With hundreds of music venues, including big rooms, epic amphitheaters, small clubs, arenas, etc., it’s a formidable task to narrow down a fantastic live venue in the United States to just 8. Everyone has their own choice and favorites based on past experiences. Still, the discussions in the article are some most visited and memorable spots to experience bands performing, stretching from coast to coast. Let’s check which are the top 8 live music venues that you can consider in America.
Event companies such as Live Nation organize great shows every year; in 2019, the brand organized 40,256 globally, ensuring to raise 9.43 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. The number is three times the 3.51 billion U.S. dollars of revenue produced in 2011. Live Nations’ ticketing revenue had also experienced around 1.54 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. The live events brand, based in California, recorded total revenue of 11.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2019; however, the number for 2020 could be lower due to the COVID 19 outbreak across the world.
Top 8 Live Music Venues in America: Check to Find Best One!
The rumble of the crowd, electricity in the wind, people enjoying and sharing experience, and physical structure making all possible. The best concert can be planned anywhere, but a memorable performance needs vital ingredients and is the perfect venue. We have teamed up to commemorate the music venues that have performed countless memories for fans in the biggest concert-loving cities in America.
Concert venues are the country of a plethora of emotional attachments to people you went with, the band you saw, the t-shirt you bought, and more than anything, a venue itself. They encapsulate a music concert into a perfect memory that you carry with you, aspects of which you probably don’t forget despite when the setlist hushes, or the occasion act starts becoming fuzzy in your memory.
In Atlanta, a well-known city for its robust music scene rooted in everything from punk to jazz to Southern rock and hip-hop, there is never a shortage of spots to catch a show. Indeed, not all venues are created equal, but whether you are looking for an elegant moonlit dinner, a show, or a tiny dive bar, the 8 Venues listed below are worth stopping by.
1. The Drunken Unicorn
Tucked inside MJQ Concourse at Ponce De Leon Ave., the music venue is underground and frequently hosts bands to match. The Drunken Unicorn is an intimate and fun venue that is super well-located with low cover charges; the place is always worth a visit.
Don’t expect to receive cell service; you could feasibly use the time away from your phone anyway and bring cash if you plan to buy drinks. Charmingly enough, the bar is in a separate room beneath MJQ and can be an excellent place to take a break if you’re serving for an individual band to take the stage.
2. 9:30 Club, Washington, D.C.
In existence since the early ’80s and at its current location for beyond 20 years. The music venue has long been identified as one of the country’s biggest indie rock venues. For ages, the D.C. music scene has turned around the venue, which struck a central role in the city’s 1980s as well as 1990s hardcore scene, entertaining shows from influential local bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi.
Today, 9:30 Club has a 1,200-capacity venue that plays host to a steady stream of leading touring acts, and over the years, has been host to a range of secret shows from bands such as Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Green Day.
User:Awiseman, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Some groups, like the Roots, Thievery Corporation, and Gwar, have played the venue above 20 times since its opening. In 2013, while industry insiders and Rolling Stone polled artists on the most desirable big-room clubs in the country, the 9:30 Club finished at Number One.
3. State Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
State Bank Amphitheatre is a bit of a drive from downtown but qualifies as an inside the perimeter venue. The venue is most commonly known as Chastain for the gregarious park that it’s located in. Opened in 1944, the venue has hosted everyone from Mary J. Blige to Gipsy Kings to Frank Sinatra throughout its history. Many of this Buckhead venue’s programs empower outside food & beverage for a full-picnic practice under the stars’ unique treat on summer nights.
4. Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles
The Hollywood Bowl is considered the country’s most famous bandshell. It has hosted concerts by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Elton John to Black Sabbath and Judy Garland. Opened in 1922 with the 17,500-person capacity venue, artists have to make history year after year: The Beatles played in 1965 & 1965, it published the live album, The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, practicing recordings they made; in 1968, the Doors do the same; Monty Python staged their full revue in 1982.
Grant Berg, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kanye West selected the venue as the perfect place to play the Heartbreak and 808s album in its whole in 2015; the Heartbreakers and Tom Petty played what would be the final shows together in 2017 before his death. “The Hollywood Bowl,” Ringo Starr said of the Beatles’ gigs there. “[It was an] exciting place to me. I fell in love with Hollywood, and I’m in love with Hollywood.”
5. El Club, Detroit
Detroit’s vibrant music scene in 2016 welcomed El Club to their streets. Since then, it has become a go-to spot for music lovers of any age to assemble safely and enjoy a broad range of music. Since its opening, it has sought to interject the city to artists who have not customarily been seen in the city, such as Chelsea Wolfe and Sunn, and hosting Detroit’s hip hop stars like Danny Brown.
The city was seldom skipped during U.S. tours when most artists frequently go from Chicago to Toronto; hence the music venue has bridged the gap, making Detroit a growing city for voyaging artists to be welcomed into. With features like a patio, lights, wood-oven pizza, and a state-of-the-art sound system, the music venue is new with the same old-school aesthetics while it has been valued for convenience that everyone can enjoy.
6. Gallery 992
Founded by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Kebbi Williams, Gallery 992 is a unique kind of place. Located in Atlanta’s historic West Side, it was a part of a broader project to promote art, performance education, and music as an uplifting community experience. Gallery 992 functions as a multi-purpose place, serving tea, drinks, coffee and often featuring cuisine from a local business. The music venue is undoubtedly a tiny but welcoming arena for exploration, expression and hosts the most fabulous Sunday night jazz jam in town.
7. Variety Playhouse
Atlanta’s Little Five Points district is recognized for its independent record stores, gritty bars, and funky vintage shops. It makes sense that the venue also homes to the best concert venue in town. Initially assembled in 1940 as a movie theater, Variety Playhouse has a comprehensive mix of standing and seating rooms on both the first and second-level balconies, plus a lowered pit area directly by the stage.
Krelnik, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Over the years, Variety Playhouse has hosted everyone from Gnarls Barkley to Tank to the Bangas and Phish. You can organize and sell the ticket of the music venue also on a digital platform like Spotify. Enter venue location to make it easier for users to direct. In 2016, the venue underwent renovations and came out more significant than ever with a lavish bar on every floor, plenty of draft beer options, and a food joint called DAS BBQ.
Since most of its general admission and shows, you can quickly move from space to space while holding the intimate feel of the venue. If you find any place as the best one to hang out, you can feel free to have a seat over there.
8. The Hole in the Wall
Cheap proximity to campus and drinks make The Hole in the Wall a favorite spot for scholars at the University of Texas. But it has little dive is not just for undergrads. If you assemble through one of the many sets The Hole organize by local artists on one of the couple intimate stages, a Shiner in hand, you can quickly find yourself catching Confused and Dazed vibes. The whole place gives off the vibes of what Austin once was before it was back and excellent when it was peculiar.
There are Many More to Catch!
If you’re a live music lover, you will never like to miss out on visiting top music venues in America. The above list is minimal; there are thousands of live concert venues, including:
- Merriweather Post Pavilion;
- The Greek Theatre;
- Madison Square Garden;
- Ryman Auditorium;
- Grand Ole Opry;
- Gorge Amphitheatre;
- Tabernacle;
- Radio City Music Hall;
- Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
If you’re a live music fan, you owe it to one of the concert venues. And with locations in the Midwest, South, East Coast, and West, you’re sure to get yourself near one of our best picks for the most incredible concert venues. So hurry up, don’t wait, take a tour to eventbrite clone to check every detail of events and shows organized in the city. You can even look at the website to check upcoming shows, book tickets, find your favorite artist, etc. You’re sure to have a magnificent experience at the unique concert venues.
Author Bio
Gaurav Kanabar, founder of Alphanso Tech. He has specialized in blog writing, article writing, and copyright on different topics like the latest music industry trends, Netflix app development benefits, marketing tips, and many more. Besides that, Gaurav loves spending time with nature, reading novels, and playing snooker.