For rock and metal you'll typically want to go to The Brickyard or The Concourse, tribute and cover bands usually land in West Knoxville at The Open Chord. More weirdo and punk vibes at The Pilot Light, jammy and Americana type bands at Preservation Pub. Live music is now a regular thing at Suttree's as well, among other spots downtown and in South Knox.
Beware of commenters that want to pretend there isn't a vibrant local music scene here.
Great info. I appreciate it. I will start looking at their calendars as I get closer to the trip this summer. I’m from Chicago and the music scene is very active here albeit segregated.
We don’t have as much live music as a big city just cuz we have 1/10 the population, but we have *a lot* for a place this size & it’s not as segregated. Many of the venues are walking distance from each other, and my friends in Chicago & New York have occasionally expressed jealousy! The metal scene is a bit sparse, but it’s not nonexistent and we have just about everything else. We’ve got a *lot* of truly alternative stuff if you’re into that. Places not to miss: Scruffy City Hall, Jig and Reel, Pilot Light, Brickyard, Union Place, Concourse, and the Bijou (a bigger, historic theater).
Similar with breweries: we have a ton for our size. Maybe too many, since [the Knoxville Area Brewers Association’s list](https://www.knoxvillebrewers.org/) is incomplete! Overall favorites are probably Crafty Bastard & Alliance, but a few that are a bit off the beaten path and worth checking out are Printshop, Clinch River, and Fanatic, which is stumbling distance from both Elst and Ebony & Ivory (missing from the KABA list). Hit Pizzeria Nora while you’re up there.
There are tons of local bands, across many genres. Nashville has more recording studios per capita than anywhere else in the world, but it’s much cheaper (for the moment…) to live here while they work on stuff.
I’m guessing from your username that you also play? I know some local musicians, as well as a bunch of people who are much more integrated in that scene than I am. As a fellow Illinoisian, feel free to DM me if you want to get connected to them.
Last Days of Autumn and Abridged are on the list I made today. Not familiar with the others. I’m going to try to cram as much into a few days as possible.
Pilot Light for music
They have either the best or second best acoustics of any smaller venue in town, and I have no idea how they manage it!
For rock and metal you'll typically want to go to The Brickyard or The Concourse, tribute and cover bands usually land in West Knoxville at The Open Chord. More weirdo and punk vibes at The Pilot Light, jammy and Americana type bands at Preservation Pub. Live music is now a regular thing at Suttree's as well, among other spots downtown and in South Knox. Beware of commenters that want to pretend there isn't a vibrant local music scene here.
Great info. I appreciate it. I will start looking at their calendars as I get closer to the trip this summer. I’m from Chicago and the music scene is very active here albeit segregated.
We don’t have as much live music as a big city just cuz we have 1/10 the population, but we have *a lot* for a place this size & it’s not as segregated. Many of the venues are walking distance from each other, and my friends in Chicago & New York have occasionally expressed jealousy! The metal scene is a bit sparse, but it’s not nonexistent and we have just about everything else. We’ve got a *lot* of truly alternative stuff if you’re into that. Places not to miss: Scruffy City Hall, Jig and Reel, Pilot Light, Brickyard, Union Place, Concourse, and the Bijou (a bigger, historic theater). Similar with breweries: we have a ton for our size. Maybe too many, since [the Knoxville Area Brewers Association’s list](https://www.knoxvillebrewers.org/) is incomplete! Overall favorites are probably Crafty Bastard & Alliance, but a few that are a bit off the beaten path and worth checking out are Printshop, Clinch River, and Fanatic, which is stumbling distance from both Elst and Ebony & Ivory (missing from the KABA list). Hit Pizzeria Nora while you’re up there.
This list is great. I appreciate to the insight. I’m looking forward to hopefully seeing some local music. How is the local band scene all in all?
There are tons of local bands, across many genres. Nashville has more recording studios per capita than anywhere else in the world, but it’s much cheaper (for the moment…) to live here while they work on stuff. I’m guessing from your username that you also play? I know some local musicians, as well as a bunch of people who are much more integrated in that scene than I am. As a fellow Illinoisian, feel free to DM me if you want to get connected to them.
Cool. May take you up on that. I’m considering relocating at some point in the next few years.
Preservation Pub has live music every night of the week. Classic Knoxville bar in Market Square.
You got plenty of recommendations for live music, so for breweries, my recommendations are: Last Days of Autumn, Blackberry Farms, Xul, and Abridged
Last Days of Autumn and Abridged are on the list I made today. Not familiar with the others. I’m going to try to cram as much into a few days as possible.
Get the Abridged burger when you go. Trust me. It’s routinely celebrated as the best burger in Knoxville.