1679 Best Performing Arts Venues in USA

In summer Grande River Vineyards hosts a concert series featuring classical, country, blues, and rock music. The natural landscape contributes to the good acoustics, not to mention the spectacular sunsets. Concertgoers lounge in lawn chairs, enjoying picnics and dancing barefoot on the grass, and sometimes the concerts are held in the cellars.

The boutique cinema, which has a lobby restaurant with a full bar, shows 3-D blockbuster, foreign, and independent films in, true to its name, living-room-like theaters furnished with spacious seats and movable couches and tables. You can dine and drink from your seat.

A state landmark, the Lobero hosts community theater groups and touring professionals.

This quaint, comfortable performance space inside the Price Center on the University of California San Diego campus hosts intimate music concerts, spoken-word programs, film screenings, and culinary events. Once the Zanzibar Café closes, shows at The Loft begin, weekdays and on select weekends.

It used to be that folks only came here because of the low ticket prices. But, after an ambitious remodel, the historic 1915 theater is now a neighborhood gem. Expect a well-curated mix of current blockbusters, indie films, and late-night cult classics as well as a full bar off the lobby.

Lake Havasu City heats up in October with a week of British-theme festivities celebrating the bridge and culminating in a parade on Saturday.

Lake Havasu City heats up in October with a week of British-themed festivities celebrating the bridge and culminating in a parade on Saturday.

You’ll want to visit the Long Center as much for what’s happening inside as for its ultramodern exterior and unbeatable views of the downtown skyline. The lakefront performance venue and community gathering place is home to a range of live performances throughout the year, including lyric operas, ballets, rock concerts, and many of Austin’s prime foodie and outdoor festival events, from the Austin Food + Wine Festival to SXSW. Food trucks, pop-up art installations, and a wide variety of free special events are also hosted on the city terrace.

The performing arts scene is alive and well in Austin thanks in part to this expansive venue along the shores of Lady Bird Lake. The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts (to use it's full name—it's generally shortened to the Long Center), plays host to a wide variety of performing arts groups and touring national and international acts like the Vienna Boys Choir, Burt Bacharach, and Blue Man Group. It also serves as the permanent home to Austin Lyric Opera, and the Austin Symphony Orchestra. In addition, the center houses a wing for community arts education programs.

A traditional tattoo (drum- and bugle-filled parade) kicks off this fair of ancient Scottish athletic competitions, including full-armor jousting and throwing contests involving hammers and 20-foot-long, 140-pound wooden poles (called cabers). The festival also features Celtic music, Irish dancing, and events for dogs of the British Isles (such as terrier racing and sheepdog demonstrations).

Staged in the belly of the historic Chicago Water Works building, the Lookingglass Theatre Company's physically and artistically daring works incorporate theater, dance, music, and circus arts.

The 2024 Grammy award-winning LPO holds court at the Orpheum Theater while continuing to perform at cultural institutions and around town. Check LPO's website event page for discounted open rehearsals and concerts in parks during the spring months.

Set on the grounds of a historic plantation-era mansion, this luau bills itself as the only "theatrical" luau on Kauai, with both Hawaiian and Polynesian dancing. The luau feast is served buffet style, there's an open bar, and the performers aim to both entertain and educate about Hawaiian culture. Guests sit at tables around a circular stage; tables farther from the stage are elevated, providing unobstructed views. Additional packages offer visitors the opportunity to watch the show only, take a train ride, eat a special four-course meal, and enjoy romantic perks like a lei greeting and champagne. The luau is staged Tuesday and Friday nights only; reservations are highly recommended.

With Wailea Beach as the backdrop, this colorful, fiery luau features classic dishes such as poi, kalua pig, poke, and haupia, as well as performances that highlight Maui's legends and showcase traditional ceremonies and music. Hula lessons are also part of the program, making this an interactive experience.

New for the 100 Years of Magic celebration across the Disney globe, this nighttime show combines fireworks, fountains, lasers, and music. Its beautifully arranged soundtrack incorporates Disney classics, as well as two new original songs, some underutilized songs from Enchanted and Toy Story, and a dual-language version of "You'll Be in My Heart" from Tarzan. The combination of lights and water can be stunning at times, but, as most of the show is slow and focused around human experiences, small children may find the storyline boring and the fireworks—particularly those that shoot off right by the shore where the audience is situated—too loud. As with anything new, plan for large crowds. Consider booking a Fireworks Dining Package to get the best seat in the house—or, at least, around the lagoon. If the wind is particularly strong, avoid sitting downwind from the center of the lagoon. The high number of low fireworks means there's a lot of smoke.

This cultural hub, configured theater-style or open-floor depending on the performance, books music, dance, theater, comedy, and other acts, along with occasional speakers.

The Patricia and Arthur Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric, known also as the Lyric Opera House, hosts plays and musicals in addition to opera productions.

At the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the big voices of the opera world star in top-flight productions September through May. This is one of the top opera companies in America today. Don't worry about understanding German or Italian; English translations are projected above the stage. The key to getting in is to call the Lyric in early August, when individual tickets first go on sale.

For almost 50 years, this company has mounted a top-notch mix of productions, classic and new, musical and nonmusical. Performances over the years have included O'Neill's Death of a Salesman, Moss Hart's Light Up The Sky, and Sondheim's musical Into The Woods.

On the National Register of Historic Places, this 1925 movie house has been revived for live performances ranging from Lily Tomlin's one-woman show to orchestra performances to jazz concerts. With 500 seats, the theater feels intimate.

This 2,500-capacity venue 6 miles west of Downtown Atlanta stages jazz, R&B, and country music.

Mad Apple is Cirque du Soleil on a budget, clearly Cirque's answer to its competitor Absinthe. After the pandemic as well as belt-tightening and ownership changes within the company, Cirque downsized its more grandiose ambitions to create a modest cabaret-style show. The big departures from past Cirque shows are music and ribald comedy getting nearly as much stage time as the acrobatics. And, to further Absinthe comparisons, there's a pre-show bar right onstage in the cozy U-shaped theater that previously housed Cirque's more ambitious Zumanity. In keeping with the title and host property's theme, New York–themed songs and imagery—a yellow cab, a disco ball shaped like an apple—loosely connect the now familiar action, such as hand-balancing and a sexy aerial adagio. You probably wouldn't want to choose this one over the more mind-blowing Cirque shows if you haven't seen them, but it's consistent fun if you have.

Although there are arts festivals in spring and fall, the biggest event of the year in Magdalena is the Magdalena Old Timers Reunion, held for three days in early July. The festival, which draws about 5,000 and has the biggest parade in New Mexico after the state fair's, began quietly 30 years ago. With the end of cattle drives and the shutdown of the rail spur in the early 1970s, cowboys began returning at the same time each year to greet each other and reminisce. Over the past three decades, the reunion has grown into an event-packed weekend including both kids' and adult rodeos, Western swing dances on Friday and Saturday nights, a fiddling contest, a barbecue dinner, and an authentic chuck-wagon cook-off. The parade takes place Saturday morning, and the crowned reunion queen must be at least 60 years old. Most events are held at the Magdalena Fairgrounds, and admission is free.

Channing Tatum didn't just cash a check to lend the name of his Magic Mike film franchise to a Las Vegas effort. He was an active member of the creative team, working with the movie's two female choreographers for this male revue that debuted in 2017 (originally at the Hard Rock Hotel). The action has moved over to this custom venue, which was converted from convention space at the Sahara, again allowing for aerialists and in-the-round action. Magic Mike Live still pairs the G-string antics with a nice-guy vibe and with more wit and modesty—some gals will say too much—than the genre usually allows. 

Once the late Sam Shepard's favorite showcase, pint-size Magic presents works by rising and established playwrights who create thought-provoking plays that explore the world's diversity. It has produced a number of world premieres.

The holiday season officially starts with the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival, a weekend-long event at the end of November with tons of family-friendly activities including musical performances, ice-carving contests, and stage shows. The fanfare culminates in a parade and the illumination of more than 1 million lights along Michigan Avenue.

Catch a performance by famous musicians, comedians, or the Paul Taylor Dance Company at the center's stunning 1905 theater. The year-round schedule includes theater, music, dance, comedy, and film.

The monthlong celebration over three weekends in May in the Bavarian-style village of Leavenworth features traditional German dancing, including an old-world maypole dance, a Festzug ("Grand March") where townspeople dress in Bavarian attire, and alphorn concerts. It all kicks off Mother's Day weekend. Professional chainsaw carvers creating German-inspired carvings to sell are another highlight, along with live music.

Rockland's annual Maine Lobster Festival, held in early August, is the region's largest annual event. About 10 tons of lobsters are steamed in a huge lobster cooker—you have to see it to believe it. The festival, held in Harbor Park, includes a parade, live entertainment, food booths, and, of course, the crowning of the Maine Lobster Festival Delegate.

Inventive artistic director Troy Heard maximizes a bare-bones storefront space in the heart of a revitalized Main Street to present challenging, consistently interesting titles, often reflecting his interest in immersive theater. Of late, the Majestic has kept bringing back its most popular title—a musical parody of the Scream movies called Scream'd—and subsequently adopted a more flexible schedule for titles such as Cabaret instead of announcing a full season of fixed dates.