Some bars have a band on Fridays. Lake Effect has live music every night we are open. The rule is simple: if the doors are unlocked, someone is playing.
We are at 155 W 200 S in downtown Salt Lake City, across three floors, with a different sound on each. Here is how the week breaks down.
The Main Floor is where most nights start: a long bar, art nouveau chandeliers, a full Latin-inspired kitchen and a stage that is never empty for long. Local musicians and touring artists rotate through all week, playing everything from jazz and soul to country and singer-songwriter sets.
It is live music built to sit alongside dinner and drinks rather than drown them out. Come for a cocktail and stay for the second set, or book a table and let the band set the pace. On Saturdays and Sundays, live music plays through brunch as well.
Every Wednesday from 7 to 10pm, Flamingo Jazz takes over The Rabbit Hole, the speakeasy-style bar beneath the Main Floor.
Flamingo Jazz is a Salt Lake City group with a sound drawn from New Orleans, Havana and Miami. They debuted in early 2021 with a weekly series of jazz shows that sold out week after week, and recorded their first album, The Flamboyance, live in 2022. Wednesday in the basement with them has become one of the most reliable nights out in Salt Lake City.
The Rabbit Hole is low-lit and intimate, and it is built for listening. Get there early for a table, order something from the bar and let the set do the rest. There is no cover.
When the jazz ends, the weekend gets started. Every Friday & Saturday from 9:30pm to 1am, Church, our gothic upstairs club with stained glass and a pink stone bar, hosts communion: lively & fun DJ sets made for dancing. We keep overhearing people say that Salt Lake doesn't have a night life scene.. but those people clearly haven't been up to Church here at Lake Effect.
Salt Lake City has a better music scene than its reputation suggests. It has produced Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees and The Used, and it has a deep bench of local jazz, folk, soul and Americana players who rarely get the attention they have earned. A room that books live music every night is one way of making sure they get it.
Is there live music at Lake Effect every night? Yes. There is live music on the Main Floor every night we are open.
When is jazz night in Salt Lake City at Lake Effect? Every Wednesday from 7 to 10pm in The Rabbit Hole, with Flamingo Jazz.
Is there a cover charge for live music? No cover for Wednesday jazz or for live music on the Main Floor.
Can I eat dinner during the music? Yes. The full menu is served during live music, and the kitchen is open until 1am.
Where is Lake Effect? 155 W 200 S in downtown Salt Lake City, near the Gallivan Plaza and Courthouse TRAX stations.
