Louisville boasts some of the most diverse and exciting entertainment niches in the country. Despite being a lot smaller than the champion cities of nightlife like Miami, New York and Los Angeles, Louisville provides a great variety of diversion options to all crowds and ages. The visitors as well as the locals have an opportunity to experience the diversity of the city by going to its different entertainment venues, whether those are downtown or elsewhere.
With the slew of bars and nightclubs all competing for their patrons’ continuing business and a 4 am curfew that keeps many people out until dawn, Louisville can rightfully contend for a spot as one of the country’s most fun cities.
1. The downtown area, especially Fourth Street Live, is known as Louisville’s premiere dining and entertainment destination. The world’s very first Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge is located here, attracting bourbon and entertainment lovers from all over the country. With its interior decked out in a rich, wood-dominated palette, the lounge is lush with its bourbon brown furnishings and exquisite draperies. The lounge keeps true to its name by offering its visitors an unparalleled variety of bourbons from Kentucky’s distilleries.
2. For a warm reception and an instant feeling of belonging, it is worth heading over to a song-filled, clapping-inducive Howl at the Moon. This piano bar features excellent drink specials that come in impressively-sized buckets. After several sips of liquor, it takes very little encouragement to get the crowd involved in the sing-alongs urged by the piano players and centered around audience interaction.
3. For a true rock star experience, complete with the roped off VIP seating areas and girls dancing on bar tops, Angel’s Rock Bar is the place to go. The night club experience is very evident here, with a large dance floor, prominent liquor bar and a skilled DJ, bar patrons can truly imagine themselves to be a part of a night life experience. The place looks dark and decadent in the glimmer of the subdued lighting in all the right places. The textures and colors all work together to create an authentic experience that can rival some of the biggest clubs in the country.
4. A night downtown would be incomplete without going to the HOTEL night club, located right next door to the Angel’s Rock Bar. A main entry off the second level outdoor deck resembles a grandiose approach that is so characteristic to each and any of the world-renowned hotels. Though some may argue that the VIP areas are excessively large and many times remain unoccupied, they still add on to the overall extravagance of the night club.
5. While many tourists head over to Fourth Street Live for the entertainment festivities, the locals know of a few other hang out spots that are truly hidden treasures. One of the neighborhoods that is a birthplace to many of such treasures is The Highlands. This neighborhood is known for its quirky restaurants, oddity stores and a lively nightlife. The Highlands Taproom is one of such lively drinking establishments – on many of nights live bands set up to play solely original music and the admission to the bar is absolutely free. The downside is that the bar is very small and it can get crowded and take a long time to order a drink. Of course, the lively atmosphere and the truly authentic music talents make the make really worth it.
6. O’Shea’s is a bar that is located on Baxter Avenue, in the midst of the multitude of eateries and drinkeries that surround it. This bar has a full food menu that can satisfy a hungry drinker’s appetite and a large wine menu to appease to a more fickle drinker’s taste. Live music is another staple of this bar, as many people come out to O’Shea’s to listen to the bands of their preference. This bar is a perfect neighborhood place that will not make an outsider feel excluded. It’s got a warm atmosphere and a heart that keeps the regulars and the newcomers coming back for more.
7. Phoenix Hill Tavern is one of the oldest bars in the Highlands and it is still continuing to be successful at upholding its atmosphere as one of the most popular bars in Louisville. Phoenix Hill has got it all – live bands, a dance floor, more secluded tables and chairs for a more relaxed conversation, a retractable roof that allows the inside of the bar feels like the outside on those warm summer nights. The front of the club even houses a karaoke bar and a diner. Truly a chameleon, Phoenix Hill’s diverse crowd gets along as well, if not better, as a good old-fashioned rum and coke drink.
Whether it is an event as big as the world-famous Kentucky Derby, or as small as a Friday night get-together with a few of the closest friends, Louisville has plenty of entertainment to offer. The city is known for its easy-going attitude and a fun atmosphere and its bars and night clubs are a further testament to its free spirit. Unlike some of the stuffier big cities, Louisville is not pretentious and is always ready to show its visitors and locals a heck of a good time.
