Austin, Texas
It’s really, really, really hard to name just one classic venue in Austin—sometimes considered the live music capital of the world—and there are dozens of nominees for best venue in the city. That list includes the Continental Club (dark, dingy, sweaty, electric), ACL Live (pristine, amazing sound, great sightlines), and Hotel Vegas (outdoors, cheap beer, psychedelic). But Stubbs has them all beat: it’s located on Red River street in the heart of Downtown, and the slope of the viewing area for the outdoor stage makes the 2500-person space (which has hosted Metallica, Arcade Fire, and Lizzo among zillions of others) feel small, while the indoor stage (which has a 200-300 person capacity) has occasional local acts and a weekly gospel brunch. Added bonus: instead of tepid pizza or bad burgers like so many venues, Stubbs BBQ serves, well, Stubbs BBQ, meaning you can get a crazy-good sausage roll as a bed for your Shiner Bocks.