The best bars and pubs in Sydney for live music

With a dedicated first floor bandroom you're only a few bucks and a wrist band away from access to the velvet banquette-lined, 250-person venue that manages to feel intimate for a folky show, but gives you room to cut loose when more raucous acts are on the stage. Tap beers and enlightened grub anchor this renewed live music hub in its accessible roots, a pub with gritty guts.

An unassuming crumbly-facade pub on South King Street is exactly the place you’d hope to see a band playing live. Right next to the front bar is a smallish corner stage that is relatively unviewable from the street. This is a real gig in a pub affair and if you squint you could pretend it’s the ’70s. The roster of bands is diverse and sporadic, so keep your ears peeled and a vigilant monitoring eye on Facebook events.

Mary’s Underground is a restaurant, yes, but it’s also still very much a music venue that pays respects to the site’s former life as the Basement (Sydney’s former home of jazz, soul and world music). When you walk in, the nostalgia is strong, but they’ve moved the stage off to the left-hand side and spread everything out so that every table luxuriates in its own bubble of generous floor space. You can pick from a smorgasboard of music and acts ranging from jazzy adults-only cabaret to grungy rock and indie artists. 

Featuring live music seven nights a week and across two floors, this Marrickville venue hosts all genres of music. The rooms have a plush, quirky feel to them, the vibe is welcoming and cosy and there’s an eclectic grown-up vibe. Expect to pay a modest cover charge, depending on what's on. They're open late – from 7pm until midnight Monday through Wednesday, and until 3am Thursday through Saturday (they close a bit earlier on Sunday nights, though). 

Local and live, these guys book what sounds good and let you get on with having a good time. Just a small room that affectionately hasn’t had its decor updated for 50 years, yummo bistro eats and lawn bowls. Chilling out and catching some tunes is totally unhard. See a laid back arvo show in the club upstairs or venture in to their basement for an even smaller room with loud bands of many genres.

Jolene's is a Tennessee-inspired basement whiskey bar in the CBD's YCK precinct – obviously named in honour of the pint-sized Queen of Country, Dolly Parton, and her timeless mega-hit song that is the bar's namesake. Each booth is named lovingly after a country musician, and there's a proper stage so you can get down with some of Sydney's best country and western bands every Friday and Saturday night, as well as the first Thursday of every month.

The spot that offers Sydney's best views of the Harbour Bridge also hosts live music performances seven days a week. A mix of local artists (as well as DJs) play from noon on weekends and from 5pm on weeknights, and there's no entry fee for the punter. Enjoy with a cocktail and a seafood platter and call it a good time.

The no fuss vibe here makes the Bowlo a great lowkey music venue for those who chose the atmospheric clouds of hot chippy smell and family-friendly bowling green to massive venues and sticky floors. Gigs are here almost every weekend, ranging from community favourites to huge label showcases and micro-festivals. A band playing in a well equipped sports club with a stage, disco ball and sci-fi reminiscent ceiling tiles is a magical thing.

There are still loads of tours coming through this tried and tested University music venue, which is a blessed relief since Manning's sightlines are among Sydney's best - and having a balcony where one can enjoy an al fresco drink or a durry while still being able to hear and (kinda) see what's going on is a rare pleasure these days.

If you want your gig to have easy access to 22 taps playing host to over 300 different brews then this is the pub for you. The Union Hotel is a fairly relaxed beer purveyor with a healthy pool culture and quite regularly they are also a live music venue. With a small stage even! Shows are short and fill the room with punters. Expect lots of local acts intimately launching their EPs or snappy punk sets bursting with energy.

Beyond the bronze velvet curtains at the back of this fab cocktail bar is a tiny mirrored stage. Adjacent to Golden Age's excellent film program is a weekly series of live gigs that span a diverse range of genres. Stumbling in for a frothy Espresso Martini could mean you are just as likely to witness a fragile singer-songwriter set as you are to find yourself in a jubilant sardine can of punters enjoying a loud electronic set. Keep your eyes peeled on that curtain to roll back. Or, just check their Facebook page like an organised person. Up to you.

With one of the city’s best sound systems, this small, underground club below the Civic Hotel attracts great international headliners for all night techno, deep house and electro parties. Though the definiton of "live music" could be up for debate with so many DJs, you can see heaps of international and local producers twiddle all their knobs to produce beats and sounds at the Civic in the flesh.

This pub has a basketball ring, a huge outdoor movie screen, and thankfully a huge stage for live music on Fridays and Saturdays. The bands come from all genres and you’re just as likely to see an introspective acoustic set as you are to witness a punching-the-air rock show. You’re always competing with thousands of punters for seating, but who cares if you get to watch some top-notch live music? 

Crowbar has settled in the former Bald Face Stag pub site and painted it both literally and figuratively black. Utilising the huge bar-adjacent band room they're specialising in live punk, hardcore, metal, and the heavier side of rock. It's still a pub at heart though, with tap beers, an in-house plant based bistro called Murdereats and a dog-friendly garden to enjoy a pre-gig schooner in.  

Up on the first floor of the whopper King Street pub you’ll find Waywards, a bar and music venue open Fridays and Saturdays. Under the peachy light of a guitar-shaped neon, you'll find a tiny stage propping up a roster of surf rock jangle bands, solo pop acts and sprawling neo-blues sets. Waywards sure does keep the lighter in the air for all sorts of Newtown indie manifestations. Go for the gig and stay for the nostalgic dance floor after.