10 Best Places to See Live Music in Minneapolis

First Avenue is a dream club for music lovers, offering 2 performance spaces that host more than 550 concerts every year and boast a total seating capacity of 1,800. The calendar is constantly packed with performances showcasing some of the hottest up-and-coming local acts as well as the occasional stealth performance by an international superstar. It's also known for its Star Wall, which features stars with the names of celebrated musicians who have performed here at some point during their career. You can find such famous celebrities on the wall as Prince.

Best of all, you don't have to go far to catch a show here. It's located right in the heart of city centre.

The Fillmore is a massive music venue offering more than 36,000 square feet of performance and seating space and featuring nationally touring bands, speakers, and other acts. This venue is among the newest in Minneapolis, but it has already become a destination for music lovers in this area and has featured artists like Yungblud, Elle King, Killswitch Engage, Steel Panther, and Chelsea Cutler.

The venue is right in the heart of city centre and offers a 1,500-seat music hall with an intimate VIP lounge and cutting-edge technology for state-of-the-art lighting, sound, visuals, and production values. It also offers full-service dining with a complete menu.

The Armoury is a historic city centre venue that hosts everything from sporting events to comedians and touring music acts from all over the world. If you're looking for a venue that's renowned for more reasons than one, The Armoury was the venue used to film iconic videos from Aerosmith ("I Don't Want to Miss a Thing") and Prince ("1999"). It's just a stone's throw from US Bank Stadium and offers fantastic sound, great lighting, and a truly classic party vibe that only the best rock clubs are able to showcase.

The Armoury was constructed in the 1930s and was the most expensive building in the state at the time. It's an unmatched, classic venue.

7th St Entry is a local music club that has been a famous stepping stone for the hottest young talent on its way to becoming something huge. Once a restaurant in a former Greyhound bus station, this club has seen a wide range of diverse young musicians like Eminem, U2, and Soul Asylum in their pre-stadium days. Local artists play here just about every night of the week, and the club also hosts national bands looking to either play a famed spot or revisit the heady days of their early careers.

This club is a part of the heart and soul of the city's music scene. It's in the centre of town.

The Varsity Theatre in Dinkytown is a major venue for local acts that also showcases national performers on a regular basis and is a landmark of the local music scene. It's just steps away from the campus of the University of Minnesota, just 7 minutes east of city centre, and recently underwent a million-dollar renovation.

Just a few of the diverse acts that have seen the stage here include The Darkness, Sepultura, Todrick Hall, and Trevor Wallace, among others. It's situated in a former cinema dating to 1915, making it historic in more ways than one, and the surrounding area offers a wealth of shops, restaurants, and cafés.

Xcel Energy Centre, locally referred to as "the X", is a multipurpose entertainment venue and arena that features speakers, concerts, and events, and is home to the NHL's Minnesota Wild. It's located in the heart of city centre St. Paul and was built in 2000 to house the city's new hockey franchise.

It's an award-winning arena that has been named as among the best stadium experiences across North America and among the best overall sports venues. Throughout the years, it has seen a wide range of artists including the Dixie Chicks, Barenaked Ladies, the Doobie Brothers, Sarah Brightman, The Eagles, No Doubt, Mudvayne, Snoop Dogg, Metallica, and many others.

The Cedar Cultural Centre in Minneapolis's Cedar-Riverside area is a nonprofit music venue dedicated to showcasing global world music and dance, and raising awareness of other cultures. The venue is small but offers outstanding sound and production, a welcoming atmosphere, and plenty of comfort. Regardless of what kind of music you enjoy, you're sure to find a band or artist playing here who represents it. The venue also hosts art festivals, performance art, guest speakers, and other acts.

While it is famed for hosting up-and-coming and unique local acts, the venue also showcases national touring names, so long as they fit with its mission of cultural awareness. It's right in the heart of city centre.

The Minnesota Orchestra plays a range of classical music at the city's Orchestra Hall and has survived major financial difficulties to become an important local point of pride. The orchestra was founded as the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra around 120 years ago, showcasing its first performance on November 5, 1903. The orchestra has been recording performances as far back as 1924 and has produced a number of landmark recordings, including Mahler's First Symphony and Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture", complete with cannon fire.

The orchestra is famed for its summer festival held every year. Orchestra Hall is located in the heart of city centre Minneapolis, and if you're a classical music fan, it's a nationally famous must-visit.

The Dakota Jazz Club is open 7 nights a week and offers amazing jazz and blues music combined with incredible food from a chef-driven menu and delicious craft cocktails. This club has been a milestone in the careers of many local and even national jazz musicians, but also prides itself on its legacy and mission of philanthropy. It seeks to raise awareness and education regarding the jazz tradition and the culture that goes with it. It's a high-class restaurant with an old-fashioned speakeasy vibe and a pivotal part of the local scene.

The club seats up to 350 guests and has been a staple here since 1985. It's right in central city centre.

Crooners Supper Club offers a range of jazz and blues and features a classic 1940s supper club vibe with traditional post-war decor and a Golden Age approach to music. It seeks to take visitors back to the hospitality of a traditional Midwestern roadhouse and offers up locally sourced cuisine like delectable prime rib, delicious craft cocktails, and the voices of angels crooning from the stage. This is also a place where the party continues after the show with a classic cocktail lounge vibe.

This club has been a local gem of the music scene since 2009. It's located just 16 minutes northwest of city centre Minneapolis.