Opening Bars

The City: Prague, the Bohemian (and bohemian) capital of the Czech Republic, is a beautiful place. It has magnificent buildings, a river worth the name, great beer, and pretty girls. It also has a thriving live music scene. There are many clubs that feature excellent artists playing every night; a high-calibre cohort of musicians that deserve a wider audience.

The Writer: Tony Emmerson has maintained a sporadic freelance writing career over the last decade in order to supplement the earnings from his more orthodox trades, and also to take his ego out for its daily walk. He has written for respected music magazines and websites including “Progression” magazine in the USA, securing feature interviews with Peter Hammill, John Wetton (ex King-Crimson), Anthony Phillips (ex-Genesis) and others. He has also supplied copious copy on topics as varied as equestrianism and political history. He moved from London to Prague in December 2006, and wouldn’t go back to the UK if you held a gun to his head.

The Music: This website focuses mainly on the jazz clubs of Prague and is concerned with good music. Some people might argue that this is a subjective and simplistic concept, and one man can’t justifiably divide the world of music into “good” and “bad” purely on the basis his own opinions. Well this one can, and does. “Good” includes jazz, blues, folk, progressive rock, and any other form that takes his interest and is played by talented musicians. “Bad” includes hippity-hop shooting tunes and anything with a childish left-wing agenda.

The Purpose: To review live performances and recorded works by local musicians. To impartially guide the uninitiated into the Prague music scene. To provide thoughts for discussion amongst those in the know. To spotlight the deserving ranks of artistes with an independent eye. And whatever else comes to mind


Material will be posted regularly to the blog, commencing Friday 14th March. The first articles will include live reviews of recent performances by Pavla Milcová and Robert Balzar, a no-nonsense guide to the jazz clubs in Prague, and also an appreciation of guitar virtuoso Luboš Andršt’s current bands.