Making it to #4 on the countdown, is something of a stretch for this venue seeing how it’s only opened up as a live music venue a few times a year. A place of worship during the day and venue by night, St. Matthews United Church makes a really good argument for not only on being a top 5 venue in Halifax, but also the best Super-Hero venue in town (if it just fought crime – but alas).

The one thing you will walk away from this church remembering is the use of light  and the way in which it is used to emphasize the architectural marvel that you find yourself standing in.  The way in which the walls are lit, puts an ideal emphasis on the numerous textures throughout the space, which is absolutely breathtaking.  The moment the spotlight embraces the artist you can clearly see the beads of sweat emerge, and for anyone lucky enough to be photographing the show, the space truly is a godsend.

The sound in St. Matthew’s is amazing, and really why wouldn’t it be? It is a church after all. For a place that is home to daily worship and choir practice, it better have decent acoustics, which St. Matthews has in spades.   These acoustics are the main reason many promoters choose this church in particular and more importantly over other popular venues around town.  Last year, the Halifax Pop Explosion pretty much had a show staged here every night of the festival, and most of which were amazing. Which pretty much concludes acoustics help sell shows.