30 editor picks across United States.
30 live music worth the night across United States, editor-ranked. All United States guides.
The Continental Club on South Congress in Austin opened in 1955 as a supper club, the city's historic landmark for roots, rockabilly, country.
TipTwo sets nightly with a cover that varies by act. Toni Price's Hippie Hour at 18:30 Tuesdays is the long-running residency to know.
The Bluebird Cafe on Hillsboro Pike in Nashville is the 90-seat songwriters' listening room that has launched Garth, Taylor Swift and Kathy Mattea since 1982.
TipTwo shows nightly, In The Round Tue to Sat, Mondays open mic, Sundays writers' nights. Reservations open one week ahead and fill fast.
Preservation Hall on St Peter Street has run traditional New Orleans jazz nightly since 1961, with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band leading short.
TipThree sets a night, around 17:00, 20:00 and 21:00. Tickets via the box office sell out; the $50 reserved seats save you from standing-room.
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.
9:30 Club on V Street is the 1,200-capacity I.M.P. venue that anchors the U Street corridor since 1996, with a wheeled stage on rails and 13 Pollstar Nightclub of the Year wins.
TipDoors usually 19:00 with show at 20:00. The mezzanine has a clear sight line and a bar; the floor is general admission.
ACL Live at the Moody Theater in downtown Austin is the 2,750-seat home of the Austin City Limits public TV taping, the country's longest-running music.
TipACL tapings are free but allocated by lottery. Public shows ticket through ACL Live; balcony and pit both have great sightlines.
Metro in Chicago opened with a R.E.M. show in 1982 and remains the 1,100-capacity beaux-arts indie room Joe Shanahan still books a block south of Wrigley Field.
TipDoors usually 19:00 with show at 20:00. Smartbar in the basement keeps going after Metro closes; the same wristband often gets you down.
Cliff Bell's on Park Avenue has poured cocktails and presented live jazz in Detroit since 1935. Reopened 2006, the canonical jazz room and supper club.
TipTickets for the band run separately. The dining room is half the room; cocktails at the bar.
The Green Parrot has poured at Whitehead and Southard since 1890 by its own count, Key West's open-shuttered dive with free popcorn and nightly bands.
TipThere is no kitchen, only free popcorn, and outside food is welcome; soundchecks around 17:30 are a show in themselves.
The Hollywood Bowl in the Hollywood Hills is the 17,500-seat amphitheatre, summer home of the LA Philharmonic and touring concerts June through September.
TipPark-and-ride from Universal City Metro station; on-site parking is stacked and slow. Bring a picnic, the Bowl allows outside food.
7th St Entry, the 250-capacity small room attached to First Avenue, opened 1980 and is where Soul Asylum, The Replacements and Husker Du played early sets.
TipThe Entry has its own street door on 7th Street North; show wristband often gets you across into the Mainroom after the headliner.
Snug Harbor on Frenchmen is the sit-down jazz room of the Marigny, with two sets a night in a renovated 1800s storefront and Ellis Marsalis Trio holding.
TipTwo nightly sets at 19:30 and 21:30. Book a music room ticket online; the bistro side seats walk-ins for Creole dinner before the show.
Tipitina's at Napoleon and Tchoupitoulas has anchored Uptown live music since 1977, named for the Professor Longhair song and now musician-owned by Galactic.
TipFree Friday concerts every week with local headliners. Buy ticketed shows in advance via the venue site; show floor is general admission.
The Casbah on Kettner Boulevard, founded by Tim Mays in 1989, is the 200-capacity San Diego punk and indie room that booked Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins.
TipDoors usually 20:30, some all-ages shows. Moved from the original 75-capacity room two blocks south in 1994; the current Kettner space holds 200.
The Fillmore on Geary is the 800-capacity ballroom where the Dead, Hendrix and The Doors built their West Coast sets, still booking touring rock and indie.
TipApples in the lobby and a poster from the night are free souvenirs the venue still hands out. Main floor is general admission; upstairs is seated.
Eddie's Attic in Decatur has run the South's most respected listening room since 1991, launching Shawn Mullins, Sugarland and the Indigo Girls and keeping a Monday songwriter open mic on the calendar.
TipThe listening room enforces quiet during sets; cocktail patio out front handles the talkers. Monday open mic at 18:00 sign-up.
Antone's Nightclub on East 5th Street in Austin is the blues legend Clifford Antone opened in 1975, a 50-year lease extension in November 2025 keeping.
TipDaily 12:00-00:00 with a music calendar at the door. The upstairs is being built out as the Antone's World Famous Museum of the Blues for 2027.
Charleston Music Hall on John Street is the city's seated concert house, a restored former train station that books touring rock, indie, comedy and tribute acts across a calendar booked through 2026.
TipBox office on John Street Thursday and Friday 10:00-15:00; most shows sell faster online. Reserved seating, no general admission floor.
Empty Bottle on North Western has hosted indie, punk and experimental music in Ukrainian Village since 1992 and turned 33 in 2025, with free Monday night residencies that still anchor the calendar.
TipOpen daily 17:00-02:00, Saturday until 03:00. Monday's free residency is the easy walk-in entry to the scene. Pizza Friendly Pizza is next door.
The Hideout in Chicago is the Wabansia Avenue clapboard cottage in the Elston industrial corridor, hosting Americana, experimental and the Robbie Fulks Monday residency.
TipTuesday through Thursday close at midnight, Friday and Saturday at 01:00. The room holds about 100 and the bands play through the bar conversation.
Thalia Hall in Pilsen, built 1892 and modeled on the Prague State Opera House, runs touring indie, hip-hop and electronic shows in an 800-capacity balcony room.
TipDoors usually 19:00 with show at 20:00. The balcony bench seating fills first; Dusek's restaurant and Punch House bar share the building entrance.
Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago is the South Wabash blues room the man himself opened in 1989 and where he still plays a residency every January.
TipClosed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday close at midnight; weekends run to 01:30. Cover usually $20, kitchen serves Louisiana barbecue.
Baker's Keyboard Lounge on Livernois has poured drinks in Detroit since May 1933 and started booking jazz pianists in 1934, the oldest continuously operating.
TipOnly 99 seats; tilted mirrors let the audience watch the pianist's hands. Cover varies by act.
Blue Note Hawaii at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort in Honolulu opened in January 2016 as a 326-seat partnership with the Blue Note Entertainment Group.
TipTwo shows nightly. Reserve at bluenotejazz.com/hawaii; dinner from Executive Chef Julius Laurentius alongside the music.
McGonigel's Mucky Duck on Norfolk Street has run Houston's Americana and folk circuit since 1990. Most nights bring two seated sets at an Irish-themed.
TipClosed Sunday. Shows run four to five nights a week, with two sets most evenings; the early set seats first, late set walk-up.
Green Lady Lounge on Grand Boulevard in Kansas City's Crossroads District is an exclusively jazz lounge with live Kansas City jazz seven nights a week. No televisions, 2 stages, 2 levels.
TipDownstairs Orion Room runs trios led by Danny Embry; upstairs the Hammond organs anchor the late sets.
Reynolds Hall is the 2,050-seat main room of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Symphony Park, hosting Las Vegas Philharmonic, Broadway tours and headline jazz.
TipThe Las Vegas Philharmonic and Nevada Ballet Theatre both call Reynolds Hall home. Park in the Symphony Park garage to avoid downtown one-way streets.
Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood has run live music in Los Angeles since 1957; Elton John, Taylor and Waits all played early sets.
TipTwo-room layout, balcony upstairs, floor downstairs. All-ages, doors at 20:00 most nights. Tickets through the venue site.
The Greek Theatre in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, opened 1930, is the 5,900-seat outdoor amphitheatre hosting touring rock, pop and jazz through October.
TipStacked-parking lot empties slowly; reserve a paid stack or take Lyft. The trees behind the upper terrace cut wind for late shows.
Ball & Chain on Calle Ocho has run live Cuban music since 1935, the restored Little Havana jazz-era nightclub where Billie Holiday and Chet Baker once played and where the Saturday Pachanga still draws a salsa floor.
TipLive jazz starts Thursday to Saturday around 18:00, then bands roll through to close. Saturday Pachanga from 21:00 is the dance night.
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