5 Places to Go if You Love Live Music

Remember those days when you would travel for hours or even days to go see your favorite band? Think those days are over? They don’t have to be, even if you are traveling with friends or family that have other interests. Here are a few locations you should consider if you want to experience live music.

Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee: This started as a live radio show and is the longest continuous radio show in the US (since 1925). It is located in the Grand Ole Opry House which seats 4,400 and features live country music from not only current country artists but also from country legends. Some of the stars that have played at the Grand Ole Opry include Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Keith Urban and Brad Paisley. Tickets range in price from $70 – $400. Go to www.opry.com for more information.

Carling Weekend in Reading, England: The Reading festival has been around since 1961 when it stated as a Jazz festival. Currently it is a 3 day event that showcases genre’s including alternative pop, rock, rap and hiphop. Most folks (typically 60,000 fans) camp out for the 3 days; There are 6 stages for you to choose from, depending on what type of music you like. Something interesting happens to those artists who are not well received by the fans – they are barraged with empty plastic bottles. One year, 50 Cent had a lawn chair thrown at him! One interesting part of the festival is that if you love an act, follow it to Leeds the next day where a sister festival is held concurrently. Some of the prior acts that played at this festival include The Who, Eric Clapton, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Nirvana and Metallica. Standard day passes cost about £70. Check out www.readingfestival.com and www.leedsmusicfestival.com for more information.

New Orleans Jazz Festival in New Orleans, LA: AKA, Jazz Fest. This is a 10-day event with acts performing on 12 different stages which attracts about 650,000 folks per year. Music genres include not only traditional jazz music but also gospel, funk, zydeco, rock and Caribbean styles. Prior acts have included Fats Domino, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Ella Fitzgerald, Santana, Paul Simon, BB King, Joni Mitchell, James Brown, Van Morrison, LL Cool J and Gladys Knight. Standard one day tickets are about $50 but more expensive VIP options are available. Check out www.nojazzfest.com for more information.

Dakar in Senegal: Artists have created an amazing live music scene in Senegal by creating a new type of music called mbalax, which is a mixture of Latin and Caribbean musical infused with African drumming. It is a heart pumping experience to see a 10-piece band playing music that can put you in a funky trance. There is a 3 day festival called The Coca-Cola Ebony Festival, featuring music by famous mbalax musicians like Youssou N’Dour, Baaba Maal and Didier Awadi. Also, international legend Seck hosts live “mbalax nights” at the Kilimanjaro club.

Vienna, Austria: If you love classical music, including Strauss, Schubert, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Schönberg and Mahler then check out live performances of these music greats in a festival that lasts from September to June (yes, that is correct). Additionally, there are nine other festivals each year. There are also events featuring the Vienna Philharmonic playing your favorite classical music in Wiener Kinzerthaus. Best part is you can be transported to this site for free by showing your concert ticket (only for the 2 hours prior to the performance).