16 Best Bars in Boston, Massachusetts

An underground bohemian bistro featuring delicious food, libations, and live music nightly, The Beehive is nestled under the historic Cyclorama building. Nightly live music includes a mix of jazz, blues, R&B, electronica, reggae, latin, country, cabaret, and burlesque, while patrons enjoy craft cocktails and wines and dine on Mediterranean meze platters, daily special pastas, and comfort entrées. If jazz is your jam, don't miss the weekend live jazz brunch from 10 am to 3 pm (there's a 5% fee for performance time); Sunday night features blues with Bruce Bears and Friends.

This nightclub boasts five ever-active performance spaces and has nicely carved out its niche as one of New England's most eclectic alternative-rock venues. National and local acts vie for the large upstairs and cavernous downstairs rooms (ska band Mighty Mighty Bosstones got its start here), while intimate combos play ZuZu's, Corner, and Sonia. There are also DJs, belly dancing, folk, jazz, country rock, and dancing. Nightly shows at 8 pm usually run $15 to $55, and most are general admission--standing only. Fuel up for all the dancing at Middle East restaurant, which is only open for dinner.

A rare gem for jazz and blues fans, Wally's Café, founded in 1947, is the oldest continuously operating family-owned jazz club in America. Patrons may see nostalgic stars like Branford Marsalis or Esperanza Spalding drop by, because the place is internationally renowned for its steady stream of heated performances by local bands and guests. Wally's diverse crowd attracts regulars from the South End and Roxbury, and music-hungry students, especially from Berklee College of Music. It's jammed for the nightly jams, and there's never a cover. Arrive early if you want a seat, because the line can be brutal. Sessions begin each night at 5 pm, then bands take over from 7 pm to 1 am. Monday it's blues; Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday are funk; Thursday it's Latin jazz salsa; and Friday and Saturday it's jazz.

Part fully functioning winery, part bar and restaurant, and part live music stage, there is so much to do at this unique Boston venue. As wine is a focus, there are guided tastings of locally produced wine and two-hour winery tours focused on wine making. City Winery also hosts live performances featuring stand-up comedians, singers, and musicians, including national acts and Grammy nominees. A full menu and bar are available during shows.

Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive—thousands of folkies have strummed and warbled their way through Club Passim, one of America's oldest (1958) and most renowned clubs for Americana and roots music. Audience participation is encouraged, so be ready to sing along. The ultracozy brick basement has a kitchen that's open for relaxed live-music dining (which is only available to ticket holders). If you travel with your guitar, call about open-mic nights. Classes and workshops at their school around the corner carry on folk traditions. Acoustic bands perform nightly; expect to pay a $5–$35 cover.

Vibes abound at this supper club and live music venue that boasts a Southern-inspired menu, live jazz and R&B music, and an opulent atmosphere. Wednesday jam sessions and Sunday brunch are worth a visit. Fashionable dress is required—no caps, sweats, or sneakers—and there's a per-person entertainment fee added to each check as well as a two-hour maximum seating limit.

Around the corner from Fenway Park and girded with bars and restaurants, the city's juggernaut among nightclubs books a wide array of bands into its barnlike music hall. Tickets average $29–$50, with VIP box seats usually $15–$20 more. The Foundation Room (an upscale VIP lounge) opens to the public for an additional fee, and promises "high-class debauchery." 

This cutting-edge performing arts venue, spread over four floors, can accommodate about 5,000 people. Acts have included everyone from Guster to the Black Crowes to Kevin Hart. Its unique triangle shape (due to its footprint) makes for great acoustics and sightlines---no seat is more than 110 feet from the stage. Depending on the act, the seats on the first floor can be removed to create a dance area.

This very popular Jamaica Plain café books a lively mix of rock bands, DJs, and noise artists. There's punk, soul, R&B, and on Thursday a raucous lesbian dance party and "queeraoke"—straights are welcome, too. Cover varies nightly; check for show age-restrictions.

By day a Berklee College coffee and snack bar, the Cafe by night opens its tidy, scarlet, 200-capacity concert space. Run, booked, and played by students, it's an ideal all-ages venue for aspiring student bands and indies on the rise; everyone from Hozier to Karmin has played here. Music is varied (think rock to jazz, hip-hop to bluegrass) while the refreshments are not (there aren't any). The cover charge also varies based on the event.

Located inside Cambridge's Charles Hotel, Regattabar is the go-to spot for jazz and world music in Cambridge, featuring regulars including leading legends (Ron Carter, Joe Lovano, Lee Konitz), top guitarists (John Scofield, Mike Stern, Pat Martino), and local favorites. It was even listed in Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best jazz bars in the nation. Tickets for shows run about $25–$65. The dimly lit 220-seat club with subtle nautical decor offers tasty fare and drinks.

Follow the retro neon sign to the music scene you've been waiting for. Bringing a long-awaited sophisticated rock music and dining venue to Harvard Square, The Sinclair's adventurous, near-nightly lineup of indie rock—with enticing flings into world, electronica, and jazz—often sells out. Its adjacent but quite separate restaurant and bar, with wanderlusty train and highway decor, a serious beverage list, creative mixology, and cuisine inspired by regional Americana at on-site Brato, is proving to be a winning formula. Accommodating 500, here's a party made to order for transient, academic, and streetwise grown-ups.

This spacious, popular venue connected with Paradise offers bands nightly, some open to all ages, often double bills.

Crowds of cool Allston students and greater Boston music fans rock hard until closing at Great Scott, which books an impressive lineup of local and visiting indie rock bands (from 9 pm) in live double and triple bills on a varying rotation nearly every night.

This iconic bandbox near Boston University is famed for bringing up big-name talent (think U2), hosting Coldplay, and nurturing local rock and hip-hop acts. Two tiers of booths provide good sight lines from all angles, even some intimate, out-of-the-way corners. Four bars quench the crowd's thirst, and food is available. Some shows are for 18-plus only; many sell out. The newer Paradise Lounge next door is a more intimate space to catch local (often acoustic) songsters, literary readings, poetry slams, and other artsy events.

Since 1989, this intimate and amiable venue overlooking the Charles River has presented top names–-Harry Connick Jr., Chris Botti, Michael Bublé, and Wynton Marsalis, to name a few–-in jazz, Latin, and contemporary, but also blues, soul, R&B, cabaret, and world music. There are full bar and cocktail menus, as well as food and dessert selections. Performances are Thursday through Saturday 8 and 10 pm; tickets range from $25 to $50 and are discounted if you come for dinner. Advance purchase is recommended.