1683 Best Performing Arts Venues in USA

The Vermont Arts Exchange sponsors this fun and funky contemporary music series at venues around town. Some performances sell out, so it's wise to purchase tickets in advance.

The flagship theater of the Texas Performing Arts is the largest of its kind in Austin and attracts visitors from near and far for exclusive symphony, orchestra, choral, ensemble, and concert band performances. The 2,900-seat auditorium is world-class in every way. Also inside, the smaller, more intimate Bates Recital Hall features performances by both students and faculty of the University of Texas as well as professional visiting musicians.

Public tours are available of the majestic Bass Performance Hall, which spans a full city block. Four resident companies call the world-class venue home.

New plays on their way to Broadway start out here, sharing the season with time-honored classics, holiday shows, comedy, musical performances, and children's and teen programs.

Opened in 1929 as a movie theater, the Beacon is now the premier destination north of Madison Square Garden (and operated by the same company) for concerts and residencies by music stars and comedians, from Bono to Jerry Seinfeld. The decor is 1920s but the sound system is cutting-edge, featuring the same technology as the Sphere in Las Vegas. There also are occasional family programs on weekend afternoons.

Catch foreign films, indie flicks, and nostalgic classics at this second-run theater with a back-corner bar. Place an order at the counter outside and runners will deliver your nachos, pizzas, and garlic-cilantro fries from the attached Southwestern grill directly to your seat. The Bear Tooth also occasionally clears out the movie seats to host nationally touring music acts.

Bella Voce—"beautiful voices," indeed. Formerly known as His Majestie's Clerkes, the 20-person a cappella group performs a variety of sacred and secular music, including everything from early music to works by living composers. Concerts are often held in churches, providing a powerful acoustical and visual accompaniment to the music.

Lyle Lovett, the Neville Brothers, Herbie Hancock, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are among the performers who have appeared at the annual Belleayre Music Festival, held Saturday nights in July and August. Friday nights in August bring the Jazz Club, when the audience dances up a storm under the stars.

The acoustics are good from every one of the main hall's 2,500 seats—great news if you want to check out the Seattle Symphony, which is based here, or any of a number of world-class speakers, musicians, and other performers who appear here throughout the year. The four-story lobby has a curved glass facade that makes intermissions almost as impressive as performances.

The autumn season is welcomed in late September or early October with food and craft vendors, live music, and special seasonal activities for kids.

For a weekend in July, a section of Downtown Bend is taken over by food and craft stalls and a play area for kids, with live music performances in the afternoon and early evening.

Formerly Oldcastle Theatre, this fine regional theater company focuses on American classics and crowd-pleasing musicals. The group's venue also hosts concerts and comedy shows.

The main stage for the internationally renowned Berklee College of Music, the "BPC" is best known for its jazz and pop programs, but also has hosted some of the country's top folk, world, and rock acts, as well as pop stars like Talking Heads, Aimee Mann, Snarky Puppy, and Melody Gardot. Bargain alert: the BPC stages a wealth of excellent student and faculty shows and showcases sets and clinics by visiting artists that cost next to nothing. While the performance center is 1,215 seats strong, it's an intimate locale for any show.

This theater company has presented plays since 1929. Those on the Main Stage tend to be better-known works with established actors. A smaller theater mounts more experimental works, and some festival productions, including family-friendly shows and the holiday staple "A Christmas Carol" take place at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield.

Las Vegas welcomed its first independent film house and performance venue in 2023. \"The Bev\" devotes most of its programming to \"art-house\" and classic films, augmented by the occasional live performance or literary event. Craft beers are sold to take inside the screenings. There's also an open-air (but covered, thankfully) balcony, where guests can sip wine and listen to live music. The theater is the brainchild of The Rogers Foundation, which supports several different arts initiatives Downtown. Take note: the facility is not set up to accept cash.

Focusing on the literary arts, this performance space—located in the former Venice city hall—serves as a center for the community to hear readings from authors, poets, and locals. Along with readings and performances, workshops are available to the public (both in person and on Zoom; many are free) and the gallery hosts rotating art shows. The bookstore features a wide selection of poetry books.

Missoula is home to several film festivals each year, but the biggest and best of them is the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, the premier venue for nonfiction film in the American West. Over the course of a week in late February, 20,000 people watch more than 140 of the most compelling films from all over the world, dozens of them making their premieres. Most of the films are shown in the Wilma Theatre, a state-of-the-art venue with the character of a 1920s theater. For the locals, it is an annual ritual, and visitors, too, come from all over to spend a week watching films and hobnobbing with directors. This makes the cold month of February a perfect time to visit Missoula.

Mid-May through early September, the repertory group Bigfork Summer Playhouse presents Broadway musicals and comedies every night except Sunday in the Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are available online and by mail beginning in April, and by phone starting mid-May. Children's workshops and theater are held in the same facility.

In existence for just over a century and affiliated with the Ruth Eckerd Hall, this theater brings local, regional, and national musicians to downtown Clearwater. In addition to a stylish, 750-seat auditorium it has a rooftop terrace and bar.

During this 10-day festival in early to mid-August, pirates invade the village of Alexandria Bay for two weekends, and the mayor hands the keys to the city over to these marauders. Midweek festivities include music and other entertainment. Bill Johnston, for whom the event is named, was an 1830s pirate who looted ships near the city.

Upward of 20 downtown galleries and local artists host free receptions with food, beverages, and live music during Billings Art Walks usually held on the first Friday of even-numbered months (February, April, June, etc.). Maps are available at participating galleries and the Art Walks website.

Founder and executive producer Jackie Taylor opened the Black Ensemble Theater a half-century ago, and since then has written and directed musicals and plays like The Marvin Gaye Story and The Other Cinderella. The theater has a penchant for long-running musicals based on popular African American icons. In 2011, they opened their own theater facility on Clark Street, which hosts performances most weekends.

The 111-mi trail traces the western extremity of the Adirondacks and leads from Rome, New York in the south nearly to Canada in the north. This is a breathtaking area of the park, especially when the leaves are changing. Along the way are fun stops at dairies, picnic areas, museums, and maple-syrup producers. Beware the winter, though, as the trail leads through the Tug Hill Plateau before ending at Ogdensburg. The plateau gets foot upon foot of snow in the winter. –Tip: Bring along a map of the area, as there are many side roads, leading to a sometimes-confusing trek.

This troupe presents original and contemporary dramas and musical revues, as well as adventurous adaptations, between September and May.

The 3,800-capacity theater at Fontainebleu geared up in late 2024, looking more to host one- or two-night concert stops rather than resident stars who would return several times per year. Keith Urban and Pitbull signed up for some of the longer runs to give the new venue some traction. Booked by concert giant Live Nation, it has a smaller capacity than venues at Park MGM or Resorts World, and three tiers of seating behind the main floor can be closed off to make the place an even cozier 1,700 capacity. The lack of fixed seating on the floor opens it up to non-performance events including TV and podcast tapings, and \"Bleu Buckets,\" a fan event in conjunction with the NCAA tournament.

Pushing 200 years old, the Charles Playhouse was formerly a church, Prohibition-era speakeasy, and jazz club. Today, it hosts the Boston edition of Blue Man Group, as it has done since 1995. This uniquely exhilarating production features a trio of deadpan performance artists painted vivid cobalt as they pound drums, share eureka moments, spray sloppy goodwill, and freely dispense toilet paper. First-timer alert: dress casual, especially if you're seated down front.

The center's outdoor amphitheater is the site of an ambitious concert series of regional and national musicians that has included the likes of Ricky Skaggs and Doc Watson. Impromptu jam sessions often break out in the center's plaza area.

The historic district's Blue Slipper Theatre presents various full-length productions, including one-act plays, popular melodramas, and an annual Christmas variety show.