The Year of Alabama Music
Hear Music in 100 Places
From cavernous concert halls to jam-packed juke joints, Alabama’s music venues are world-class and world-renowned. On any given night, you’re bound to find a musical experience that will get your blood pumping and your feet tapping.
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Above
2101 5th Ave N, Birmingham, AL
205-324-2101Birmingham’s only rooftop bar, Above, is located in the former penthouse of the Redmont Hotel in the city’s downtown. Live music various nights of the week during warm months.
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Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame
1631 4th Ave. N., Birmingham, AL
205-254-2731 | www.jazzhall.comThis art-deco museum honors great jazz artists with ties to the state of Alabama. While furnishing educational information, the museum is also a place for entertainment. Exhibits convey the accomplishments of the likes of Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton and Erskine Hawkins, and the music that made them famous. Within this fine musical collection, visitors travel from the beginnings of boogie woogie with Clarence “Pinetop” Smith to the jazz space journeys of Sun Ra and his Intergalactic Space Arkestra. Open Tu-Sat. 10-5. Call for guided tours.
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Alabama Theatre
1817 3rd Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
205-252-2262 | www.alabamatheatre.comBeautifully restored 1927 movie palace where each year 300 events are held, many featuring live music.
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Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center
1200 10th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294
205-975-2787 | www.alysstephens.uab.eduOne of the Southeast’s premier performing arts centers, presenting the worlds’s best artists in music, dance, theatre, comedy, film and family entertainment.
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Back Nine Clubhouse & Grille
611 Doug Baker Blvd., Suite 105, Birmingham, AL
205-981-4588Live music Friday and Saturday during the fall and Wednesday through Saturday the rest of the year at this establishment with an actual ice-top bar.
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Barking Kudu
2929 7th Ave S, Birmingham, AL
205-328-1748Plenty of room in this restaurant compliments of their large patio. Live music Thursday through Saturday nights.
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Billy’s Bar and Grill
4520 Overton Road Suite 104, Birmingham, AL 35223
205-956-2323 | www.billysbarandgrill.comWith two locations, Billy’s Bar and Grill are neighborhood establishments with live music three nights a week. The original location is in the English Village shopping area in Mountain Brook. The second location of Billy’s Bar and Grill is located on Overton Road in Birmingham near I-459.
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Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex
2100 Richard Arrington Junior Boulevard North, Birmingham, AL 35203
205-458-8400 | www.bjcc.orgKnown simply as the BJCC, this facility hosts large music events throughout the year.
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Bottletree Café
3719 3rd Ave South, Birmingham, AL
205-533-6288 | www.thebottletree.comEsquire magazine called this eclectic cafe, which becomes a live performance establishment at night, a place that “is already stealing thunder from every small music venue in the region.” Location of TV music program We Have Signal.
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Boutwell Auditorium
1930 8th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
205-254-2820 | www.informationbirmingham.com/boutwell-auditorium.aspxWith an art deco interior, this municipal auditorium has been the site of many historic performances and is the site of music events throughout the year.
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Café Firenze
110 Inverness Plaza, Birmingham, AL
205-980-1315A restaurant by day with live music at night Wednesday through Saturday.
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Carver Theatre
1631 4th Avenue North, Birmingham, AL 35203
205-254-2731 | www.jazzhall.comJazz jam sessions and jazz legends such as Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton have all been featured at this historic theater.
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Courtyard Oyster Bar and Grill - 280
4643 Highway 280 S, Birmingham, AL
205-980-9891Live acoustic music Wednesday through Sunday evenings. with additional music Friday and Saturday nights with bands. Two locations in the Birmingham area: Southside and Highway 280.
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Courtyard Oyster Bar and Grill - Southside
2015 Highland Ave S, Birmingham, AL
205-558-4995Live acoustic music Wednesday through Sunday evenings. with additional music Friday and Saturday nights with bands. Two locations in the Birmingham area: Southside and Highway 280.
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Crush
2001 Highland Ave S, Birmingham, AL
205-202-4006Located at the corner of 20th and Highland where Bell Bottoms and Louie Louie’s were once located. Live music from cover, regional and national bands Friday and Saturday nights.
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Dave’s Pub
1128 20th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35205
205-933-4030 | www.davespubsouthside.comLive music every Thursday on the Southside.
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Eddie Kendrick Memorial Park
18th Street and 4th Avenue, Birmingham, AL
205-458-8000This memorial garden to singer Eddie Kendricks of the Temptations features a bronze sculpture of Kendricks by Tuskegee artist Ron McDowell, as well as sculptures of the other Temptations set into a granite wall. The singers’ cuffs each have a letter on them, together spelling “BHAM” from left to right. Inscribed on the granite are the names of the Temptations’ hit songs. The park uses Kendricks’ family name without the “s”, which was added early in his career.
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Garage Café
2304 10th Terrace S, Birmingham, AL
205-322-3220 | www.garagecafe.usLive, light acoustic music is the norm every other Monday and often on Sundays at this downtown Southside establishment listed by GQ Magazine as one of the top 10 bars worth flying to.
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Grey Bar
5426 Highway 280, Birmingham, AL
205-874-6361Martini-style establishment with live acoustic music Wednesday and Thursday nights and bands on Friday and Saturday.
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H Bar at Hotel Highland
1023 20th Street South, Birmingham, AL 35205
205-874-5759Located inside Hotel Highland, live jazz music Tuesday through Thursday and blues on Saturday nights.
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Innisfree
710 29th Street South, Birmingham, AL
205-252-4252Large booths line one side of this Irish style pub, flanked on either side by a dance floor and a dart wall. Their large back patio is heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. Live music normally Thursday through Saturday night at this establishment in the Lakeview entertainment district.
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Marty’s
1813 10th Court South, Birmingham, AL
205-939-0045 | www.martysbar.comAn eclectic lineup of live music from rock and roll to blues, folk, jazz and piano bar.
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Moe’s BBQ & Blues Revue Lakeview
731 29th Street South, Birmingham, AL
205-252-5888Live blues-style music Friday and Saturday nights at this restaurant in the Lakeview Entertainment District.
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Moonlight on the Mountain
585 Shades Crest Road, Birmingham, AL 35226
205-243-8851 | www.moonlightonthemtn.comHouse concert-type acoustic performances are held in a mini-theater family-friendly environment on most weekends and other days of the week as artists’ schedules permit.
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Nick, The
2514 10th Ave South, Birmingham, AL
205-252-3831 | www.thenickrocks.comMusic heard almost every night of the week including local, regional and national bands playing a variety of musical styles in this mainstay of Birmingham’s local music scene.
