The music you love is playing somewhere extraordinary, right now. Here's where to go, what to book, and which venues will change how you hear it.
The World's Greatest Venues
The Spaces That Change How Music Sounds
01
See a Show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado
The greatest outdoor concert venue on earth. 9,000 seats carved into red sandstone, 45 minutes from Denver, altitude 6,450 feet. Every show is sold out; check StubHub or AXS 6 months out. The acoustics exist nowhere else. Buy Red Rocks tickets →
02
Hear Opera at the Arena di Verona — Ancient Roman Amphitheatre
An outdoor Roman amphitheatre from 30 AD, seating 15,000 for opera performances every summer. Aida, Turandot, Nabucco — performed under the stars in a 2,000-year-old space. Tickets from €25 to €250. The candles at opening are unforgettable. Book Arena di Verona tickets →
03
Hear the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein — New Year's Concert
The most famous classical concert in the world, broadcast live to 90 countries. Tickets are allocated by annual ballot (apply by November 30). If you don't win, the New Year's Eve concert the night before often has availability through the box office. Book Vienna concert tickets →
04
Hear the LA Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall
Frank Gehry's titanium masterpiece in downtown Los Angeles is the most acoustically perfect concert hall in the United States. The Tuesday night performances with Gustavo Dudamel are the ones to see. Student rush tickets ($25) go on sale day-of. Book LA Phil tickets →
05
See a Jazz Night at the Village Vanguard, New York City
166 seats underground on 7th Avenue South. Open since 1935. Every major jazz musician of the last 90 years has played this room. Monday nights are the Village Vanguard Orchestra. $35 cover, cash only, arrive 30 minutes early. Explore NYC jazz experiences →
06
Attend the Montreux Jazz Festival on Lake Geneva
Two weeks in July on the shores of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. 300 concerts across multiple venues, some free, some ticketed. The covered outdoor stages with the lake and Alps behind the performers is one of the world's great music settings. Book Montreux Jazz experience →
Festivals Worth Planning Around
Put Them in the Calendar Now
07
Glastonbury Festival — the Pyramid Stage Headliner at Midnight
Somerset, England, last weekend of June. Tickets (£340) sell in October for the following June — lottery system, sells out in 4 minutes. The Pyramid Stage at midnight, the mud, the 100+ stages, the Sunday morning gospel tent at 10am — nothing else like it. Book UK festival travel →
08
See Coachella — Weekend 2, Not Weekend 1
Weekend 2 is Friday–Sunday in mid-April in Indio, California. The same acts, fewer influencers, slightly more relaxed energy. Tickets through the AEG presale in June for the following April. General Admission $600; camping additional. Plan your Coachella trip →
09
Attend the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Late April to early May on the Fair Grounds Race Course. Local cuisine alongside two weeks of jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, and everything that comes from New Orleans. Day passes from $85. The Acura Stage at sunset is the best music in America. Book Jazz Fest New Orleans →
10
Experience Primavera Sound in Barcelona or Porto
Primavera Sound runs consecutive weekends in Barcelona (June) and Porto (June). The Barcelona edition on the Parc del Fòrum with the Mediterranean behind the stages is one of the most visually spectacular festival settings on earth. Tickets from €200. Book Barcelona festival trip →
The concerts you regret are never the ones you went to. They're the ones you almost bought tickets for, the tours you assumed would come back, the venue you kept meaning to visit. The music is happening right now. So are you.
Once-in-a-Lifetime Music Moments
The Ones That Become Stories
Do It Now
11
See Your Favorite Band's Final Tour
Every tour could be the last. The bands that defined your 20s are announcing farewell tours right now. Stop assuming there will be another opportunity. Check their tour dates this week and buy the best seats you can afford for the nearest city. Find concert experiences →
12
Front Row — at Any Major Concert, Once
Save the money. Wait for the right artist. Use TodayTix, Ticketmaster Platinum, or StubHub 72 hours before the show (prices often drop). Front row at a stadium show — the artist looking directly at the section where you're standing — is a different experience than row 40. Find front row tickets →
13
Go to Carnegie Hall — for a Recital, Not the Orchestra
The solo recital series at Carnegie Hall (Weill Recital Hall, 268 seats) is where young pianists and violinists make their Carnegie debut. Tickets from $25. The intimacy of a 268-seat Carnegie Hall is more powerful than the main stage. Book Carnegie Hall tour →
14
Hear Flamenco in a Tablao in Seville — Real Flamenco, Not Tourist Flamenco
Tablao El Arenal or La Casa del Flamenco in Seville's Barrio de Santa Cruz. A small room, 40 people, a single dancer and guitarist. The difference between this and a tourist show is the difference between a conversation and a press release. Book Seville flamenco →
15
See the Sydney Symphony at the Opera House — on the Harbour
The Concert Hall inside the Sydney Opera House has 2,679 seats. The acoustic design has been refined since the 1970s renovation. Post-show, walk along the harbour. The building looks different at night from inside the building than from the Circular Quay ferry. Book Sydney Opera House →
16
Experience a Classical Music Festival in a European Castle or Cathedral
The Salzburg Festival (July–August) uses the Felsenreitschule — an outdoor stage carved into a mountain. The Aix-en-Provence Festival stages opera in the Archbishop's Palace courtyard. The Edinburgh International Festival does chamber music in a 15th-century church. Book Salzburg Festival tickets →
Deeper Into the Music
For the True Believer
17
Follow a Band on Tour for 3 Consecutive Shows
The setlist changes. The band relaxes. You start recognizing the crew. Three shows in three cities in one week — driving between them if they're close enough — transforms the concert experience from event to relationship.
18
Record a Song in a Real Recording Studio — One Day
Many recording studios rent by the hour or day for non-professional artists. Sun Studio in Memphis (where Elvis and Johnny Cash recorded) does one-day sessions for $350/hour. Bringing a song into an acoustic space is a completely different experience from a home recording. Book Sun Studio tour →
19
Learn One Song on Piano, Guitar, or Ukulele — Well Enough to Play It for Someone
Not lessons. One song. Completely. By heart. Played in front of someone you love. The standard is that they recognize what song you're playing. Fender Play, Yousician, or a single local teacher. Six weeks of daily 20-minute practice. Find beginner music lessons →
20
Attend a Gospel Service at a Black Church in the American South
Greater St. Stephen Missionary Baptist Church in New Orleans, First Baptist Church of Atlanta, or any church with an open-invitation Sunday service in the South. Visitors are genuinely welcome. The music is unlike anything in a concert hall. Book New Orleans gospel tour →
21
Hear Blues Music in a Roadhouse on the Mississippi Delta — Friday Night
Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi (co-owned by Morgan Freeman). The Po' Monkey's tradition lives on at various Clarksdale venues. Friday night, $10 cover, a room full of people for whom this music is devotional. Book Mississippi Delta blues tour →
22
See a Movie at the Hollywood Bowl — with the LA Philharmonic Playing the Score Live
The Hollywood Bowl hosts several film-with-live-orchestra events each summer: Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Jurassic Park. 17,500 seats, bring your own food and wine, the Santa Monica Mountains behind the stage. Tickets from $25. Book Hollywood Bowl tickets →
