Sign Up Login
Icon

LOOKING FOR THE

Best Live Music Bar in New York City - Lower Manhattan

Best days for Best Live Music Bar in New York City - Lower Manhattan

Map My Location
Bowery Ballroom
6 Delancey St New York, NY 10002
212-533-2111
Even though it's just been around a little over a decade, it's already a New York classic. Solid up-and-coming indie bands travel through on a nightly basis. This Lower East Side favorite doesn't have a bad seat in the house and the acoustics are incredible. There are plenty of little spots to hang while you're waiting for your band to go on. The only knock on the place are the tubesteaks who work the door.
Rockwood Music Hall
184 Allen St # 198 New York, NY 10002
(212) 477-4155
Pretty mellow, but cool with a singer-songwriter vibe going on. Never has a cover charge which is a breath of fresh air in this town. The warm and friendly atmosphere is accompanied by a tremendous sound system. You're not gonna see a lot of mosh-pits here, but there are plenty places for that. It's an ideal place to scope out raw talent, unencumbered. If you're into music more than a scene this is a nice place to spend an evening.
Smalls Jazz Club
183 West 10th St bet. 7th ave South and W4th st. New York, NY 10014
(212) 252-5091
Once you get over the shame and humiliation of paying $20 at the door and using your one "drink chip," Small's treats you right. Some of the best names in jazz come through and the place is firmly centered around the music. If you like jazz, it's a cool place to sit back and take it all in. Your night will be as chill and unpredictable as the music.
Annex
152 Orchard St New York, NY 10002
212-673-3410
Bands are hit or miss, but the scene makes a bad band or DJ down right enjoyable. It pulls a diverse crowd, but is mainly dominated by disaffected hipsters, but it wouldn't be the same scene if it didn't. If you catch it on the right night, with the right amount of elements coursing through your body, it can be an awe-inspiring time. Check your brain at the door, let loose and forget all your troubles. If only for a night.
Pianos
158 Ludlow St New York, NY 10002
(212) 505-3733
Don't judge this club by it's name. You're not gonna find two guys with mullets and cheesy tuxedos deuling pianos. No, everything is setup for you to rock out into the wee hours. It's sort of a hybrid bar-club-music venue-restaurant, in that order. The food is passable pub grub if you find yourself needing to refuel to keep the party going. It's a good place to drink through your inhibitions and let the night take you where it so chooses.
Blue Note
131 W 3rd St New York, NY 10012
212-475-8592
You don't come here for the comfort of your own living room. You'll likely be sitting on someone's lap, but they get the best jazz musicians on the planet to make sweet love to your eardrums, so it's well worth a bit of discomfort. Sure, sometimes it takes a little while for the server to come around, but you'll forget the downsides as you become entranced by the level of talent. To avoid the typical pitfalls, hit the later shows. You can sleep at work.
Change Location