Food and Music in the Falls
Niagara Falls is rich with talented musicians and bands, many of which play live across various restaurants. Many places have their own sound and music genres that they tend to stick to, giving each restaurant and bar their own unique brand. In this blog, we will highlight two of our favorite places to go for great food and entertainment: The Local and Big Texas.
The Local:
The name says it all, The Local is definitely one of the best bars only the locals in Niagara know about. The restaurant gives off your classic local bar vibe. Their food and music never disappoint. They have an amazing menu with so much amazing food. While you enjoy your meal, you can also watch and listen to live music. They have live music from different local bands every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. They tend to push artists to perform originals and covers to really show off their voice. They also currently have a house band play every Thursday called “Jin”. This band gets its roots from a legendary Niagara-known band called LMT Connection. The drummer in Jin’s father was the drummer in LMT Connection. Through their music, you can hear the influence that the 60s classic rock n roll music had on their songs, while also hearing a jazzy/blues type of sound. The owner also highlighted that they host a few different artists, such as Nick and Serena from the Mandevilles and James Dizzy.
One of the most significant things about this bar is the building itself. The building was a book store back in the 70s for a long time. The owners of the bar wanted to pay tribute to that, therefore much of their wall space is actually bookshelves. In addition, they also have Indigenous art and other cool retro pieces. One of the best pieces is a comedic piece of a man smoking and holding alcohol bottles. After hanging it in the bar, there is one thing that the owners keep seeing, all of their customers think that they know who the painting is off. Because of all the attention it gathered, they are hosting an event where people can try to bring someone in that looks the most like the painting. Don’t worry though, we won't spoil what he looks like for you. The Local also has its own authentic merchandise for sale that is so cute and unique to their bar.
Big Texas
If you haven’t already guessed it, this is a country-themed bar. They are located downtown on Ferry St. and open Thursday-Saturday. The event calendar is full of a variety of different events that will let you get in touch with your inner cowhand. They feature lots of local country artists, such as Brad James, Dean James, and Adam Cousins, at their live music nights every Friday and Saturday night. Once the music starts and the lights get low, the crowd is on their feet singing and dancing with the music. You can see tons of pictures of their live music on their website (https://www.bigtexasniagara.com/photo-gallery). Thursday nights are also tons of fun as they host a country-themed karaoke night. This brings out both the talented in Niagara Falls, as well as the not-so-talented. Once a month, the restaurant also hosts a songwriters circle for anyone to come in and develop their original music with professionals. This draws out some of the best songwriters in Niagara. The restaurant also features lots of line dancing! The crowd at Big Texas is a big fan of it and it never bores.
Big Texas also has a great menu selection to choose from while you are listening to the music. They have all of your typical American bar foods to choose from, plus lots of food unique to the restaurant, for example, the Texas Sampler 4 Star (which consists of Mozza sticks, ribs, nachos, and quesadilla). In addition, they have a huge selection of drinks. This might come in handy for those who need to relax a bit before testing out their vocals during karaoke or showing off their line dancing skills.
Photos and content by Olivia Ethier