, but also because most of the clients are english speakers. At the back of the premises, there is a reserved room for those who wish to have anything while listening to live music. The bands that frequent this pub’s stage use to play calmed music, such as jazz, blues, country or easy listening.

Casa de les Punxes

A couple streets above, beside the Diagonal, one of the most important modernist buildings in Barcelona is erected, la Casa de les Punxes (House of Spikes), also known as Casa Terradas. Indeed, this building, designed by the architect Josep Puig I Cadafalch, isn’t a bar. However, on summer Fridays, from 20PM onwards, Barcelona celebrates Nits amb Ritme (Nights with Rhythm); some modernist buildings, among which stands out la Casa de las Punxes, open their terrace’s doors for the attendees to have a drink while the artists play in the heights of Barcelona to entertain them.  Moreover, the entrance also includes a guided visit of the house and the opportunity to enjoy the dusk while the sun sets behind the tower’s spires.

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