Interview with Jamie Northrop: owner of Alexander's music bar and venue in Chester

Alexander's is a fantastic music themed bar/venue in the centre of Chester. I interviewed the owner Jamie Northrop to get to know the venue!

What kind of live music/performers do you have at Alexanders?

At Alexander’s we have a huge variety of different performances. We focus on music and comedy. We have a comedy club here every Friday. It’s the longest running comedy club outside of London, in the UK. That one is always very very busy. We do 3 or 4 comedians across the evening and we have an open spot for someone breaking onto the circuit who isn't as well known.

The rest of the week we really focus on live music. So on Monday’s we host student bands, local acts, and soloists. Tuesdays we do an open mic, Wednesdays is music but a little different. We have Latin mania who do salsa classes. Thursdays we have either a tribute band or bigger local bands, Fridays as we said we have comedy and then Saturday is tribute bands or party function bands. Saturday is the night when the dancefloor is cleared and everyone is going for it. On Sundays we do afternoon sessions usually focused on Jazz, Folk or Blues.

What's the general price range for the shows here?

There is a huge variety in the price range for our events and it really depends on how much the act costs. Monday and Tuesday are free of charge and the salsa classes range from about 5 to 7 pounds per class. Thursdays and Saturdays for the live music could be anything between 8 to 30 pounds per ticket and the comedy club on a Friday is £15.

Who's the usual demographic of customers?

We like to say we welcome everyone from 18 to 80. In fact we've started doing some kids based stuff to like a children's song circle with a local artist Ashlyee Faith (note to Izzy - Name check before recording). Really it depends on the demographic of the gig.

How do people get in touch if they are interested in performing?

If someone is interested in performing at Alexanders they can get in touch with us via our website or by emailing contact@alexanderslive.com. We are however booked up now until 2025 so if its a local band I would direct them to come along on a Monday or Tuesday for the open mic nights.

What exciting events are coming up soon?

Next year we are hosting mini beer festivals out in our garden. They tend to be tribute festivals, there's one in May with the likes of Queen, Tina Turner, UB40 tribute acts. In July we have ‘Legendary’ which is another tribute festival but more of a rock and indie vibe with Muse, The Killers, Nirvana and The Smiths tributes. That is our busiest day of the year every year.