America's 40 Best Music Venues

NORTHEAST (continued):

Allen Room at Lincoln Center - New York
Best place to wonder what the unwashed masses are doing tonight: Sometimes nothing’s better than a hole-in-the-wall club with a band playing raw, raucous rock ’n’ roll through crappy half-blown-out speakers. Then you go to Lincoln Center and that whole idea suddenly seems silly. Intimate and gorgeous with pristine sound and an amazing view of Central Park, it’s a stellar place to catch acts like Neko Case and Calexico.
Introducing the Upper East Side to: Whatever artist just got played on NPR.
70 Lincoln Center Plaza, LincolnCenter.org

Bowery Ballroom - New York
Best place to blow your bi-weekly paycheck… in less than a week: The quality of the booking is so good that it’s almost impossible not to head down to the Bowery three times a week. Inch for inch, the most comfortable venue in the city, it’s never bone-crushingly cramped (even when sold-out), plus it has great sightlines and superb sound.
Playing this month: Keren Ann (6/4), Akron/Family (6/12), Panda Bear (6/18)
6 Delancey St., BoweryBallroom.com

Club Passim - Cambridge, Mass.
Best place to see the next “next Bob Dylan”: Though he never headlined, Bob Dylan used to perform between sets just so he could say he played at Club 47, as this epicenter of the folk movement was known from its founding in 1958 until 1968. Every decade since then, a new round of talented, acoustic-wielding Passim regulars keeps the folk-troubadour tradition alive.
Introduced the world to: Joan Baez, Nanci Griffith, Shawn Colvin, Josh Ritter, Erin McKeown
47 Palmer St., ClubPassim.org

Iron Horse Music Hall - Northampton, Mass.
Best place to catch beloved songwriters in an off-the-beaten-path setting: Since its 1979 opening in this western Massachusetts college town, the Iron Horse has been a musical must-visit for folk-based artists and their fans. Arrive early to snag a table and enjoy dinner with the show. Playing this month: Ari Hest (6/2), The Duhks (6/22)
20 Center Street, IHEG.com

The Living Room - New York
Best place to catch up with Norah Jones’ best friends: The latest incarnation of this club has great lighting and a perfectly constructed stage, high enough to create a workspace, just low enough for artist/audience unity. And the audiences are ideal: quiet during subtle material, generous and rowdy after raunchy rave-ups. It’s the heart of the Lower East Side club scene its artists pioneered.
Introduced the world to: Norah Jones, Richard Julian, Jim Campilongo Trio
154 Ludlow St., LivingRoomNY.com

Maxwell’s - Hoboken, N.J.
Best place to cozy up to your favorite band (and we mean cozy): You know that a place has to be great to make New Yorkers venture across the river into Jersey. So it is with Maxwell’s, a small club that defines the word intimate. From its casual bar/restaurant up front to the small concert space in back, this is the ultimate neighborhood spot.
Introduced the world to: Yo La Tengo’s Hanukkah shows
1039 Washington St., MaxwellsNJ.com

Space - Portland, Maine
Best place to stretch your mind before catching a show: A self-proclaimed “alternative arts venue,” Space has hosted events as diverse as last fall’s Human Rights Watch Traveling film Festival and the recent Air Guitar Nation film screening and competition. And that’s in addition to its musical offerings, which range from indie pop to old-time Americana to DJ-spun dance sets.
538 Congress Street, Space538.org

World Café Live - Philadelphia, Penn.
Best place to discover artists you won’t hear on hot hits 105.9 FM: With a calendar regularly featuring your favorite indie bands, singer/songwriters and hip-hop artists alongside traditional performers from all over the globe—and with two separate restaurants featuring excellent munchies to go with the tunes you’re hearing—the name really does say it all.
Introducing the world to: David Dye’s iTunes library
3025 Walnut Street, WorldCafeLive.com

SOUTHEAST:

40 Watt Club - Athens, Ga.
Best place to host the low-lit indie-rock prom you wished you’d had: Legendary for its sweat-soaked late-night shows, the 40 Watt has been the innovative and unconventional Athens music scene’s Ground Zero for the last three decades. Recently, the club held two epic “prom” nights, with My Morning Jacket as the white-suited, faux-pompadoured house band.
Introduced the world to: R.E.M., Vic Chesnutt, Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Drive-By Truckers, Of Montreal
285 W. Washington St., 40Watt.com

The Basement - Nashville, Tenn.
Best place to conveniently purchase some awesome music before the show: Located beneath Grimey’s, one of the nation’s finest record stores, The Basement proudly lives up to its tagline, “a cellar full of noise.” Plus, the venue proudly serves up a rotating tap of the Nashville craft brew Yazoo.
Playing this month: Luke Doucet (6/2), Jon Langford (6/8)
1604 8th Avenue S, TheBasementNashville.com