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I’m a musician looking for somewhere with a great music scene, and a lot of musicians. There are hardly any musicians or venues where I live now. I’m looking for somewhere where it’s easy to meet other musicians to play with and where there are a lot of venues to play. I’m considering Nashville, Minneapolis and Chicago. How do these music scenes compare to each other, and what other cities would you recommend? Thanks!
I work in music PR and work with a lot of musicians around the US. I would say this greatly depends on what your preferred style, genre, and financial situation is; some places will lean more towards a particular scene than others. It's also important to know your strengths and where your commitment level is. If your looking to simply play part time or casually play shows, but have no further game plan then your satisfaction in one city will be different from someone searching for a place to establish their career and look at getting music actually pushed out on a professional scale.
Here are my thoughts on the cities you picked:
Nashville: Obviously a great place to go if you can afford it and you're looking to kickstart a career; but it is the LA/NYC of the country music scene. It can get pretty cutthroat and if your looking at starting out (meaning you have little professional experience, no completed album, no money saved) and while you could find people to play with, it's more hit and miss since people are always coming and going. Nashville has a bit of a reputation in my circles for being extremely selective of who they let in their scene. Its very cliquish in my opinion; studios and musicians there tend to stick with their own when it comes to who gets to play anywhere. Maybe in the suburbs you can find weekenders to jam with, but most venues will be extremely tough to get a spot to play.
Minneapolis: A great place for those in the Rock/Alternative genre. It's a great grassroots starting place and if you can afford to live in or near the city you have a ton of amazing clubs and venues to choose from that tend to have plenty of openings for emerging acts. I've found the musicians from the Minneapolis area the most genuine and it's a lot less cutthroat so you have more unknowns and amatures getting a chance to shine. Of the three I would pick Minneapolis just from its own musical diversity and the
Chicago: Like Minneapolis you have a good mixture of genres and kinds of venues. I don;t work much with the Chicago music scene so I have the least amount of info on it, but I personally love the city and it's getting cheaper to live there compared to the other two cities so especially if your starting out that would be something to consider (you still gotta eat and sleep somewhere). I get the feeling Chicago is a place where you could have a lot of other musicians of all levels that would be available to work and develop a closer sense of community with.
Other cities that I see a lot of up and coming talent from; Memphis (Non-Nashville/Alternative Country, Rap/Hip Hop), Athens Georgia (Rap/Hip Hop, Americana, Rock), Jacksonville (Hip Hop, Pop, Latin), New York (Country, Folk, Hip Hop), Toronto (Canadian Country, Rap, Singer/Songwriter), Dallas (Country, Rock, Alternative), Denver Colorado (Rock, Country, Singer/Songwriter) Boston (Classical, Singer/Songwriter, Alternative). NYC and LA generally have solid talent flowing out, but it takes time and dedication to what your doing in and out of music to make any kind of a living there. What is your main interest genre and scene wise?
I’m a musician looking for somewhere with a great music scene, and a lot of musicians. There are hardly any musicians or venues where I live now. I’m looking for somewhere where it’s easy to meet other musicians to play with and where there are a lot of venues to play. I’m considering Nashville, Minneapolis and Chicago. How do these music scenes compare to each other, and what other cities would you recommend? Thanks!
The thing about the big name brand cities is yes, they will have the big scene, but how many other musicians will there be to fight for stage time? An endless supply. I would exclude Nashville and Austin for that reason.
I went to Seattle last year. Don't know the area that well and don't know anyone there. I was going to like three shows a night including the kind of bare bones venues where its literally an empty old building with people standing inside watching three bands play. Portland, a city with its own legacy of music, would be within driving distance to play/network there.
Los Angeles gives you their historic music scene, plus the greater area, plus San Diego and even they Bay Area in a pinch as potential areas of operation. The kind of place where you make your own luck, really.
I work in music PR and work with a lot of musicians around the US. I would say this greatly depends on what your preferred style, genre, and financial situation is; some places will lean more towards a particular scene than others. It's also important to know your strengths and where your commitment level is. If your looking to simply play part time or casually play shows, but have no further game plan then your satisfaction in one city will be different from someone searching for a place to establish their career and look at getting music actually pushed out on a professional scale.
Here are my thoughts on the cities you picked:
Nashville: Obviously a great place to go if you can afford it and you're looking to kickstart a career; but it is the LA/NYC of the country music scene. It can get pretty cutthroat and if your looking at starting out (meaning you have little professional experience, no completed album, no money saved) and while you could find people to play with, it's more hit and miss since people are always coming and going. Nashville has a bit of a reputation in my circles for being extremely selective of who they let in their scene. Its very cliquish in my opinion; studios and musicians there tend to stick with their own when it comes to who gets to play anywhere. Maybe in the suburbs you can find weekenders to jam with, but most venues will be extremely tough to get a spot to play.
Minneapolis: A great place for those in the Rock/Alternative genre. It's a great grassroots starting place and if you can afford to live in or near the city you have a ton of amazing clubs and venues to choose from that tend to have plenty of openings for emerging acts. I've found the musicians from the Minneapolis area the most genuine and it's a lot less cutthroat so you have more unknowns and amatures getting a chance to shine. Of the three I would pick Minneapolis just from its own musical diversity and the
Chicago: Like Minneapolis you have a good mixture of genres and kinds of venues. I don;t work much with the Chicago music scene so I have the least amount of info on it, but I personally love the city and it's getting cheaper to live there compared to the other two cities so especially if your starting out that would be something to consider (you still gotta eat and sleep somewhere). I get the feeling Chicago is a place where you could have a lot of other musicians of all levels that would be available to work and develop a closer sense of community with.
Other cities that I see a lot of up and coming talent from; Memphis (Non-Nashville/Alternative Country, Rap/Hip Hop), Athens Georgia (Rap/Hip Hop, Americana, Rock), Jacksonville (Hip Hop, Pop, Latin), New York (Country, Folk, Hip Hop), Toronto (Canadian Country, Rap, Singer/Songwriter), Dallas (Country, Rock, Alternative), Denver Colorado (Rock, Country, Singer/Songwriter) Boston (Classical, Singer/Songwriter, Alternative). NYC and LA generally have solid talent flowing out, but it takes time and dedication to what your doing in and out of music to make any kind of a living there. What is your main interest genre and scene wise?
I really appreciate your help! As far as genre, I play original classic/hard rock. I mainly want a place where I can find other committed musicians to play with, and somewhere with a lot of rock venues. The goal is to have a career playing music, and I’m trying to figure out the best place to do that. I would appreciate any more input that you have on this. Thanks again for all of the help!
If you're looking for a small place to find a start, New Haven might be a good fit. It has a pretty large and diverse music scene for a city its size (rock, punk, jazz, classical), but it won't be as competitive as other cities. And it's close to NYC when you're ready to move up.
I really appreciate your help! As far as genre, I play original classic/hard rock. I mainly want a place where I can find other committed musicians to play with, and somewhere with a lot of rock venues. The goal is to have a career playing music, and I’m trying to figure out the best place to do that. I would appreciate any more input that you have on this. Thanks again for all of the help!
I'd recommend the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro area in NC.
The Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro area overflows with a booming music scene as bands perform at over 100 venues like Cat's Cradle, Pour House, and Local 506, in addition to under-the-radar festivals like Hopscotch Music Festival. The area is home to acts such as Ryan Adams and Ben Folds Five plus Merge Records, one of indie rock's defining music labels, and its standout list of local acts like Superchunk, Squirrel Nut Zippers, and Archers of Loaf.
Take a look at Memphis. Obviously a legendary iconic rock and roll city historically.
The cost of living is relatively affordable, and it has not boomed to the levels of Austin & Nashville yet. A quieter boom is steadily gaining traction though, so I'd take a look.
Great article about one legendary musician moving from Austin to Memphis, and how the Memphis scene embraces musicians. Memphis is very under-rated and not over-hyped, so it could be a good scene you are looking for, at least for now.
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