Zula Sound Bar’s new home

Long Street’s favourite live music venue is back

“Have you seen the floating car?” my friend asks me when I tell her I’m writing about Zula Sound Bar’s new home (don’t worry, it’s still on Long Street, they just moved it further down the road). With stages upstairs and downstairs the new venue will allow Zula to continue its tradition of showcasing the best that South Africa has to offer in live music as well as many up-and-coming bands. This is, most definitely, a new and improved Zula. There are two front rooms downstairs, one with a bar and another with seating in front of the kitchen area. I’m sitting with Vusa Mazula at a long wooden table as he tells me about their plans... “We have wholesome, home-cooked food,” he says, as I spot a pizza oven behind him. “Pizzas, pasta, fish and chips...”

The cocktails have been given a unique Zula twist “A White Russian is called a Michael Jackson,” Vusa laughs. And the music? “It’s very eclectic, music is music. We’re not going to dictate what people listen to.” The different section downstairs and upstairs allow for three to four different types of music to be played simultaneously.  So you can order your drinks and then move to whichever room makes you happiest.

The upstairs stage means that if you don’t want to watch the band playing that night you can stay downstairs without having to pay entrance. “There’s something different every night, if you like acoustic or stand-up comedy come in the week. If you like clubbing, come on the weekends and if you like bands come anytime,” Vusa tells me.

One mystery is still unsolved though; the floating car. Vusa excitedly leads me to the main room downstairs where the front half of an old car is suspended on poles. “It was going to be the sound-deck, but it was too small—now it’s the lighting board.” Sound-deck or not, it’s still pretty cool; as is the new Zula Sound Bar.

By Lindsay Callaghan

Zula Sound Bar
98 Long Street | City Centre | Cape Town | +27 (0)21 424 2442      

Opening Times: Monday – Thursday: 12pm-2am, Friday – Saturday: 12pm -4am

Keep an eye on our events guide to see what’s on at Zula this week.

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