The Best Cities for Live Music in the U.S.

We built this city on rock ’n’ roll! In homage to music lovers across America, the team at Shane Co. ranked over 50 cities in the country based on their local music scenes to determine which ones had the best conditions for concert fans and festival-goers alike. We looked at many factors, including the number of music venues, smaller shows, weather factors, and taxi costs to create this best-of list. Read on to find out if your city will have you singing or if you’ll have to travel to hear some decent tunes.

Key Findings

Out of all cities nationwide, the Big Apple dominates as the best place to be for live music, as New York City has the most music venues and bars with live music. From CBGB to Madison Square Garden, the Empire State is also home to some of the most renowned concert venues in the world. If you have to choose only one city to visit that’s rich in musical history, look no further than New York.

Chicago and Philly came up just behind NYC for the title of music capital of the U.S. Chicago had the second highest number of bars with live music, and Philadelphia tied with New Haven, Connecticut, for the highest number of smaller shows in the country. Philly is home to many great local acts and cover bands, like The B-Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen cover band whose name is a play on Springsteen’s backup group, The E Street Band.

Another Northern state known for its thriving music scene is none other than Connecticut. Bridgeport and New Haven made it onto our top 10 list of best cities for local live music due to the number of smaller shows and relative affordability compared to other places. Both cities have nearly 3,000 small shows per capita, officially making Connecticut the small-show capital of the U.S. For those of you who want to see the next big thing “before they were cool,” consider taking a road trip to Connecticut.

The worst overall city for live music in the U.S. was Jackson, Mississippi. Unfortunately for Mississippi music lovers, there isn’t much to see in Jackson. The state capital only has a total of six major concert venues and just over 200 bars with live music. Additionally, Jackson has a higher chance of rain on any given day, making it less than ideal for outdoor music and other events.

The 20 Best U.S. Cities for Local Live Music

As we compiled our list of best cities for live music in America, we looked at everything from the number of venues and bars that feature live music to the cost of a beer and taxi. For music lovers who prefer to enjoy their live performances outdoors, we even took a look at the weather for you. Here’s a closer look at some of the top 20 cities for local live music across the nation.

While New Yorkers and other Northerners get to have most of the fun, it wouldn’t be fair to leave out our friends on the West Coast. Sunny Los Angeles, California, came in at number five on our list because of its high number of music venues and incredible weather. The City of Angels and its surrounding area are home to many sprawling festivals like Coachella, Stagecoach, and Lightning in a Bottle, probably because it tied with Colorado Springs, Colorado, for least likely to rain.

Any music-related list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta has birthed some of the biggest names in rap, hip-hop, soul, and R&B. The city has also been a popular destination for rock and blues fans since the ’60s. Our beloved ATL receives an honorable mention on this list for being the premier city to visit for Southern music fans, boasting a whopping 62 music venues and over 1,500 bars with live music to enjoy.

Miami, Florida, and Portland, Oregon, tied for 10th place on our list, and you can’t go wrong with either. Miami is home to over 1,000 bars with live music and over 100 breweries to choose from. Portlanders have access to over 200 shows to choose from on any given week and the second highest number of breweries in the country, just behind Chicago.

Closing Thoughts

Whether you’re looking ahead to the next round of big festivals or looking for more intimate shows for your next date night, there’s always a venue around the corner — depending on where you are. If you’re up north, chances are you’ve been to a rowdy concert or two in your day, while folks in the flyover states may have some traveling to do for their audio adventures. Now that you know where these cities stand for local live music, you can plan a trip accordingly.

Concerts make for the perfect date night, and festivals are quickly becoming a must-do for bachelor(ette) parties. Check out Shane Co.’s selection of fine jewelry for pieces that will help you stand out in any concert crowd!

Methodology

We assigned cities with a score of 0 to 5 for each factor, with a score of 5 representing the most favorable conditions. We determined each city’s total score from the total of its individual factor scores, which were weighted according to their impact on the local live music experience. Individual factor scores were then added together to give each city a final score from 0 to 50. Higher scores indicated cities are better for concert goers and lovers of local music. Read on to see what we found.