Music and beer. For more decades than anyone cares to count these two have gone together hand-in-hand. The number of music establishments that don’t sell beer and the number of bars that don’t have some form of live music are relatively minuscule.
But as craft beer has exploded in popularity, so too have the number of local breweries, and in Connecticut alone there are well over 60 independent breweries in operation. So it only makes sense that at some point breweries would become go-to places for live music in the state.
“Three or four years ago I wouldn’t have seen it as an alternative, but now 30 to 40 percent of the places we play are breweries,” says Connor Millican, front man for the Hartford-based Americana act Wise Old Moon. For Millican though, he’s more than just a beneficiary of this new grouping of venues open to live music. He’s also an enabler.
It started one day when Millican walked into Hog River Brewery in Hartford and heard the seminal alt-country act, Uncle Tupelo, playing in the tasting room. Two years later Millican curates one of the most successful musical series in the state.
“Not only did Hog River have a like-minded music sense but they also had this great space where they didn’t have a lot going on outside of people showing up to drink,” says Millican. “It was just supposed to be one month. We called it Twang Thursday and it was Wise Old Moon with a different opener four times. We’ve been doing that Thursday series just about two years now. It worked so well for us to have that kind of longer term deal that a traditional venue wouldn’t have the need or the facilities to set up. It was such a symbiotic relationship right off the bat.”
Hog River may be attracting a wide array of acts to its Thursday music series, but it is far from the only brewery that has adopted its business model to include live music. While hosting the occasional singer/songwriter is something that really any space with decent acoustics can handle, several breweries across the state have made the commitment to hosting musicians and full bands multiple nights a week.
The breweries of Connecticut “
“These people that are so passionate about their beer, a lot of them are passionate about the music we play too,” says Millican. “I see it being an extension or an answer to some of those traditional venues that are maybe having a hard time selling tickets to shows.”
This influx of new places for local and regional musicians to play has had a ripple effect within the music community at large, and that includes attracting attention from bands looking to tour through the area.
“I get three or four emails a day from some amazing bands that are trying to play Hartford now,” says Millican “Over the last five or six years it’s become a huge resource for the touring bands.”
While no one sees breweries completely replacing the traditional music venue, especially for various genres of music that tend to raise the decibel levels, there is no denying that local breweries are being permanently woven into the fabric of the Connecticut music scene. For both the musicians looking for more venues to perform at and the patrons looking for any added reason to visit their local brewery, it’s a win-win situation.
There are breweries in just about every corner of the state hosting live music. And while adding tunes to tap isn’t the only entertainment merger being explored — think yoga, comedy, trivia nights, even happy hours with dogs — for this list, we’ll concentrate on breweries whose calendars often include live music. This list is sure to continue to grow, but this is a great place to start for both music and beer lovers alike.
Greater Hartford Area
Thomas Hooker Brewery at Colt, Hartford: The Hartford location does monthly acoustic nights featuring regional singer/songwriters. hookerbeer.com and facebook.com/hookerbeercolt
Back East Brewing, Bloomfield: Live music ranging from jazz trios to singer/songwriters on most Fridays and pretty consistently in the summer months. backeastbrewing.com
City Steam Brewery, Hartford: City Steam gets a special mention here because it also doubles as a full-on comedy venue. The Brew Ha-Ha Comedy Club hosts comedians from all over the country, including some heavy hitters on the touring comedy circuit. citysteam.biz
Hog River Brewery, Hartford: Twang Thursdays from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring Americana, alt-country, folk, etc., has quickly become one of the best music series in the state. hogriverbrewing.com
New Park Brewing Co., West Hartford: In the warm weather months, the brewery hosts an array of live music events, including a monthly Funk Night and Sunday Soul Brunch. newparkbrewing.com
‘Everyone Seems Happy’ At New Park Brewing “
Still Hill Brewery, Rocky Hill: One of the more reliable event calendars, with live music pretty much every Friday and Saturday night, specializing in singer/songwriters, acoustic duos and stripped-down acoustic sets from local bands. stillhillbrewery.com
Labyrinth Brewing Company, Manchester: Live music on most Friday nights and the occasional Sunday afternoon. The lineup is an eclectic one featuring Americana, indie acoustic, and even some classical guitar. labyrinthbrewingcompany.com
Connecticut Valley Brewing Company, South Windsor: A Rhythm and Brews series every Friday night, and an Acoustic Sundays series as well, that host local and regional talent in various genres. ctvalleybrewing.com
Connecticut Valley Brewing Making Its Mark With New England IPA “
Firefly Hollow Brewing, Bristol: They offer live, acoustic music regularly on Sunday afternoons between 2 and 4 p.m. fireflyhollowbrewing.com
Kinsmen Brewing, Southington: It’s a robust music calendar that features everything from acoustic singer/songwriters to full bands of varying genres. Live music happens weekly on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and Friday evenings. They also pepper in the occasional Wednesday and Saturday nights as well. kinsmenbrewing.com
Kinsmen Brewing: Crafting A Community In A Rustic Setting “
Witchdoctor Brewing Company, Southington: They host a pretty steady stream of live, acoustic music on Saturday nights, with some Friday nights peppered in as well. witchdoctorbrewing.com
New Haven County
Stony Creek Brewery, Branford: Live music every Sunday featuring local acts in various genres, as well as the occasional comedy night. stonycreekbeer.com
New England Cider Co., Wallingford: The calendar has more comedy nights than live music, but usually once a month or so a live, acoustic band shows up. newenglandcider.com
Bad Sons Beer Company, Derby: While this brewery doesn’t have regular live music, it does occasionally have musical acts perform during bigger events, so keep an eye on the events calendar. badsons.com
Counter Weight Brewing Company, Hamden: There’s not a ton of live music on an otherwise robust event calendar, but the last Sunday of every month features an Appalachian-style jam session sure to appeal to bluegrass and folk fans. counterweightbrewing.com
No Worries Brewing Co., Hamden: While this calendar doesn’t offer regular music series, keep a watchful eye on it as they do present various music events and small festivals. noworriesbeer.com
Middlesex County
Steady Habit Brewing Company, Haddam: There’s a steady habit of live music here, too. Every Friday and Saturday at happy hour, and Sunday afternoon, features various styles of music, including singer/songwriters, folk, and alt rock. steadyhabitbrewingcompany.com
Litchfield County
Brewery Legitimus, New Hartford: Check the event calendar often for the occasional show that pops up on a couple seemingly random nights each month, everything from blues and Americana to singers and songwriters. brewerylegitimus.com
Fairfield County
Veracious Brewing Company, Monroe: A live-music Saturday series features an array of local talent every week from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., including exceptional singer/songwriter Elle Sera doing a monthly residency. veraciousbrewing.com
Fairfield Craft Ales, Stratford: This brewery considers its beers to be music-inspired so it only makes sense that it has various local acts performing on Friday and Saturday nights. fairfieldcraftales.com
Nod Hill Brewery, Ridgefield: A pretty robust weekly music series every Thursday evening from 7 to 9 p.m., featuring bluegrass, rock, jazz, Americana, and more. nodhillbrewery.com
