New York City Travel Forum

Hi

We've got three nights in NYC at the end of June and would like ome live music in the evening - anything that includes drums!

Are there any venues within walking distance of Times Square?

Thanks!

Mike

I wouldn't worry about 'walking distance' within times square, bc then you are extremely limiting yourself. You can take a cab or subway back to your hotel in TS. But..probably, BB King....I know that Bar Nine on 9th Avenue and 54th Street has live acts, just call ahead. Otherwise, most acts are downtown below 23rd Street.

What type of music? Rock, jazz, rap, blues, country?

Hi Mikelisaanna

Firstly, many thanks for the advice you've given me on various locations; I'm grateful to you and will visit you travel pages too.

We have a broad taste in music, so certainly Jazz, Rock, Country: probably not Classical, Opera or Rap [although I think there's good stuff in every genre!]

Best regards

Mike

There is live music every night in NYC. The best way to find out who is playing where is to buy Time Out New York magazine, which has excellent detailed music listings. They show you who is playing where each night, including addresses and phone numbers for the bars/clubs/venues. The listings are grouped by night and by category of music (rock/jazz/folk/country/etc.). THey also have a website that you can look at before you arrive to NYC, so that you can do some advanced planning. It is updated every week around midweek. We had friends in town last weekend and used Time Out New York to find a great jazz quartet that we went to see (our friend was a huge jazz fan).

The biggest concentration of bars and clubs with music is in and around the Greenwich Village area, which is about 2 miles south of Times Square. However, there is music all over Manhattan, including some free summer concerts on certain nights.

There are literally dozens of places with rock bands every night. Depending on which type of band you like and how much you want to spend, there is a wide variety of music to experience.

For jazz, one place that I like is Smalls, which is a tiny basement club that has up-and-coming local jazz groups every night. It has a bar, but only holds about 50 people, so it is like being at a private concert in your basement. Cover charge is about $20 and the people are friendly. The Blue Note, Village Vanguard, Iridium, and Birdland are the more established jazz venues, and are generally more expensive, but usually have good music.

For country, there are very few choices in NY. One place that we have been to a few times is the Rodeo Bar on 3rd Avenue in the 20s.

Time Out New York magazine definitely

If you like Jazz check out this site:

http://www.hothousejazz.com/index.html

Delta Grill
700 9th ave 48th St blues, cajun, bluegrass, classic rock

Iridium Room
1650 Bwy 51st St jazz

Whistlin Dixie Texas Tavern
714 West 11th Ave 51st St rock

Def. check out Iridium

and Birdland just down the street from Times Sq. proper~

www.jazzgallery.org