Quick answer: For melville nightlife with live music, Six Cocktail Bar is the one venue with a regular live night: jazz, particularly on Wednesdays. For Newtown, check the Market Theatre’s current programme and pair it with a Melville late finish.
This guide covers the Melville bars, the Newtown theatre option and the practical question of joining them in one evening. For the wider city picture, see live music johannesburg, and for the area east of the city centre, maboneng nightlife is covered separately.
Choosing your evening: bar night, theatre night or both
The right plan depends on what you want from the night. Melville is bar-led, so music there tends to come as part of a drinks-and-conversation evening. Newtown is programme-led, so the evening is built around a performance start time. Linking them works best when the fixed-time event goes first and the open-ended bar stop goes last.
- Choose a Melville-only night if you want flexibility. You can move between bars without watching the clock for a curtain time.
- Choose a Newtown show first if a particular production matters to you. Book it, then treat Melville as the late-evening extension.
- Choose a Wednesday if live jazz is the priority. That is the night Six Cocktail Bar is listed as hosting it.
- Choose a different area if you want a larger stage or a big-name act. Arena-scale shows sit outside this pairing, and concert venues in johannesburg is the better starting point for those.
Melville bars and their live music
Melville’s named venues in the supplied listings are Six Cocktail Bar, Jo’Anna Melt Bar and Smoking Kills Bar. Only one of them is described as hosting regular live performances, so the table separates what is stated from what you should confirm before going.
| Venue | What the listing says | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Six Cocktail Bar | Regular live jazz, particularly on Wednesday evenings. Open 11 AM to 2 AM daily. Address: 90 3rd Ave, Melville. Rated 4.3 stars from 2,504 Google reviews. | The anchor for a live-music night. Go on a Wednesday for jazz, or use the long hours for a late finish on other nights. |
| Jo’Anna Melt Bar | Described as having a vibrant atmosphere in the heart of Melville. | A social stop between venues. Ask the bar whether a band is playing on your night. |
| Smoking Kills Bar | A Melville bar offering unique drinks and a lively atmosphere. | A drinks-led stop. Live acts are not listed, so do not plan the night around music here. |
These details come from the Evendo listing for Six Cocktail Bar.
Six Cocktail Bar
Six Cocktail Bar is the clearest answer to where you can hear live music in Melville. The listing describes regular live jazz, particularly on Wednesday evenings, and positions the bar as an essential stop for anyone seeking Johannesburg’s nightlife scene. Its hours of 11 AM to 2 AM daily mean it can serve as either an early start or the last stop of the night.
The Wednesday detail is the useful limit. It is the night with the stated jazz pattern, so a Friday or Saturday visit should not be planned on the assumption of the same programme. Check the bar’s own social pages for the week’s line-up before you go.
Jo’Anna Melt Bar and Smoking Kills Bar
Both venues are listed alongside Six as part of Melville’s bar scene, and both are described by their atmosphere rather than a music schedule. They suit a walk-and-sample approach. Use them to extend an evening that has already been anchored by a Six Cocktail Bar set, and ask at the door whether anything live is on.
Which Melville bars have live acts?
Jo’Anna Melt Bar and Smoking Kills Bar are the Melville names in the listings with a lively atmosphere. Look at each venue’s social page on the day, because small bars often post that night’s act there.
- Walk the strip first if you want to see which venue has a band set up and judge the crowd.
- Pick one seat and stay if the music is the point. Moving between bars costs you the best part of a set.
- Sit outside if you want conversation rather than volume. Outdoor tables are part of the street’s character.
Newtown and the Market Theatre
Newtown is the theatre half of the pairing. The Market Theatre is the main venue, and its shows run to a programme with set start times, which makes it the fixed point of any combined evening. The theatre’s own programme is the authority for what is on, so check it for the date you plan to go and book before building the rest of the night around it.
A theatre evening and a bar evening ask different things of you. A show needs punctual arrival and a seat. A bar needs only a table. That is why the show should lead and the bar follow, rather than the other way round.
Linking Melville and Newtown in one night
The supplied listings give no distance or route between the two areas, so confirm the journey in a maps app for your date and time before committing. Because the trip happens after dark, a booked or arranged ride is a sensible way to decide who gets you from the theatre to the bar. Leave the choice of transport until the show’s finish time is clear.
- Book the show. Choose a Market Theatre performance and note its start time.
- Plan the journey. Check the route and travel time in a maps app, and arrange your ride for after the show.
- Pick the Melville stop. On a Wednesday, aim for Six Cocktail Bar and its jazz. On other nights, choose a bar and confirm any act.
- Use the late hours. Six Cocktail Bar is open until 2 AM daily, so a post-show arrival still leaves time for a drink.
The pairing suits visitors who want one structured event and one relaxed finish. It suits less well anyone who wants to catch several bar sets, since the travel between areas takes time that could go to music.
Troubleshooting the plan
- No band on the night you chose. Move to Six Cocktail Bar on a Wednesday, or make the evening a drinks night at one of the other Melville bars and treat the music as a bonus.
- The show runs late. Pick a Melville venue with long hours. Six Cocktail Bar’s 11 AM to 2 AM opening gives the most room.
- Too many bars, too little music. Stay at a single venue with a stated live programme instead of hopping.
- The crowd is too loud for conversation. Take an outdoor table, or choose Six, where the listing’s emphasis is on cocktails and jazz.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I hear live music in Melville on a weekend night?
Six Cocktail Bar is the Melville venue described as hosting regular live jazz, particularly on Wednesday evenings. It is open 11 AM to 2 AM daily, so check its social pages for that weekend’s line-up before heading out.
What are the Market Theatre shows like for a night out?
Show times and titles are set by the theatre’s own programme, so check it for your date. Treat the performance as the fixed start of the evening and the Melville bar as the flexible finish.
