Greensboro, NC has lots of live music; you just have to know where to look. One thing to check out if you’re wanting to see some live music is one of the free local weeklies around town, such as Yes! Weekly or Go Triad. Both of these have a section devoted to music at bars, clubs, restaurants, and other venues in and around Greensboro. Otherwise, check out this detailed list of places to go see live bands, whether local or well known.
1) Ziggy’s: 433 Baity Street, Winston Salem NC, 27105
748-1064
http://www.ziggyrock.com/
Ziggy’s is about 20 minutes away from Greensboro, but well worth the drive. It’s primarily a music venue but also has a bar. It’s a charming wooden building where the stage is essentially the same level as the main audience floor. The floor is layered, though, so there are various places to watch, even if you’re not a right-in-front kind of person. There’s also limited seating around. Ziggy’s is a cute, hippie-ish spot and they usually have a table of objects they’re selling–like homemade hemp necklaces. They also get pretty big names usually. To see who they have coming up, check out their webpage.
2) Backstreets: 1720 Battleground Ave
Greensboro, NC 27408
279-1113
Backstreets is a classy bar/restaurant that sometimes has live music in the basement portion. The basement is comfortable and simply but nicely decorated and the crowd is generally around 30s or 40s but younger and older groups sometimes hang out there too. They tend to have live local music at least once a week, but it’s not listed on the website, so if you’re interested in who’s playing when, give them a call.
3) Somewhere Else Tavern: 5713 W Friendly Ave
Greensboro, NC 27410
292-5464
Somewhere Else Tavern is an all ages club, but they do have alcohol also. They’re primarily a music venue, so there’s usually something going on, and most shows cost about $5 to get in. The music tends to be young local bands, and because it’s all ages, the place is generally full of high school hipsters.
4) Arizona Pete’s: 2900-A Patterson St., Greensboro, NC 27407
632-9889
http://www.arizonapetes.com
Arizona Pete’s is a country music venue that has live music every night they’re open, which is Wednesday through Saturday. You have to be 18 to get in. I believe you have to have a membership to get in (or maybe you can be a guest or visit once? You may have to call them to ask about this), but they have a mechanical bull, so I’m sure it’s totally worth it.
5) Greene Street Club: 113 N. Greene St., Greensboro NC
273-4111
http://www.greenestreetclub.com/
Thursday night is college night (ages18 and up) and there are DJs, but most other nights they have live music, including a lot of tribute bands. Many shows are all ages, some are 18 and up. Anyone under 21 pays $2 at the door on college night, and most shows are around $5-$10.
6)M’Couls Pub: 110 W. McGee St.
http://www.mcoulspub.com/
M’Couls is a fun, comfortable pub with two floors, one smoking and one non-smoking. They also have an outside seating section downstairs and seating on the upstairs deck. They don’t have live music all that often, but if you love Irish music, every Friday night from 10:30pm-2am they have a band called Mulligan’s Banned, made up of two Irish men who play folky music with guitar and a fiddle. They play a lot of Irish tunes, but also love to play some Bob Dylan. There’s no cover but you have to be 21 to get in.
7) Rum Runners: KRESS BUILDING: 212 South Elm St.
379-8877
Rum Runners is a casual,laid back, tropically decorated restaurant and bar that features “dueling pianos,” a live music show in which two pianos…duel, I’m assuming. I’ve never actually witnessed it, but it’s supposed to be great. They also have open mic nights and something intriguing called “SHOWTIME!” in which, according to the website, ” the staff leads the guests in a variety of song and dance routines.” Probably not for the faint of heart, but most likely a lot of fun when you’re drunk.
8) The Barn Dance: 6341 Phillippi Rd
Julian, NC 27283
685-9200
This place has a live house band, called Tony and the Back Yard Bandits, that plays oldies, rock, and country, while, I’m assuming, people dance. It’s open to all ages but does not serve alcohol.
9)The Blilnd Tiger: 2115 Walker Ave, Greensboro NC, 27403
272-9888
http://www.theblindtiger.com/index2.htm
The Blind Tiger is kind of a dive bar, but people love it. It’s fairly small, with a few tables and bar seats, pool tables, and a big open floor next to the stage. They have cheap drink specials Monday through Thursday, and a wide variety of live music almost every night. 21 and up.
10) Solaris: 125 Summit Ave. , Downtown Greensboro, NC, 27401
378-0198
http://www.gettapas.com/index.htm
Solaris is a classy but pricey tapas restaurant/bar that features DJs every Friday night. They have outdoor seating and couches and other comfortable seating arrangements inside. They also occasionally have other live music; they have displayed Guilford College’s African Drumming Class more than once.
