depends on literally more factors than I can count. who you are, what your goals are, and how many people care if you are in their city are the top of the list.
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Best City For Gigging?
- Thread starter lefty
- Start date
If you want to play in a bar band, central Connecticut has dozens of venues ranging from the tiny (Main St. Grille in Broad Brook CT) to the cavernous (Elicit Brewing in Manchester CT). When I was in one, I like to think we were in the upper quartile of the the bar band trade, which I'd consider the lowest sector of the live music business. We had so many gigs I ended up quitting because the band calendar had taken over my life. (Not that I actually had one anyway
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The Tampa/St Pete area.
Orlando doesn't have much and Miami is all DJ's now.
Used to be better before COVID, but that applies everywhere.
Orlando doesn't have much and Miami is all DJ's now.
Used to be better before COVID, but that applies everywhere.
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My experience in Austin has been that a very small number of booking agents control all of the good stages, notably BBA Talent (Mike Mordecai) and Paradigm. There’s an amount of relationship building and dues paying that goes into accessing them, which may be true in any big scene. I was playing Mike Mordecai gigs way back in 1989 and he is still doing it.
It would be nearly impossible to book consistently in Austin by dealing directly with bar managers. At least in the case of the good stages in the city.
Cool to see Montreal on this list! What stands out to you about Montreal that makes it good for gigging?
Hampton Roads, Virginia. There are a ton of bands and venues to play at. The new Casino has been a great source for bands to play.
In the 40s, 50s, and 60s, Bakersfield was a premier gigging city in California.
Dozens on dozens of live music venues. Nightclubs, bars, dance halls and ballrooms.
People would drive up here from LA just to have dinner and see a show.
By the 70s, when I started, it was about half that of the glory days, but still alot of gigs around. Today? ..... Not even a shadow of its past.
In the 80s and 90s, if we wanted to gig regularly, it meant driving down to LA, or over to the coast. Alot of the older full time guys took off for Vegas.
2 cities I seen quite alot of gig action in was Kansas City and Memphis.
College towns are usually a good bet too.
Dozens on dozens of live music venues. Nightclubs, bars, dance halls and ballrooms.
People would drive up here from LA just to have dinner and see a show.
By the 70s, when I started, it was about half that of the glory days, but still alot of gigs around. Today? ..... Not even a shadow of its past.
In the 80s and 90s, if we wanted to gig regularly, it meant driving down to LA, or over to the coast. Alot of the older full time guys took off for Vegas.
2 cities I seen quite alot of gig action in was Kansas City and Memphis.
College towns are usually a good bet too.
The places where my old band always played shows to packed houses and all were upstate NY. And not just a specific city. While, yeah, we grew a Syracuse following through playing various camping festivals, I remember playing this one show out in Ithaca (which is about 60 miles away from Syracuse; not a short distance) and the whole Syracuse crowd was there along with all the local Ithaca music fans, and other music fans from various other places 1-2 hours away. We even had fans from Williamsport, PA (where we played camping festivals) out at that Ithaca venue to see us!
Because there isn't much happening out there, whenever a bunch of bands are playing a place, people from all over converge from miles around! The Ithaca venue was one of the biggest bars I'd ever walked through, and it was packed with people rocking out hard to all the bands.
Whenever we played big cities like Philly or NYC, crowds were tiny because there's so much to do and so much competition. But when we played in upstate NY or "middle of nowhere" places, they would be PACKED! Because we were bringing a wild rock show to an under served area. That's how bands like Five Finger Death Punch built their following. By bringing the music to the people who couldn't quite get to a major city hub. And if you're a touring band, those crowds are so appreciative that you came all the way to play for them.
So I say, the best places to gig are those off the beaten path. That aren't the major cities.
Because there isn't much happening out there, whenever a bunch of bands are playing a place, people from all over converge from miles around! The Ithaca venue was one of the biggest bars I'd ever walked through, and it was packed with people rocking out hard to all the bands.
Whenever we played big cities like Philly or NYC, crowds were tiny because there's so much to do and so much competition. But when we played in upstate NY or "middle of nowhere" places, they would be PACKED! Because we were bringing a wild rock show to an under served area. That's how bands like Five Finger Death Punch built their following. By bringing the music to the people who couldn't quite get to a major city hub. And if you're a touring band, those crowds are so appreciative that you came all the way to play for them.
So I say, the best places to gig are those off the beaten path. That aren't the major cities.
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In the US? NYC, LA, Nashville, Austin, New Orleans, Vegas. I think it is probably in that order. Number of sessions, gigs, pay, freedom of music.
The session industry financially is a pale imitation of itself, but NYC, LA and Nashville still have some recording scene to support artists. The rest have live music in quantity almost every night.
NYC's music scene has been beaten down by session industry decline (especially advertising), and the gig pay is not what it was... but it's still got tons of paying gigs. Some of the best musicians are still there. And a fantastic art scene in general.
However the competition is insane. LA, Nashville kind of the same story- just with less people per square mile.
Austin, NO and Vegas are entertainment gig based.
However all of those listed have deep competition, so I could see somebody doing better if they are top of the heap in some other city vs scrapping in say NYC.
The session industry financially is a pale imitation of itself, but NYC, LA and Nashville still have some recording scene to support artists. The rest have live music in quantity almost every night.
NYC's music scene has been beaten down by session industry decline (especially advertising), and the gig pay is not what it was... but it's still got tons of paying gigs. Some of the best musicians are still there. And a fantastic art scene in general.
However the competition is insane. LA, Nashville kind of the same story- just with less people per square mile.
Austin, NO and Vegas are entertainment gig based.
However all of those listed have deep competition, so I could see somebody doing better if they are top of the heap in some other city vs scrapping in say NYC.
So Anyway, thanks for the pay insight. Seeing a hot-shot band tearing it up with a tip jar and no cover always made me wonder how it worked.
Lots of music in Nashville performed by some very talented musicians. We just recently started going to Dot's and some of the other joints away from downtown and Lower Broadway.
You just gotta poke around. Gruen Hall, Little Longhorn saloon, Punk dives like Kick Butt coffee, Skylark lounge, Continental club. I dunno, I don't like live music much, so I don't really care.
I feel ya though.
If I had a dollar for every posting, for a Nirvana tribute band or some hair-metal crap, I'd be rich.
Probably not “the best” but we do alright in the Bay Area of California. Plenty of venues for all levels of talent. A decent band can stay as busy as they want. Pay isn’t fantastic but average at least. Accessibility and load ins are good, crowds are good, and the kicker? Nice weather year round. No snow, no freezing cold or high heat, no humidity. I know a few people actually making a modest living, playing 15+ shows a month. I’ve considered retiring out of the area because of the crazy cost of living, but weather and music scenes are big factors for me.
