Best places to see live music in Nashville | Nashville Events and Things to Do
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One of my favorite places to see live music is Mercy Lounge, who consistently has good acts playing. Specifically, their Eight off Eight series is a great opportunity to see free live music.
If you are in the 2nd Avenue and Broadway area of the music city you may want to check out The Big Bang or The Stage across the street. Both traditionally play a strong mix of classic cover songs and both are also free music venues. If you suddenly get bored of one, you can check out the other. There are also several smaller venues that play a variety of country music, rock-a-billy, and bluegrass. In the area, the most classic and world renouned is probably Tootsies. For the younger 20-30 something crowd, Paradise Park offers country and classic rock and roll hits served up with the occassional southern twang. Its hard to go wrong with these four classic venues to close and with so many more within a brisk 2 minute walk.
If you’re looking for a more rock or alternative rock filled evening, both 3rd and Lindsley and 12th and Porter have a pretty good lineup of local, regional, and national acts to check out.
Just down the road from 12th and Porter in the Gulch is Sambuca, which has live jazz available. I believe thats nightly and the schedule is easily accessible on their website. If you want to opt for more bluegrass or country music in the Gulch, the Station Inn is perfect. The sunday night writers in the round is both free and a good time.
Finally, the Five Spot in East Nashville has a nice array of local and regional acts along with a unique character that flavors the experience.
Best Online Music Resources for Nashville
Generally the best place to find out info about upcoming acts is via the Nashville Scene , the Tennessean’s entertainment section, or Metromix (formerly known as the Nashville Rage) (and if you’ve never heard of a particular act, you can go get a preview on MySpace, Pandora, or Slacker.)
For more reviews of these venues feel free to check out the community and commentary at Yelp.
Happy listening!
(image credit: Thomas Hawk)
i haven’t been to a show in this town since april. bleh.
I hear ya. Its probably been almost a month for me, which is odd because there have been times when I would see 2 to 3 a week.
Hey, I was curious if you had any suggestions on places in Nashville are to hear great live Christian music performances (other than church on Sunday morning) on a regular basis. I know maybe Rockettown but I think that’s for teens. thanks.
Kevin,
I can’t think of any venues that consistently have Christian acts.
I’ve seen Christian music at the coffee shop near wedgewood–but certainly that doesn’t mean everything is. I’m curious if the cafe across from Starbucks in Franklin plays Christian.
I think its also a matter of searching out the 3rd and Lindsleys, 12th and Porters, and other venues
I think you point to a significant “problem” and void in the market.
Any readers have any suggestions???
Nathan
Hey, Nathan,
Thanks; yeah, it would seem for all the music and churches in the Nashville metro market there’d be a regular venue for Christian bands/songwriters. Hmm.