The 30 best live music and comedy venues in NYC

12 of the 30

Greenwich Village 2

1. B

   Blue Note

   Greenwich VillageJazz club$$$

   Danny Bensusan's West 3rd Street club, open since 1981 and the flagship of Blue Notes from Tokyo to Milan. Two sets a night, plus late shows and a Sunday brunch.

   Map
2. C

   Comedy Cellar

   Greenwich VillageStand-up club$$

   The MacDougal Street basement Bill Grundfest opened in the early 1980s: five to seven comics a show, ten to fifteen minutes each, and the Olive Tree Cafe upstairs.

   Map

West Village 2

1. V

   Village Vanguard

   West Village$$$

   Max Gordon opened this wedge-shaped basement on Seventh Avenue South in 1935; Coltrane, Bill Evans and Sonny Rollins all cut live albums here.

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2. S

   Smalls Jazz Club

   West Village$$

   Mitch Borden's 1994 basement on West 10th Street, now run by pianist Spike Wilner: several sets a night into the small hours, every one recorded for its streaming archive.

   Map

Williamsburg 2

1. M

   Music Hall of Williamsburg

   WilliamsburgRock club$$

   Opened in 2001 as Northsix and renamed in 2007: a 650-capacity North 6th Street room with a balcony, run by the Bowery Presents team.

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2. B

   Brooklyn Bowl

   WilliamsburgMusic venue & bowling

   Sixteen bowling lanes and a stage inside the landmark Hecla Iron Works building, opened in 2009, with Blue Ribbon running the kitchen. The original of a small chain.

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East Williamsburg 1

1. B

   Brooklyn Steel

   East Williamsburg

   An old steel plant on Frost Street rebuilt as an 1,800-capacity hall with a balcony and three bars; LCD Soundsystem opened it with five nights in April 2017.

   Map

Harlem 1

1. A

   Apollo Theater

   Harlem

   The 1914 theater on 125th is closed for its first full restoration until late 2026, so the Apollo is booking shows meanwhile at its new stages in the Victoria, a few doors east.

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Lower East Side 1

1. B

   Bowery Ballroom

   Lower East Side$$

   A 1929 storefront on Delancey turned into a 575-capacity club in 1998 by the team behind Mercury Lounge. Great sightlines, with a basement bar for between sets.

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Midtown 1

1. C

   Carnegie Hall

   Midtown

   Andrew Carnegie's 1891 hall at 57th and Seventh, with three stages under one roof: Stern Auditorium for orchestras, plus Zankel and Weill halls for recitals and chamber music.

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Theater District 1

1. B

   Birdland Jazz Club

   Theater District$$$

   Named for Charlie "Yardbird" Parker when it opened on Broadway in 1949, and on West 44th Street since 1996, a block from the theaters. Dinner and two sets nightly.

   Map

Upper West Side 1

1. B

   Beacon Theatre

   Upper West Side

   A 1929 Broadway movie palace with 2,894 seats under a gilded ceiling; the Allman Brothers played 238 shows here. Now an MSG house for rock, comedy and talks.

   Map

The other 18

The 30 are spread across 23 neighborhoods. Williamsburg (4), Greenwich Village (3), Lower East Side (2) and West Village (2) have the most; Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, Chelsea, Columbus Circle, East Village, East Williamsburg, Flatbush, Gowanus, Greenpoint, Harlem, Hudson Square, Maspeth, Midtown, NoHo, Park Slope, Ridgewood, St. George, Theater District and Upper West Side have one each.

For who's playing this month, see concerts in New York.

All 30, on your own map

This page is 12 of them. The NYC Live Music & Comedy pack in Whosly has all 30 — add it and every one drops onto your map, ready to save, rate and turn into a plan your friends RSVP to from a text, no app needed to answer. The pack is included with Planner Pro.

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