Licensed to thrill: Music to your ears

Live music can be a really good way of attracting new custom to your pub, whether you organise gigs yourself or use an agency, writes Phil Mellows.

Live music can be a great way of attracting new people - as Alison and Richard Smith at Bar One Nine in Keynsham, Gloucestershire, have discovered. Sunday afternoon jazz and folk has played its part in achieving a 100 per cent change in customer base at the pub, not just when the music is playing but by getting the new venue known around town.

"Right from the start we wanted to offer people around here something different, and I've always loved jazz," explains Alison, who took over the Punch leasehold for Bar One Nine with husband Richard last year.

Scouring the Yellow Pages for local jazz bands, she found an agency - Campion Live Music - which immediately offered her a resident jazz combo that was looking for a base - if she could offer a home to folk as well. "I didn't know anything about folk music and was quite hesitant about the mix," says Alison.

"But it's going really well. They have booked some well-known names for us and it has attracted people we wouldn't have got to otherwise.

"We were a bit worried at first because people were just coming to listen to the music and weren't really drinking. That could have been a problem. But now the audience has chilled out and we are taking a lot more money on Sunday afternoons.

"Half the audience tend to be regulars and the other half new faces, so we are definitely growing our customer base every time," she added.

Bar One Nine's success as a music venue has been helped by some good publicity from the local press and a local alternative magazine, The Spark.

It is also getting involved in the Keynsham Music Festival in July and plans a special Saturday event for the garden with Spanish guitar music and a Portuguese barbecue in the afternoon and an "Opera by Candlelight" in the evening, with professional singers booked.

In the longer term, Alison and Richard aim to convert a barn at the back of the pub into a permanent venue for live music.

Case Study: The Riverside, South London​

Many publicans turn to live entertainment as an afterthought, a way of boosting trade on a quiet night. But for some, pub business is a branch of show business.

Last summer the McCulley family, Don and his daughters Anthea and Bonnie, took over Punch leasehold the Royal Six Bells in Colliers Wood with the aim of making it a leading jazz and blues venue.

Thanks to a £400,000 refit, the pub emerged from a year's closure transformed into the Riverside, bringing the sights, sounds and flavours of the Deep South to South London.

Live jazz and blues are staged every Friday and Saturday night, and food, prepared by Bonnie in the kitchen, is a mix of Cajun and Creole dishes designed to match.

"This is far more than just a change of image," said Andrea. "The style is in tune with the food and music, very relaxed, comfortable and fun.

"It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to run a jazz music venue and there are many great established and up-and-coming musicians in this area. We have already got a good following."

Case Study: The Flag, Watford​

Organising live music at your pub can be a daunting prospect. You might put time, effort and cash into organising an elaborate event with a line-up of bands you think are great - and then find that the customers you were hoping to attract don't feel quite the same about it.

One of the easiest mistakes a licensee can make is to invest in something that's supposed to build business then find that the extra trade doesn't add up to the amount spent on the bands, the PA, and the extra staff. Getting it right can be a job for the experts, and many publicans are turning to live music promoters to organise their events.

Glyn Roddy, manager of Mitchells & Butlers' the Flag in Watford, ran his own gigs at his previous smaller pubs but turned to local firm Monkey Boy Promotions when faced with the challenge of a bigger, more complex operation like the Flag.

"It's fantastic," he said. "It takes the pressure off and you know everything's going to happen on time and the bands are going to turn up.

"It's been great for the pub, too. A winner all round."

Before Glyn arrived the Flag specialised in cover bands and tribute acts. But by using a promoter he has been able to tap into a bigger audience in the area for indie-style music.

The Flag is now well known for giving a stage to up-and-coming local bands that write their own music and it is currently hosting a "Battle of the Bands" contest on Tuesday nights sponsored by the local newspaper as well as the regular Saturday gigs.

Monkey Boy Promotions itself was set up by Dave Hammmond 18 months ago and has about 200 bands on its books.

The deal with the Flag involves not only supplying a variety of acts but all the organisation, the PA system, getting the bands on stage on time and, of course, marketing the event.

It also takes money on the door, typically £3, which it keeps, while Glyn gets the extra take over the bar.

"Pubs are often reluctant to put on live music," said Dave. "It's too much hassle. But if you get the right deal with a promoter everyone can benefit. You can put on three or four bands in an evening, they each bring their own crowd and it makes a great atmosphere.

"Live music fans are less trouble, too. They're there to listen to the bands and if you have doorstaff they are likely to get bored!"