Top Live Music Venues in Fort Worth

In Fort Worth, TX the bands are as diverse as the scenery, offering everything you could want in a music experience.

At The Aardvark at 2905 West Berry Street you can hear premier sounds taken from the heart and soul of local musicians. Hours are Tues.-Sat. 9 p.m-2 a.m. and the phone number is 817-926-7614. Show are booked through March right now and every night they’re open at least three different bands are featured.

The Keys Lounge offers live music every weekend and Thursday nights. They also have Sunday night Jams. There is never a cover charge to hear the Blues and bands start at 9:30 p.m. Thirty-six musicians showed up to play with Bobby Counts & Company Dec. 22nd. For more information email comments@keyslounge.com.

The Ridglea Theater at 6025 Camp Bowie Boulevard where you used to be able to see cheap movies on huge movie screens in the 1970s, was converted to a live music venue years ago although you can still see “Rocky Horror” there. It’s a young crowd that stands in line, weaving around the shopping strip almost completely on weekends and where many Raves are held. It was voted Best Rock Venue for 2005 by a local paper. Cover charge is $7 for 21 and up. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and multiple bands are always featured. They also have some of the best local metal bands around. The phone number is 817-738-9500.

The Black Dog Tavern at 903 Throckmorton Street (817-332-8190) is a popular nightspot. It is situated below street level and jazz and blues are offered.

Five years ago after a huge ice storm hit a friend of mine and I took in City Streets for the first time. It’s five bars within a bar and you can try each one depending on your taste. There’s a piano bar, karaoke bar, disco club, Top 40, and retro. Cages has the Top 40 hits if that’s what you’re into or you can try the Blue Monkey for the performers out there who love the karaoke machine. Atlantis spins music from the 70s and 80s with a water theme. It was at City Streets where I got a crush on a certain piano player/comic who sadly wound up only performing in Dallas a couple of years later. The crowds vary depending on which bar you go into of course and that’s what makes it fun. City Streets is located at 425 Commerce Street and the number is 817-335-5400.

J & J’s Texas Roadhouse and Blues Bar is an old favorite of a former boss of mine. It’s located at 937 Woodward Street (817-870-2337). There are two takes on J & J’s which his just called JJ’s by the locals. One is that if you’re there, you’ve reached the end of the line with your drinking. The other is that it’s a hip and cool place to be, hanging out by an old but still operating tiny post office smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood that boasts a teaching hospital.