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Festival To Bring New Life To Strait Street’s Original Haunts For Just One Weekend

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Strait Street is about to get a whole lot more interesting this April, with The Craft Beer and Live Music Festival hitting Valletta’s iconic old hub of hedonism.

After being closed up and neglected for almost 50 years, Strait Street’s ‘The Gut’ will be open to the public for the first time specifically for this festival, ahead of the renovation plans announced earlier this year.

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The festival will feature many live acts throughout the weekend, with bands like KażinSka and Swing Nuages set to provide the perfect soundtrack to this quirky trip down nostalgia lane.

Of course, no craft beer event would be complete without the brews, and this festival will feature a long list of craft beers and ciders from around the world. Food and sweet stalls, along with an artisan market, will also be helping breathe new life into Strait Street. 

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But perhaps the biggest attraction of this festival is the venue itself. The festival will be making use of Strait Street’s most (in)famous bar; McKay Bar, also known as the Silver Horse.

Probably the most notorious and documented entertainment spot in the neighbourhood, the Silver Horse was known to many-a-sailor as the crucial late night stop. It was a place of live shows, alternative cabaret, and the home to the famous transvestite showgirl Il-Bobby. For this one weekend, the Silver Horse’s flame will be reignited as the festival’s concert hall, and will also be dotted with several beer bars. The atmosphere will be rough and rustic, similar to Budapest’s famous ruin bars. And if these exclusive photos of the bar’s interior in its current state are anything to go by, it’s going to be one beautifully grungy night for the books.

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The Craft Beer and Live Music Festival is happening on the 7th, 8th and 9th April.

The whole thing is being coordinated by Offbeat, an upcoming music bar that’s going to be opening this June at the lower end of Merchant Street. Offbeat wants to cultivate a hub for music lovers, and judging by this festival, the duo behind this new bar is off to a great start.

Of course, the latest awesome Maltese craft beer Stretta will be featuring heavily in this festival, and anyone interested in taking part or finding out more information about this festival should contact their Facebook page.

Tag someone who would love to attend this festival!

READ NEXT: VOTE: What Do You Think Of The New Plans For Strait Street?

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).

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