The Ruby Jazz Club
A speakeasy jazz club in Fortitude Valley that splits its week in two: ticketed headline shows on Fridays, free entry and rising talent on Saturdays.
Overview
The Ruby was founded by Brisbane jazz pianist Meredith Brothers, who built the club specifically to give emerging musicians a proper stage — and still turns up to play it herself from time to time. Find it down Mead Lane behind an unmarked red door, where a 1920s-inspired room does its best impression of a New York jazz basement.
Friday nights bring ticketed, concert-style sets from working jazz acts covering everything from hard-bop and swing to New Orleans ragtime, usually $25 to $29 a ticket. Saturdays flip the format: free entry, a looser room, and a regular slot for trios from the Jazz Music Institute alongside local duos still building a following.
Beyond the music, there's a menu of casual bites and a cocktail list backed by a deep run of signature bourbons — a nod to jazz's roots in America's Deep South as much as a drinks list.
Images: Supplied.
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