With it’s classic fittings and firm place in the heart of Belfast’s nightlife you’d be forgiven for thinking the Empire has been around forever. Yet it’s a practically mature 23 years old, having first opened its doors back in 1987. It would soon gain a reputation as one of the country’s premier live music bars, thanks mostly to the spectacular Music Hall, arguably one of the country’s finest small/medium size venues thanks to it’s beginnings as a Victorian era church – both visually impressive and acoustically sound.Over the years the Music Hall would attract artists of all forms and from all over the world – from Sigur Rós who played their debut Irish date as a support band in 2000 to local heroes Snow Patrol, who played a packed out show just weeks before Run turned them into global hyperstars.