10 editor picks in New York City.
10 live music in New York City our editors have drunk at, sorted by score. All New York City nightlife.
Village Vanguard has run jazz from a triangular basement on Seventh Avenue South since 1935. Two sets a night, Tuesdays for the Vanguard Jazz.
TipTwo sets nightly at 20:00 and 22:00. The 22:00 set Tuesday through Thursday drops to $35 if seats remain by 21:00.
Birdland on West 44th runs jazz, big band and New Orleans sets across a downstairs club and an upstairs theater room. The Birdland Big Band plays.
TipSet covers run $35 to $56 with a $20 food or drink minimum. The 17:30 and 19:00 sets are the easier walk-ins.
Smalls in a West 10th Street basement is the no-frills jazz room that runs four sets a night and a 23:45 jam session through to 04:00 most nights of the week.
TipBuy at the door cash, or stream the late-night jam free on SmallsLIVE if you cannot get in. Capacity is tiny so arrive early.
Blue Note on West 3rd Street is the West Village jazz room and restaurant that hosts touring headliners across two nightly sets, with a New Orleans Sunday.
Tip20:00 and 22:30 sets nightly. The 22:30 set is the easier reservation; the brunch jam runs Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30.
Mercury Lounge on East Houston is the 250-capacity Bowery Presents room where touring indie bands play one of their first New York shows. Two sets most.
TipDoors usually 18:30, openers at 19:00. Bandstand has no bad sight line; arrive early to claim a spot at the rail.
Bowery Ballroom on Delancey is the 575-capacity room with the perfect Manhattan sight line, an upstairs balcony and a downstairs lounge bar that opens.
TipBalcony seats fill first; the floor is general admission. The downstairs Pianos-style lounge runs through the show.
Music Hall of Williamsburg on North 6th is the 650-capacity Bowery Presents room that took over the former Northsix and books indie, electronic and rock.
TipDoors typically 19:00 with show at 20:00. The mezzanine has a clear sight line; the floor pit fills fast at the rail.
Brooklyn Bowl in a converted Hecla Iron Works building pairs sixteen bowling lanes with a 600-capacity music stage and Blue Ribbon kitchen serving the fried.
TipReserve lanes early on show nights; standing-room music tickets are cheap and let you eat at the rail.
Webster Hall on East 11th has hosted music in its Queen Anne assembly hall since 1886. The current 1,400-capacity room runs touring indie, hip-hop.
TipDoors typically 19:00, headliner around 21:00. Coat check is paid and the line outside can stretch a block on weekends.
The Beacon Theatre on Broadway and 74th is a 2,894-seat 1929 movie palace turned concert room that hosts the Allman Brothers tradition and an annual Steely.
TipBest sound is the orchestra rows behind the mixing desk. Doors typically 19:00 and the show starts on time, not on the rock-time grace period.
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