Five Most Romantic London Restaurants

For that special romantic getaway, London offers an exquisite selection of restaurants and hotels that cater to couples on holiday. While the most romantic meal of all might be room service shared in a gorgeous suite at one of the luxurious hotels in London, one of these exceptional restaurants might provide an evening to remember for you and the object of your affection.

The Bel Canto in the heart of London offers delectable French food in an intimate Bel-Epoque setting. This opera-themed restaurant features live music from talented young performers; over fifty international artists perform regularly at the restaurant. Piano and aria accompaniments are only part of the charm of a meal at the Bel Canto. An extensive wine list and traditional French cuisine are served by candlelight, making this unique restaurant an unrivalled romantic getaway for couples in search of the perfect evening out.

For modern European cuisine in the heart of Soho, Andrew Edmunds offers a peaceful, intimate retreat for couples in search of a quiet evening. While the food is simply prepared and unobtrusively served, the real attraction is the remarkable wine list, offering exquisite selections at reasonable prices. Andrew Edmunds is small enough to be cozy without being cramped, and prices are generally reasonable; for couples looking for a lower-priced romantic alternative, the restaurant delivers a lovely evening for less.

A haven from the traffic and noise of Notting Hill Gate, the Ark provides delicious food in a serene, soothing environment. Conservatively decorated with muted hues and black and white photographs, the restaurant offers world-class cuisine in an exclusive, upscale environment. Italian food is the order of the day, and the Ark delivers, along with an outstanding wine list to complement the meal. On fine nights, outdoor dining offers a view of the stars and exquisitely landscaped surroundings.

Located in the former ballroom of Holland House, the Belvedere is romantically decorated with antique mirrors and drapes. The romance doesn't stop there, however; the Belvedere also offers a quiet, intimate dining experience with eclectic menu offerings featuring French influences and traditional English favourites. Immaculately maintained lawns and flower gardens and a beautiful fountain comprise the view from the Belvedere's elegant dining room for those couples who can take their eyes off one another.

The stunning view is the main attraction at the Galvin, located on the 18th floor of the Hilton Hotel London. While the food is of superior quality, the gorgeous view and beautiful surroundings will create the perfect mood for romance. An extensive wine list completes the dining experience for couples on holiday. Its convenient location in the Hilton Hotel London can also provide the opportunity for a quick escape for amorous couples.

A number of upscale hotels in London cater to couples nearly exclusively, offering weekend retreats and luxurious hideaways. Many, like the Hilton Hotel London, feature intimate, romantic restaurants to make a perfect holiday even better. Romantic weekend discounts are sometimes available; book early to get the best deals.

Eoin has written for many publications in his native south Wales and further afield. He currently lives in London's trendy Docklands with his partner. Both are regular faces in West End theatre audiences.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eoin_Evans

Find More : live music , live band , music band , music event

Restaurants With Dinner Entertainment

With the growth and expansion of restaurants across the country, there has been a trend of restaurants coming up with innovative ways to attract customers. This has lead many restaurants to add more features than just serving great meals. One method of attracting customers is to offer entertainment along with the dining experience.

The following are some entertainment concepts that have been implemented in restaurants:

1. Live music is a very popular attraction at restaurants. Types of live music performances include violinists, single instrument performer such as guitar soloist, harpist, saxophone players...etc. Restaurants can also have musical groups such as jazz bands, country bands...etc. There are restaurants that use live music to enhance the theme of their restaurant. An example would be using mariachi bands for a Mexican restaurant.
There are many musical styles to suit everyone's tastes. People can relax, dine, and enjoy the fantastic music.

2. Dinner Theaters are a very popular concept. The restaurant incorporates the meal with the musical theater show. There can be particular themes such as the pop music genre, medieval times...etc. It can very interactive with the performers including the diners in the show. Most are musicals mixed with comedy.

3. There are also restaurant/ entertainment activity restaurants. For instance, there are restaurants designed for kids that have a number of entertainment activities such as carnival type games, video games, slides, jungle gyms, indoor miniature golf, and much more. Chuck E. Cheese restaurants are an example of this type of entertainment restaurant.

4. There are restaurants that specialize in murder mystery entertainment. Along with dinner, guests can become a part of a murder mystery where they have to solve clues to identify the murderer. Some of these restaurants offer murder mystery weekend packages.

5. There are restaurants that host magic shows for their guests. A magician or group of magicians will perform magic tricks while the guests dine.

6. There are also single entertainers that perform at restaurant. Types of entertainers can include comedians, balloon twisters...etc.

7. There are adult orientated restaurants such as Dave and Busters which provides adult orientated games for groups such as team building activities for work related groups (corporate management skills), solving adult games such as puzzles, races, corporate leadership games, themed parties, scavenger hunts, billiards, shuffleboard, bowling, and much more. As well, these types of restaurants can offer buffets and party platters.

8. There is now a growing trend of a theater-restaurant concept that offers sit-down dinner theaters that double as restaurants so moviegoers can enjoy a meal while watching a movie.

If you are looking for a fun night out on the town, there are now restaurants that offer great entertainment, activities, and much more with their meals. It gives customers more of a choice of places to entertain friends and family. You can have a fun filled evening at a place that offers both dinner and entertainment in the same location. Because of the growth of the restaurant industry, there is now something fun and delicious for everyone.

See what the City of Toronto has to offer by dining at a Toronto restaurant this weekend. If you're in Quebec, then a restaurant Montreal is a great way to spend some quality time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amy_Nutt

Find More : live music , jazz bands , country bands , Live Music Band , Music Event

Austin, Texas - The Live Music Capital of the World

Austin, Texas is renowned as the live music capital of the world touted as having the most musicians per capita of any city in the nation. With over one hundred live performance places there are always dozens of Austin, Texas bands to see any time you want of all various styles from country to rock, to a variety of eclectic styles that can be heard no where else.

Austin, TX is also the host of the South By Southwest music conference which is a nationally known music festival showcasing 1,800 bands of all styles booked from across the whole world in over 80 clubs in Austin over a 5 day period. South By Southwest was originally just a small music festival that grew into an event with the most live bands in one festival in the state and continues to grow as the years roll by. There are other world renowned emerging music festivals in Austin as well, such as the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Urban Music Festival, and the Fun Fun Fun Fest. The Austin City Limits Music Festival occurs annually in the fall and is a three day music festival with over 130 bands of all genres on eight stages. This concert has been known to attract over 65,000 visitors and bands from all over the world. The Urban Music Festival started in 2006 and drew a crowd in excess of 10,000 to listen to some of the top Urban Music bands. Some of the performers of the Urban Music Fest have been Cameo, Boyz to Men, and the Sugar Hill Gang. The Fun Fun Fun Fest Is another yearly music festival that started in 2005 and has had a wide range of artists over two days on four stages. A few celebrated artists of the Fun Fun Fun Fest have been the Bad Brains, All and The Dead Milkmen.

How this Texas city came to be the home base for so many Austin bands is still a mystery but as the live band scene grew over time in Austin, the stigma that it was the place to get found and make it to stardom started to attract a large base of gifted musicians from across the nation. The bands and musicians that came to Austin looking for superstardom soon found that there wasn't any industry to sign them there aside from the brief visit of industry professionals during South By Southwest music conference and the ample supply of musicians and Austin cover bands only made acquiring gigs even harder because of all of the stiff competition. The number of Austin, TX bands far outweighs the number of rooms offering gigs so only the most talented bands end up getting the jobs thereby furthering the popular perception that Austin bands tend to be the greatest in the state. Many musicians that had come to Austin hoping to make it in the local scene headed back where they came from to face less competition and found that being a big fish in a small pond was easier and more productive than slugging it out with hundreds of bands in one city for the few jobs there were in such a competitive music market.

There are many musicians that come from Austin, Texas including Robert Earl Keen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Willie Nelson, George Strait, Pat Green and Los Lonely Boys to name a few. All these things add up to make Austin, Texas a town that has been renowned as the "Live Music Capital of the World".

Ron Ronhaar is the owner and band leader of the "The Grooves" which is one of the well-known Austin, Texas bands, well known for their ability to keep the dance floor packed all night with hit favorites from all genres. He has performed with his group for a living in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and throughout Texas for weddings, corporate parties, society parties and fund raisers. After Ron started the band in 1991, the band rocketed to the peak of Austin musicians and then took the state of Texas by storm. Ron and the Grooves Band are now in strong demand across Texas and are considered the finest of all Austin bands available for any event.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ron_Ronhaar

Find More : live music , Live Music Band , Music Event

Is Live Music Dying?

We spent months preparing for the Gemini Soul tour, booking performances in Phoenix, Hollywood, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Orange County. We covered it all: a publicist, advertising, free ticket give-aways, flyers, posters, concert listings, postcards. We tried holding a charity benefit. We tried having an opening band. We tried free promotional concerts at colleges. We tried passing out free admission cards on the street. And still only a scattering of people came to each show.

The people who did show up always raved about the music, as did the doormen, the bartenders, the club managers. "You're the best band I've ever seen play here, and I've heard a lot of bands," was a typical response. So where was everyone?

Live music in the United States is dying. Several decades ago, a band could count on regular club dates. Unknown jazz bands could "do the circuit" and make at least some money. Not anymore. I talked to the manager of a two-thousand seat theater. She said everyone in the industry is talking about how difficult it has become to fill venues, and speculated that people have too many entertainment options at home -- the internet, iPods, cable TV, Netflix -- that there is less incentive to go out on the town. Fewer people are willing to take a chance on unknown music. As a consequence, many venues can't afford to pay bands and expect you to play for tips -- which is fine to get a career going, but how can you sustain that?

Live music as viable entertainment hangs on in some ways. Me'Shell Ndegeocello, thank goodness, can draw a large crowd on a Monday night to San Francisco's The Independent. Festivals and cruises still feature performers (although they are increasingly interested in musicians with national reputations - which begs the question, how does one get a national reputation?). But if talented guitarists like Mick Fleetwood (co-founder of one of the most successful bands of all time, Fleetwood Mac) can fill only half of that two-thousand seat venue, and if Yoshi's resorts to giving away free tickets to Lee Ritenour's second show, where does that leave us?

Have we become too accustomed to music at the press of a button, day and night, and worse yet, many of us now expect it for free? Radiohead released their latest CD online and asked buyers to choose how much to pay. Only 38% of those who downloaded the CD paid anything. The rest -- an unbelievable 62% -- felt they should get the album for free! [Forbes.com] Because of the band's stature, they still made a considerable amount of money on the sales, but at those percentages, a four-person band selling only 10,000 CDs at an average of $8 apiece would make just $30,400. That amounts to less than $8,000 per person, not including any deduction for production expenses.

I recently discovered a dozen inter-connected English-language websites based in Russia selling my music as well as music by big-name artists, unauthorized, for download for less than $1 per CD. If most musicians can't make money performing and can't even make money from CD sales online, how will our culture be able to nurture and sustain the next wave of musicians? Like climate change, we will glibly go about thinking nothing is wrong (or at least many of us will) until it is too late. We will have chopped down the tree that nurtured our music and gave it life.

More music articles at Song of Fire (obergh.net/songoffire) Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jon_O'Bergh

Find More : Live music , Live Music Band , Music Event

Restaurants In Austin With Live Music

Austin is known as the Live Music Capital of the World. One of the best parts about having that distinction is that even if you aren't necessarily into the club scene, you can still hear live music at restaurants throughout the city. Whether you feel like hearing Cajun, blues, country, Latin or rock, you can almost always find a great meal enhanced by a great band playing.

Threadgill's is legendary not only for their chicken fried steak and cheese grits, but for also being the place that gave Janis Joplin her start. With a newly refurbished north location, and their World Headquarters just south of the river, Threadgill's features the best in bluegrass, country, and soul music, as well as hosting a delicious and rejuvenating Gospel Brunch. Steaks, seafood po-boys, and the best vegetable side-dish selection in town, this is the quintessential Austin food and music spot. 301 West Riverside Drive, Austin, Texas 78704 // 6416 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78752

Artz Rib House is another gem of a music/food venue in Austin. As their name suggests, their specialty is smoked ribs, with country style pork, baby backs, or big beef ribs to choose from. They also make one of the better burgers in town, offer the Texas BBQ staples of brisket and sausage, and even have an inventive vegetable kabob on the menu. Their musical offerings are just as tasty, with an emphasis on western swing and a monthly Old Time Fiddlers Jam. Artz is located in the barton hills neighborhood at 2330 South Lamar, Austin, TX 78704

Quality Seafood is both a seafood market and a restaurant, serving some of the finest and freshest fish in town. Three days a week they feature music along with food and drink specials. Mondays they usually feature a hot jazz combo, and offer a great deal on succulent king crab legs, and on Wednesdays a folky blues duo entertains while the crowd feasts on peel and eat shrimp. A DJ holds forth on Thursdays, sometimes with live instrumental accompaniment, and the special rotates recent Thursday food specials include spicy Texas crawfish and soft shell crab po-boys. 5621 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX 78751.

Las Palomas serves some of the finest Mexican food in the city, and features one of Austin's best kept musical secrets. When they aren't on tour with a major Texas country star, you can find the cream of Austin's crop of pickers joining a gypsy jazz violinist for some jaw-dropping jazz every Wednesday night. Famed for their enchiladas Tres Marias, Las Palomas also offers ceviche, chicken mole, and other specialties. 3201 Bee Caves Road, Austin, TX 78746.

Having survived the ups and downs of Austin's East Side, the Victory Grill is truly a piece of Austin history, but is just as vibrant today. Built in 1945, the club has hosted acts including B.B King, Ike and Tina Turner, and Billie Holiday, and today features Austin's finest blues acts. With a rotating menu of down home cooking, the Victory Grill is a slice of Old Austin.


Find More : Live Music , musical secrets , soul music

Live Music!

"Live music." That common saying may contain some truth, but these days the word "live" is having less and less to do with music. For many people, a dj is their form of live music. Despite what dj's would like to have you believe, musicians make excellent entertainment.

In the first place, people enjoy human performance. Many musicians like great athletes are multi-talented. They will croon on the tenor saxophone right to your soul, then turn around and chunk out a funky rhythm on a Fender Stratocaster. Can a dj play a turntable behind his head or with his teeth? Professional musicians love to sing and groove on just about any style of music from a Frank Sinatra to Outkast. They especially enjoy playing when the audience is responding to their performance.

In the second place, musicians are students of the arts. Musicians do not merely "push buttons." They've had years of practice in their homes, and they do their thing on stage. Unlike dj's musicians do not try to sing over or add other loud or strange noises to program music. Once a song starts it flows to the end and in the unfortunate event of a power shortage musicians can continue to entertain acoustically until power is restored. Even non-professional musicians usually understand "the show must go on" concept.

Lastly, one of the most attractive features of bands as entertainment is the affinity between them and their audience. Watching a great drummer is never boring because they're constantly moving...feeling. An animated solo violinist playing an old wooden Stradivarius violin has a much greater chance of reaching into your soul and stirring your emotions than a dj with an array of magnetic speakers and digital amplifiers no matter how great his system sounds. It's an apple trying to be an orange. It's the difference between human blood and electricity.

Contrary to popular opinion, bands can be affordable. Just like with a dj, finding a band well in advance and securing them with a low down payment, the price can be negotiated to avoid costly or inadequate entertainment. Bands will even throw in a free cocktail hour or an extra half hour at the end to secure a date! Many bands are now offering "dj time." This is when the musician hat comes off and the dj hat is put on to play the Techno, House, Hip-Hop, etc...Genres of today. People who have small parties should appreciate these characteristics of bands. However, many people who have large parties opt to have bands because they love the musician personality. In many ways, musicians are the ideal entertainers.

Candido Bretto PartyBands.com

Partybands.com is home to over 200+ bands from all around the USA.

Candido Bretto is a Las Vegas musician/songwriter and President of Partybands.com

Find More : Live music , professional musicians , musician personality