Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 03/07/2026 00:33:00

Thirty years of Columbus rock history papers these walls. A&R Music Bar at 391 Neil Avenue, in the Arena District entertainment quarter, sits above The Basement rock club and next door to the KEMBA Live! complex - and its name carries a double meaning its operator PromoWest holds dear: Artist and Repertoire, for the talent-scouting tradition that saw Fall Out Boy, The Killers and O.A.R. climb from these small stages to selling out the company's biggest outdoor venue; and Art and Rock, for the wall-to-wall poster art, photography and memorabilia from three decades of PromoWest concerts that turn the room into a museum you can drink in. The venue itself is a 400-capacity full-service bar and stage with exceptional sound and lighting for its size, a customizable marquee, and a huge outdoor patio that doubles as the pre- and post-show lounge for concerts at KEMBA Live! next door. Mikey's Late Night Slice keeps the pizza flowing, and the room moonlights between shows as a set for live radio broadcasts, band interviews, special appearances and meet-and-greets. Programming runs the PromoWest pipeline: rising touring acts on their first headline runs, local heroes stepping up from The Basement downstairs, and the occasional big name playing small on purpose. The Arena District location - surrounded by the ballpark, the arena and the district's restaurant row - makes the whole evening walkable, and the AEG-affiliated booking machine keeps roughly 150 events a year moving through a room that treats every one as a future poster for the wall. Shows run frequent and early - the room shares its block's parking garages with the arena and ballpark crowds, so doors and set times published on the PromoWest site are worth checking against the district's game schedule. Most nights are general admission and all ages unless marked otherwise, the patio opens seasonally, and on KEMBA Live! concert nights the bar's dual role as the complex's front porch makes it the easiest meeting point in the Arena District.