From the soothing melodies of outdoor concerts along the St. Lawrence River to the vibrant tunes resonating in cozy venues offering craft beers and fine wines in the Adirondacks, the North Country of New York has a music scene that caters to a diverse audience. Here’s where you can immerse yourself in live music, ranging from concerts and karaoke to performances by touring artists.
Clayton Opera House
Address: 405 Riverside Drive, Clayton
Discover the historical charm of this theater, welcoming audiences since 1903. Following a $3.2 million renovation in 2007, Clayton Opera House offers a year-round calendar featuring nationally and internationally recognized artists, spanning genres from bluegrass to classical concerts.
Paddock Club
Address: 1 Public Square, Watertown
Step into the Paddock Club’s inviting ambiance, adorned with Tiffany lamps, leather sofas, and tin ceilings. Situated in the country’s oldest indoor mall, the Paddock Club offers a diverse entertainment calendar featuring karaoke, jam sessions, DJs, and live performances.
Kallet Theater
Address: 4842 N. Jefferson Street, Pulaski
Originally built in 1939, the Kallet Theater has transformed into a venue hosting concerts and community events. Catch upcoming performances featuring national recording artists like Marc Cohn, Selwyn Birchwood, The Grascals, and Enter the Haggis.
The Java Barn
Address: St. Lawrence University, Canton
Run by students on the St. Lawrence University campus, The Java Barn hosts free weekly concerts, open mic nights, and larger events. Past performances include renowned artists like Dave Matthews, Grace Potter, Guster, and more.
SUNY Potsdam Performing Arts Center
Address: 44 Pierrepont Avenue, Potsdam
Boasting a 97,000-square-foot facility, this venue is a hub for performances from the acclaimed Crane School of Music, the Department of Theater and Dance, and the Orchestra of Northern New York. The annual Community Performing Arts series brings touring artists to Potsdam.
Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort
Address: 873 State Route 37, Hogansburg
Find entertainment at Cascades Lounge with country karaoke and DJ dance parties, while the events center hosts performances by national recording artists.
Lake Placid Center For The Arts
Address: 17 Algonquin Dr, Lake Placid
The Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents music, dance, and theatre performances year-round. Each season, the music series offers performances in a wide variety of genres: pop, jazz, indie folk, classical, Broadway hits, and more.
Retro Live
Address: 14 Margaret St suite c, Plattsburgh
Retro Live is a dance club, hot spot, and live music venue with a great bar. Live bands perform every Saturday, and the open space makes for great acoustics and a fantastic dance floor with good views of the stage. If you’re looking for a live music venue with a mechanical bull, this is the place for you.
Strand Center Theatre
Address: 23 Brinkerhoff St, Plattsburgh
This North Country theatre is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Strand Center Theatre was built as a vaudeville theatre in 1924. The beautiful space has seating for 950 people and regularly hosts performances by touring musicians, from duets to orchestras.
BluSeed Studios
Address: 24 Cedar St, Saranac Lake
This community art center offers musical performances year-round in a hip and funky atmosphere. Also offered: theatre, poetry, comedy, community meetings, art shows, art classes, and more!
The Whallonsburg Grange
Address: 1610 NY-22, Essex
This building is over 100 years old, and regularly hosts regionally and nationally known musicians for concerts and shows. Visitors love the vibe and acoustics of the historic, open space. The Whallonsburg Grange is a great place to hear folk, bluegrass, and Celtic music, although you’ll find other genres as well!
Smoke Signals
Address: 2489 Main St, Lake Placid
Smoke Signals is a popular BBQ restaurant and bar in Lake Placid with a fun atmosphere, breathtaking views of the lake, AND two spaces for musical performances. You’ll find regional and North Country local bands playing here almost every weekend.
The Waterhole
Address: 48 Main St, Saranac Lake
A beloved spot among both locals and tourists, The Waterhole invites you to experience its dynamic music scene. Whether you choose the indoor setting or the outdoor areas, this live music venue promises a diverse lineup of musicians. With its Party On The Patio series, The Waterhole comes alive, especially during the vibrant summer months.
Raquette River Brewing
Address: 11 Balsam St, Tupper Lake
Voted among the Adirondacks’ Top 5 Best Wineries, Breweries & Distilleries, Raquette River Brewing offers more than just exceptional local beer and delectable food. Revel in live music both outside in the pavilion and inside the cozy tasting room. Perfect for enthusiasts of both craft beer and soulful tunes, this venue creates a harmonious blend.
barVino
Address: 272 Main St, North Creek
Elevate your date night with live music at barVino, a family-owned wine bar and restaurant in North Creek in North Country. With an impressive beer menu and an intimate setting, this venue provides the perfect backdrop for an evening of good food and captivating local artists.
Mids Park
Address: 2445 Main St, Lake Placid
Delight in the free summer music series, Songs At Mirror Lake, hosted at Mids Park every Tuesday at 7 PM. Immerse yourself in the melodies performed on a beautiful stage, creating a captivating atmosphere in this popular waterfront park on Main Street in Lake Placid.
Olive Ridley’s
Address: 37 Court St, Plattsburgh
A hometown restaurant in Plattsburgh, Olive Ridley’s is well known for weekly entertainment, delicious food and great drinks. Check their calendar for up to date shows you can catch after dinner or watching the big game.
P2’s Irish Pub
Address: 31 Main St Tupper Lake
P-2’s Irish Pub has the slogan, “The Place to Be in the Adirondacks!” and following being closed during the pandemic for 13 months, a new slogan – “The Place You Leave Smiling Bigger Than You Arrived!” – is fitting for the vibe of the crowd in this underrated Adirondack town. With a love of live music and talent from around the U.S. and Canada, a new bandshell provides a home venue for talented musicians.
Big Z’s
Address: 2750 Main St., Lake Placid
Whether you’re looking for a night of family fun in the bowling alley, or catching a game and enjoying a tasty burger at the bar, Big Z’s Hangout is a go-to destination. A newly renovated space offers a fun, comfortable and engaging environment for visitors and members of the community to enjoy themselves. From live music in the bar to concerts in the parking lot, Big Z’s is where the party’s at in Lake Placid.
Beck’s Tavern (Gore Mountain)
Address: 881 Peaceful Valley Road, North Creek
Beck’s Tavern, bar and yurts are located right next to the Gore Mountain Lodge, serving German inspired fare and American favorites, with live music Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Stony Creek Inn
Address: 6 Roaring Branch Rd, Stony Creek
Located in the “Biggest Little Town in New York State” in downtown Stony Creek, the Inn is nestled in the hub of the Southern Adirondack mountains within a half hour of Lake George, Queensbury, Glens Falls, Saratoga or the Gore Mountain Region. For 35 years, the owners have provided a unique establishment with simple roots; good food & music, reasonable prices & a comfortable friendly setting to relax and enjoy family and friends.
Daikers
Address: 161 Daikers Cir, Old Forge
Daikers is a restaurant and bar located in the heart of the Central Adirondack Mountains. Enjoy live music, great food and drinks while overlooking Fourth Lake.
Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts
Address: 3446 State Route 28. Blue Mountain Lake
The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts produces professional theatre, concerts as part of our Weekend Series, artist exhibits in three galleries, youth and adult arts-education workshops, and grant opportunities for art and cultural organizations and teaching artists. The Arts Center is coordinator for the Statewide Community Regrants (SCR) program of the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) for the four-county region of Hamilton, Franklin, Clinton, and Essex counties.
View Arts Center
Address: 3273 NY-28, Old Forge
The mission of the View Arts Center in Old Forge is to create a dynamic center for arts and culture based in the Adirondack Region, with a focus on enrich, educate, entertain, and inspire.
Rudy’s Scar Bar
Address: 788 Springfield Road, Wilmington
Rudy’s Scar Bar and Grille is a spin-off of Flagship Rudy’s Lakeside Drive-In, located on the shore of the Great Lake Ontario, in Oswego. The mountain pub version stays true to core concepts and menu favorites, with great live music on a regular basis. Fun fact: Scar Bar is named in homage to Scarface Mountain, one of the Saranac 6er peaks in the Adirondacks.
The Monopole
Address: 7 Protection Ave, Plattsburgh
Within the walls of this legendary bar & grill lies a fifteen foot oak bar, oak-paneled walls/cabinets and even an old-school bracketed television. Notoriously, decadent tales of grandeur continue to swirl atop the Monopole. Those incredibly potent folktales attracted original visitors and turned them into repeat customers, along with regular live music upstairs from rising acts in the Northeast, and some big names who have passed through the famous venue.
Edwards Opera House
Address: 161 Main St., Edwards
The Edwards Town Hall Opera House is an architecturally unique theater seating about 275 people, with superb acoustics, raked auditorium and raised stage floor, with its original painted front curtain well preserved and still in place. This venue is an unusually intact example of a type of facility no longer surviving in most small towns in Northern New York.
Upper Jay Arts Center and The Recovery Lounge
Address: 12198 9N (North), Upper Jay
The Upper Jay Art Center was founded by Scott and Byron Renderer in 2005 as a place to enjoy music, theater, and visual art. In 2008, it incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and, with a wink and a nod the brothers, upholsterers by trade, named the performance space the Recovery Lounge. Over the past decade, the Lounge has become an essential gathering place in the Ausable River Valley, featuring plays by classic and contemporary playwrights, acted by an ever expanding troupe of local talent, play and poetry readings, performance art, dance, and art exhibits. All events are affordable and many are free.
Ausable Brewing Company
Address: 765 Mace Chasm Rd, Keeseville
Located in the heart of the Champlain Valley, Ausable Brewing Company is a small farm based nanobrewery, brewing a variety of small batch artisan ales and sodas, and hosting local food trucks and live music all summer long.
Tannery Pond Center
Address: 228 Main Street, North Creek
Tannery Pond Center in North Creek is dedicated to enriching lives with quality arts programming and a welcoming community center. TPC presents a full schedule of arts programming, including exhibits of original art, musical concerts and performances, as well as workshops and children’s programs. Other groups presenting arts programs at the center include Our Town Theatre Group, North Country Singers, and Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts.
Paradox Brewing
Address: 2781 U.S. 9, North Hudson
Paradox Brewery is a certified veteran owned, independent craft brewery founded in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains brewing innovative beer of the highest quality. You can find live music in their taproom on weekends, as well as open mic nights, especially in the summer months.
Sticks and Stones
Address: 739 US-9, Schroon Lake
Sticks & Stones is a casual dining gallery café featuring fresh food and a full bar in a rustic Adirondack setting. The inviting interior includes rustic artisan wood and stone, a crackling hand laid stone fireplace, wood burning oven, craft beer, boutique wine, handcrafted cocktails, and fresh locally sourced foods. Enjoy a bite and drink with contemporary and classic acoustic folk music from locals like Rich Ortiz and Ryan Leddick.
20 Main Tavern
Address: 2522 State Hwy 9N, Au Sable Forks
20 Main has long been a staple of the Au Sable Forks and surrounding communities. Welcoming townspeople, visitors from all over the globe, bikers and a range of musicians and other entertainment, 20 Main Bar as well as host community fundraisers for Christmas in the Forks and other local charities. With a new outdoor space behind the main bar with sound stage, garden area, and a light, friendly atmosphere, its a great place for live music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Basil and Wick’s
Address: Route 28, North Creek
Located near Gore Mountain, Basil and Wick’s has recently reopened, offering traditional American comfort fare, classic cocktails in a warm, homey location. Plenty of music is on tap – open mics, karaoke, or local musicians performing après ski.
Hex and Hop
Address: 1719 State Route 3, Bloomingdale
Just north of Saranac Lake in the small town of Bloomingdale is Hex and Hop, creating delicious craft beers and meads in the hear of the Adirondack Park. In the summer, outdoor live music can be enjoyed at Hex and Hop, as you take in the crisp Adirondack mountain air with a side of craft beer & good tunes from bands and solo artists all summer long.
The Garagery
Address: 53 Main Street Rear, Saranac Lake
A newly opened venue in Saranac Lake, The Garagery is holds the Saranac Lake Hootenanny each Monday night, hosted by Charlie Reinersten, offering a vibrant musical experience in collaboration with Twolined Studio. Musicians are welcome every Monday from 6:30-10:00 pm for a night of featured artists, and open mic performances.
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