The Marquee Ballroom

After opening as the Marquee Club in 1998 before closing temporarily in 2009, this venue welcomed musicians Joel Plaskett, Skratch Bastid, Jim Cuddy, Bloc Party, Ron Sexsmith and Arcade Fire, among many others. The Paragon Theatre occupied the space for several years until 2013, when the original venue returned as the Marquee Ballroom, and has made a name for itself as a fun, friendly space to groove to DJs and live music.

Located in the North End of Halifax over the relocated Seahorse Tavern, this vintage-looking orange building with its neon sign is a funky delight on the corner of Gottingen and Portland Place. Inside, bikes and mannequins hang from the ceiling, with endless oddities worth straining your neck to see. Patrons appreciate the sociable, friendly atmosphere, and the noise levels get fairly deafening. The capacity is 700, and many packed nights have resulted in a charmingly run-down feel to the furniture and the venue in general.

The Marquee Ballroom has hosted Timber Timbre, Basia Bulat, Kathleen Edwards, the Robert Glasper Experiment, 88GLAM, Operators, Kevin Drew, Sloan, the Rural Alberta Advantage, Mykki Blanco, White Lung, PUP, TUNS, Hannah Georgas and one of Two Hours Traffic’s final shows.