There’s something viscerally enjoyable about closing your eyes and listening to music. Music can help drive our emotions, bring out feelings we didn’t know we had, relax us almost to sleep, or amp us up for a night out with our closest friends.
While turning your iPod on or opening Spotify on your phone and putting in your headphones is a great way to drown out the outside world for a little bit, nothing beats hearing your favorite singers or bands play live, in person, in front of your very eyes.
Here are a few of the most beautiful and mind-blowing concert and performance venues around America that all music lovers should try to see during their lifetime.
Carnegie Hall–New York
Carnegie Hall
Photo: Katty Warner, Flickr
If you want to see one of the most beautiful, historic and most well-known concert halls in the entire United States, Carnegie Hall may be for you.
The hall, built in 1891 was funded, of course by philanthropist and steel industry magnate Andrew Carnegie. Divided into three performance halls, each more ornate than the last, Carnegie Hall is home to some of the most brilliant performances of the last century plus, which make up a part of the nearly 50,000
performances put on since its opening.
According to its website, Carnegie Hall was designed by William Burnet Tuthill, who clearly put all of his architectural abilities into the New York performance center, as he never designed another building–concert hall or not–again.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Photo: Bryce Edwards, Flickr
The Red Rocks Amphitheatre–Colorado
Unlike Carnegie Hall, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre isn’t necessarily world-renowned for its acoustics, its namesake or its hosting of generations of the music world’s greatest talent. But the appeal of Red Rocks isn’t necessarily in the talent it attracts (and it does attract talent, as the Beatles and U2, among others, have performed there), but in its appearance.
Situated about 6,500 feet above sea level, Red Rocks is the only naturally occurring and acoustically flawless amphitheatre in the entire world.
Radio City Music Hall–New York
Back to New York for another entry on this list. Known for the performances of the famous Rockettes, RCMH is also often referred to as “The Showplace of the Nation.” Adorned with work from numerous depression era artists, the hall hosts everything from huge rock concerts to the annual Christmas Spectacular, a defining aspect of Radio City Music Hall’s appeal.
While few places on this list can claim the same, Radio City has also left important marks on the sporting world in the past. It formerly hosted the NFL Draft (which will be in Philadelphia this season) and played home to the New York Liberty, a WNBA team for six games while Madison Square Garden was being renovated in 2004.