Brighton Music Hall is a seafront live entertainment venue on the south coast of England. The venue has one of the biggest heated beach terraces in the UK. The venue brings together everything that is great about Brighton including its love for the creative arts, great food and craft beer culture, live music, stunning seaside views, plus the LGBTQ+ community.
What is the Brighton Music Hall?
Brighton Music Hall is a music venue, bar, restaurant and cocktail bar in the town of Brighton, Sussex on the south coast of England. With its homely furniture, unique party vibes and incredible sea views, the venue boasts the perfect amount of seaside chic.
The music venue’s main feature is its huge beachfront terrace. The terrace has the perfect amount of space to party and watches the special guest artists who perform live music all day, every day. Visitors can also drink and dance inside on any of the music venue’s two floors, which boast incredible sea-facing views and a street food menu.
The Hall is proud to champion local creativity, so visitors will find that most musicians, DJs and drag artists that perform at the venue are local to the Brighton area, and it has become a hub for local music producers.
Location
Brighton Music Hall is located in the town of Brighton, one of two areas of the City of Brighton and Hove. Brighton is best known for its creative arts and music scene, diverse communities and LGBTQ+ community.
Some of the musical town’s best-known residents are Nick Cave, Fatboy Slim and Robert Smith from The Cure. The town plays host to The Great Escape festival each year and is also the home of several successful independent record labels.
The seaside town became forever affiliated with the mods and rockers movement during the 1960s. Both groups would travel to the city on their motorbikes and often end up in violent fights over their musical differences. This is best depicted in The Who’s classic 1973 album Quadrophenia, set in Brighton, which was subsequently turned into a cult film and rock opera.
There are many other high-profile music venues in Brighton including Brighton Dome, Brighton Centre, Concorde 2, Komeida and The Hope & Ruin.
The Arches
Brighton Music Hall has been in place for over ten years. The Hall is set on the beach’s Kings Road Arches, which run from the boundary of Hove (number 1) to the Palace Pier (number 256) and beyond to the Peter Pan Playground on Madeira Drive.
The Arches were primarily used to house fishing boats in the 19th century. Nowadays, they are used for entertainment and service purposes with many of the archways as council offices, a first aid station, cafes, amusement halls, bars and nightclubs.
Features
Despite being known as a must-visit venue for summertime visitors to Brighton, one of the venue’s best appealing features is its ability to transform itself throughout the seasons.
In peak summer periods, people spill out onto the beach whilst dancing to DJ sets and drinking cocktails. The winter months see people gathering around the heated igloos or warming their hands in the open fire pits whilst wrapping their fingers around a cup of hot chocolate.
A visit to Brighton Music Hall will give visitors the choice of breakfast, lunch or evening cocktails, whatever the weather. Visitors can sit inside on the rustic beach-like decking and tables, utilise the venue’s upstairs event space or hire out one of the coveted beach huts.
But that’s not all. Brighton Music Hall boasts the largest heated beach terrace in Brighton, if not Britain!
Events
Brighton Music Hall hosts live performances from local musicians every day from 12 pm to 6 pm on the Beach Hut Stage. The stage overlooks an array of picnic benches where visitors can enjoy a drink and a dance.
In the summer, DJs perform on the deck where live music will continue until sunset. However, the fun does not stop in the winter! The arrival of the cold season this year saw the rollout of the brand-new Pop-Up Winter Warmers Bar, as well as open fire pits and hog roasts.
The venue currently hosts a Sunday Drag and Live Music Roast event which visitors can enjoy in the venue’s fully heated private igloos, beach huts or new pavilion tent.
The Brighton Music Hall also hosts events and Christmas parties for business or personal purposes, with the option of booking beach huts, igloos or the shared pavilion tent. There is usually the option of a live Drag Show in the cocktail bar plus DJs and a disco.
The initial hire is free of charge, although food and drinks packages begin from £20 per person.
All events at the Brighton Music Hall are family-friendly, including the Drag
Show! The venue also offers a ‘Kids Eat Free’ deal during half-term times.
Food
The venue offers a varied drinks menu, cocktails and a street-style food menu. For breakfast, they serve their Breakfast Club classics including pancakes and Full English breakfasts for meat eaters, vegetarians and vegans.
From lunchtime, they serve British classics including fish ‘n’ chips (a must at the seaside!) and nachos. They also have the option of a chicken or vegan chicken kebab, as well as a comprehensive burger menu where guests can enjoy burgers or sliders.
Another speciality of theirs is the Frieshack (loaded fries) with plenty of choice for toppings. Visitors can take their pick from candied bacon, jerk pork, vegan chicken or just cheese.
On Sundays, the main feature is a classic Sunday Roast dinner. Starters include seafood dishes (including an ‘old school prawn cocktail’) plus a sharing camembert. The main Sunday Roast has a choice of beef, chicken and pork, as well as a vegetarian and a vegan option.
All roasts are served with all the traditional trimmings plus a couple of quirky surprises such as salted kale and ‘caulipops’ (cauliflower popcorn)!
Please note that winter food menus also have a 50p charge added if diners also watching the live music.
Drinks
Drink prices are typical for the average high-end Brighton entertainment venue. The cheapest pint of alcohol is £4.90, with the most expensive being a local tipple priced at £6.20.
The venue has a small and limited wine menu with bottles priced between £21 and £27.50. Cocktails are similarly limited, with options extending to just two alcoholic cocktails (both are Red Bull-based) and one non-alcoholic option. However, with the venue being incredibly busy at peak times, this could be an effective time-saving option.
There are also good options for those who do not wish to drink alcohol. As well as a good selection of soft drinks, the bar has two non-alcoholic beers, one alcohol-free G&T and one 0% berry G&T.
Whilst the regular drinks menu is also all year round, during cold spells the venue encourages diners to enjoy one of their special Winter Warmer drinks. For this, they have the option of Cadbury’s Hot Chocolate, Bailey’s Hot Chocolate or a Blackberry Mulled Wine.
Pricing
Entry to the venue is free. Event space hire is also free, although for this visitors would have to purchase the additional food and drink packages, which start from £20 per person.
Hire
One of the most popular things to do at the Brighton Music Hall is make use of the venue’s event hire space. Unlike many venues, there is the option for booking groups of any size. Very small groups can book a table, tables or any of the beach huts and igloos. Revellers may wish to utilise the private beach hut hire experience or the club’s upstairs space, just for that extra special touch.
The upstairs private hire space has sea-facing views and can accommodate between 60 and 100 guests. The space hire includes a state-of-the-art site-wide sound system; interactive smart TVs; access to singers, bands and DJs; and a varied food menu. Beach hut hires also come with the use of a jukebox or beatbox.
The venue can also accommodate up to 120 people in the Fallen Fairy Bar and up to twelve in beach huts or igloos, which are booked in two-hour slots. A minimum spend of £100 per booking slot applies.
Hiring is always free with low redeemable minimum spends for guests.
The Fallen Fairy Bar
The Fallen Fairy Bar is available for exclusive hire from Monday to Wednesday, with the bar open to the public from Thursday to Sunday. Bar opening hours are from 6 pm till late.
For table reservations, visitors can book between two and twelve guests. If visitors do not wish to hire the whole venue, they can book for 15-20 guests seated or 30 guests standing. Alternatively, visitors can book two areas for a maximum of 60 guests standing.
The venue offers exclusive use of the bar on request for up to 100 guests. All bookings will include a minimum spend, with food and drink packages typically starting from £20 per person.
Brighton beach huts
The Brighton beach huts are truly unique. What better way to experience 360-degree views of the beach than being in a fully-heated beach hut with live entertainment and full table service?
The beach huts are available to book in two-hour slots. Typical booking times are 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm, 2.15 pm – 4.15 pm, 4.30 pm – 6.30 pm, 6.45 pm – 8.45 pm, and 9.00 pm – 11.00 pm. The last booking slot (9-11 pm) is for drinks only
The beach huts seat two to six guests. A £30 deposit will apply per booking slot. For anybody wishing to book for more than two hours, they will be able to do so by booking multiple slots. The reservation will then run straight through.
Bookings can only be made online. The deposit paid at the time of booking will be redeemed against the final bill.
Beach huts are available for walk-ins, but it is highly recommended to book in advance to avoid disappointment. Should no huts be available, the venue offers plenty of space on the outside terrace and upstairs cocktail bar.
Reviews
One of the 2,000+ Facebook reviewers said that they enjoyed the “excellent service even though it was extremely busy”. They praised the “talented artists and lovely atmosphere” and vowed that they “will definitely be back”. Another reported that their highlights were “friendly bartenders, fun atmosphere, great food and creative cocktails”. The overall Facebook review score is 3.9 out of 5.
The venue is rated 3.5 out of 5 on Tripadvisor. One recent visitor who attended a Christmas party here loved the Warm Winter Punch, drag entertainment and the variety of vegetarian options. Some reviewers praised the efficient service despite the venue being busy, whilst others complained about drinks mix-ups or delays with food and drink.
Those who booked a beach hut could not be more complimentary, saying they had a “great” time sitting in the warm heated igloo on a very cold day whilst eating, drinking and watching live music.
Directions
Brighton Music Hall is located at 127 Kings Road Arches along the distinctive seafront Victorian Arches on Brighton Beach.
Brighton train station is a 25-minute walk or 5-minute drive away from the Music Hall. The mainline train station is served by Thameslink, Gatwick Express, Southern and GWR trains, with trains to Hampshire, London, the north and beyond.
Visitors can also catch the number 7, 47 and 12A Coaster buses, which can take people to the train station in just four stops. The journey typically takes eight minutes.
National Express coaches travel to Brighton from airports London Gatwick and Heathrow, as well as Victoria Coach Station.
If any visitors are planning to drive to the venue, off-street car parking can be found at various points around the town centre. The town also has plenty of short and long-stay options.
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