Sip cocktails in the basement at Hackney’s newest adventure playground: Kansas Smitty’s jazz and julep bar. All the while sipping on the finest juices, visitors can expect to hear a live soundtrack inspired by the jazz scene, with sounds of New York to Havana.
Named after the eight-piece band who’ll be taking up residence at the bar, the newest addition to Broadway Market will bring a whole lot of swing to the town.
“Located underneath ‘Off Broadway’, the sixty-capacity venue will serve up a menu centred on Kansas Smitty’s signature drink: the Julep. Smitty’s Juleps infuse raw spirit with botanicals and flavours to create eight wholly unique takes on the original cocktail. Alongside the cocktails will be a selection of wine and local craft beer.
As proven at their gigs in eclectic spaces from Ronnie Scott’s and Shoreditch House, to Mardi Gras at Vault Festival and a Jazz Rave at Wilderness, when Smitty’s eight members get together, the vibe is electric. A sour mash of jazz genres, the Kansas Smitty’s gritty style is influenced by the sounds of New York, New Orleans, Paris, and Havana. Made up of musicians whose musical flights are more like athletic miracles than practice room exercises, Kansas Smitty’s performances are aurally and visually stunning, and unlike anything else out there.
With Jazz in the UK usually confined to niche and expensive clubs, or gimmicky theme nights, Kansas Smitty’s is opening up this exciting and evolving genre of music to a new, young audience and starting a new trend. Welcoming and accessible, the bar is about letting people experience jazz for themselves, in a relaxed environment.
Throughout the week, the venue will be used by the house band and guest musicians to rehearse, perform and create music, a unique setting for live jazz in London. On Wednesdays the bar will host the ‘Basement Tapes’, a weekly concert featuring new projects, guest performers, secret shows and new pieces written and rehearsed that week in the bar. With limited space and high calibre performances these will be hot tickets to get hold of. At other times, band members will play their favourite records for guests, providing a soundtrack of quality music.”
When?
Opening Hours: 6pm–12am, Tuesday–Sunday
Where?
Kansas Smitty’s
Underneath ‘Off Broadway’
63 Broadway Market,
London,
E8 4PH
How much?
Free Entry Every Night Except Wednesdays