Historic Venues

There are concert halls, arenas and amphitheaters, and then there was the Fillmore West. This legendary San Francisco venue was more than just a music hall; it was a quintessential destination for music lovers and thrill seekers alike. 

As a performance venue, Chicago’s famous Aragon Ballroom is much like the city itself. Tough. Resilient. A survivor.

The Byrds formed there. The Eagles formed there. James Taylor and Carole King made a home there. Elton John’s rocket to global fame launched there. Lenny Bruce and John Lennon got in trouble there. Van Halen, Motley Crue and Guns N’ Roses might not have made it without key gigs there.

With New Orleans now celebrating its annual Jazz & Heritage Festival, we thought we’d cover Tipitina’s, one of the Crescent City’s most iconic stages, in the latest installment of our Historic Music Venues series

The little big city of Austin, Texas, is famously referred to as “The Live Music Capitol of the World.” The city boasts nearly 200 performance venues and, according to figures from the visitor’s bureau, nearly 2,000 bands and artists call the city home.

In our new Historic Music Venues series, we’ll visit some of the nation’s most famous—or perhaps in some cases infamous—rock venues, big or small, past and present. From Tipitina’s to Shea Stadium; from CBGB to the Avalon Ballroom; from the Metro to Madison Square Garden and from Fillmore East to Fillmore West, cut to the front of the line with Fender as we visit some of rock’s greatest live settings.