Indianapolis Music Venues: Dozens of Places to Play
Indianapolis music venues are spread all throughout the Circle City. On any given weeknight, you can walk around downtown Indianapolis, the suburbs, or any Indianapolis cultural district and find tons of places to hear Indianapolis music. There’s a lot of different types, too; from the tradition laden stage of The Vogue to the slick sounds of the Chatterbox Jazz Club, there’s a place for every Indianapolis band to strut their stuff.
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31 Bar & Grill in Indy is a fun place to kick back a few and listen to music, one of the many great Indianapolis dancing bars and downtown clubs. They have a good jukebox and also offer some of the most popular live music in Indianapolis on Fridays and Saturdays. |
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8 Seconds Saloon At the 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis, there’s a main bar, a snack bar and a portable bar, pool tables and almost 2,000 square feet of dance space for maximum enjoyment of the top of the line bands that appear there. |
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Adobo Grill Choose from the downtown or Indianapolis Northeast location. This fabulously popular Mexican restaurant has live Mariachi music every Thursday night, an International Dance Night on Fridays and Salsa music till three in every Saturday. |
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AJ’s Lounge The first of every month, AJ’s Lounge features live music. With free off-street parking and an out-of-the-way location, this lounge can be the perfect escape from the typical downtown Indianapolis bar scene and slick restaurants. |
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Ale Emporium This extremely popular Indianapolis bar in hommage to sports is also one of the city’s most active live band venues. |
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Basile Opera Center is a former Greek Orthodox church that has been turned into a performance center. The facility is located just north of downtown Indianapolis and serves as a much needed home-base for the Indianapolis Opera Company. |
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Big Car Gallery presents regularly changed art shows, special activities for holidays, Indianapolis music events and other live arts, and a youthful flair pervades it all. |
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Birdy’s Bar & Grill in Broad Ripple Village claims to be “Rock & Roll’s Nesting Grounds.” As the name implies, they present regular live music on the rowdy side featuring several bands a night, making them a favorite draw for Indianapolis music. |
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Blu Lounge, in vibrant downtown Indianapolis, is the perfect martini bar to unwind, listen to music, or spoil yourself and some friends in a private VIP lounge with elegant bottle service to your table. The wide range of signature Indianapolis music includes reggae, hip-hop, mixes and more. |
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Chatterbox Jazz Club is located in the middle of the Mass Ave Cultural District across from the Murat Theatre and the Athenaeum, The club features live jazz five nights a week, and three of the nights are without a cover charge. |
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Clowes Memorial Hall is a highly respected all-around performing arts facility in Indy. They offer education in the live arts, world-class entertainment, and events hosting. |
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The Coachman Restaurant and Lounge in nearby Plainfield offers a well-rounded menu of favorite American dishes, an extensive spirits list and live music every Saturday night with the likes of “Katphish and Da Bottom Feeders.” |
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Conseco Fieldhouse is the home of the National Basketball Association’s Indiana Pacers and the Women’s National Basketball Association’s Indiana Fever. The venue attracts not only major sporting events, but also major theatrical shows and concerts. |
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The Emerson Theater prides itself on hosting local music acts every Friday and Saturday nights. National acts perform as well, always during the week, just less frequently. According to the theater’s homepage, this house of music is “central Indiana’s largest all-original, all-ages music venue.” |
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Fireside Brewhouse has live music twice a week and a DeeJay dance night on Saturdays. Thursdays it’s Jazz, and Fridays various Indianapolis music groups set this joint rockin’. Located just South of the inner city in the suburb of Greenwood. |
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The Harrison Center for the Arts houses Gallery Number 2, a spectacular place for special meetings, art and music shows and retreats. |
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Howl at the Moon is well-known in downtown Indy as party central. Live entertainment every night is enhanced by “Showtime,” in which the house staff leads the audience in a pre-choreographed routine to popular songs and jingles. |
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Ike & Jonesy’s is the place to dance, drink, and listen to a great mix of live Indy music in downtown Indianapolis. The place is a cool blend of upbeat décor, great food, and world-class bartenders and wait staff. |
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The Jazz Kitchen presents a showcase of talented jazz musicians every week. According to Down Beat magazine, a long-standing and venerable jazz publication, the Jazz Kitchen is one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world. |
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At Kona Jack’s, you can catch live music with your meal several nights a week. Indianapolis music lovers will appreciate the diverse mix of some of Indy’s favorite artists, including Hoosier favorite Matt Roush, who frequently graces the stage with his guitar. |
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Lucas Oil Stadium, in the center of downtown Indianapolis, is an enormous conglomeration of world-class stadium, viewing suites, concerts and convention space. |
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The Luxor Restaurant offers authentic live flamenco music every Friday and Saturday night, with the added kick of traditional belly dancers, to go with their sumptuous Egyptian cooking. |
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The Monkey’s Tale Bar is located in Broad Ripple Village and offers some eclectic and fun live music regularly. The Spring and Summer months are favorites at this venue, which has excellent outdoor seating and dancing under the stars. |
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The Moon Dog Tavern and Restaurant is considered by many to be the hottest dining, dancing and overall fun club in Indiana. Live bands four nights a week. |
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Mug Shots Cafe, in amped-up Broad Ripple Village, offers some great live music every Saturday night. ‘Karaoke with Norm’ happens on Wednesdays, and the juke is always full of music you actually like. |
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Home to two world-class music venues, the Murat Theatre and the Egyptian Room, the Murat Centre is one of the most popular live music and Broadway production venues available in Indy. |
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The Music Mill is a combination restaurant/concert venue. It closed briefly at the end of February 2009 and reopened on April 17, 2009, with a free concert, kicking off a brand new season of national and local acts. |
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One of the rising stars among Indianapolis music venues is Radio Radio , a refined, casual concert venue that’s the headquarters for Indy’s growing underground music scene. |
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At the Rathskeller Restaurant, you can experience the myriad of bands that make up the Indianapolis music scene, from blues to folk. Every once in a while you’ll even be able to catch some live polka music at the Rathskeller, a true treat. |
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The Shelter House at Military Park underwent a major renovation to the tune of $700,000 in 2007. The park is home to frequent and ongoing Indianapolis events, including festivals, music concerts and other large public gatherings. |
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The Slippery Noodle Inn has no pretenses. With no fancy tiling on the floor, no delicate sconces in sight on the walls, and no 1000-thread tablecloths, there’s nothing to distract you from enjoying the music, food, booze, and good company. |
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One of the top Indianapolis bars, The Ugly Monkey has three different areas to relax, have fun, and party with your friends in addition to a great food menu and lots of live music and events. |
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Located on the northern reaches of Indy and the southern border of its suburb, Noblesville, the Verizon Wireless Music Center is the site of some of the most popular music concerts in the Midwest, attracting big names to the popular venue, especially country artists. |
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The famous singers and bands that have taken the stage at The Vogue can’t be listed in their entirety, but it should be noted that Bo Diddley, The White Stripes, Johnny Cash, The Dave Matthews Band, and Bob Weir and Mickey Hart of The Grateful Dead have walked through the back entrance of Indianapolis‘ premier nightclub. |
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Celebrating art forms from the African-American perspective, the Madame Walker Theatre Center showcases new and emerging artists, offers educational programs, including Youth-in-Arts, which inspires music, poetry, dance, and other art forms in children, as well as hosts a variety of live events from various performers. |
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8 Seconds Saloon | Big Car Gallery | Birdy’s Bar & Grill | Chatterbox Jazz Club | Emerson Theater | Jazz Kitchen | Murat Centre | Radio Radio | The Vogue | More Indianapolis Music Venues
Amanda Overmyer | Cathy Morris | Flynnville Train | Gwen Stacy | The Elms | Haste the Day | Jennie DeVoe | Margot and the Nuclear So and So’s | Mudkids | Murder by Death | Sloppy Seconds | Straight No Chaser | More Indianapolis Bands
Indianapolis Musical Organizations
Arts Council of Indianapolis | Capital City Chorus | Ensemble Music Society | Philharmonic Orchestra of Indianapolis | Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra | More Indianapolis Musical Organizations
Avon Music | Brownsburg Music | Carmel Music | Danville Music | Fishers Music | Greenfield Music | Greenwood Music | Martinsville Music | Mooresville Music | Noblesville Music | Plainfield Music | Westfield Music | Zionsville Music | More Indiana Music
