ENTERTAINMENT

Best Music Venues

Blog: Share your favorite music venues in DFW
Get a map of the Best in DFW: Music Venues

By MARIO TARRADELL/Music Critic
Dawn Burkes and Joy Tipping contributed to this list.

Meyerson Symphony Center 

The seating capacity is 2,062. Parking is $10 in the lots across the street and $10 in the Arts District Parking Garage. The sound is acoustic perfection. But you wouldn't expect anything less from a venue that houses the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. The Meyerson usually attracts an adult crowd, so in addition to classical music, the venue gamely books grown-up R&B (Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight), boomer rock (Moody Blues, Elvis Costello), country (Trisha Yearwood) and even Latin (Julio Iglesias).

2301 Flora St. 214-670-3600 www.dallasculture.org/meyersonSymphonyCenter..

Winspear Opera House 

The seating capacity is about 2,300. Parking is $15 for self-parking and $25 for valet at Lexus Red Parking, which is underground. The parking entrance is off Jack Evans Street. The sound is warm and crisp, almost as if the venue's sound system offers a coddling embrace to the singers onstage. Think adult music with arty flair. Vocal quartet the Manhattan Transfer, jazzmen Ramsey Lewis and Al Jarreau, art music composer Philip Glass and fado singer Mariza have already performed. Upcoming shows include the Soweto Gospel Choir on March 21 and operatic tenor Jose Carreras on June 23.

2403 Flora St. 214-953-1201 www.dallasperformingarts.org .

House of Blues 

The balcony in the main music hall has about 400 reserved seats. The rest of the room is general admission, and it holds approximately 1,200 more people. In the lot adjacent to HOB, it's generally $10 for self-parking. Parking fees in the city-owned lots behind HOB range from $2 to $5. Valet is usually $15. The sound is good. It travels well no matter what part of the room you're in. The vantage point from the balcony is cool because you can enjoy the entire performance without obstruction and in seated bliss. HOB is an all- encompassing, progressive club from a music-booking standpoint. It gladly caters to the old, the new, the regional and the in-between. So you get eclectic variety – Joan Armatrading (R&B-folk), Phil Pritchett (local roots rocker), Raphael Saadiq (old-school R&B), Edgar Winter (classic rock), LMFAO (party hip-hop) and reggae (the Wailers).

2200 N. Lamar St. 214-978-2583 www.houseofblues.com.

Superpages.com Center 

The seating capacity is approximately 19,500. Parking is available at the venue's surrounding lots. Fee is generally included in the concert ticket price unless otherwise noted. The sound is pretty good, especially for a semi-outdoor amphitheater feeding a lawn full of ticket holders as well as reserved-seating patrons. You can get all kinds at Superpages.com Center, from the contemporary flamenco of Gipsy Kings to the Top 40 hard rock of Nickelback. What you don't get is living-room closeness. This is definitely a venue for mass- appeal artists ready to get loud and entertain boisterous crowds.

1818 First Ave. in Fair Park. 214-421-1111 www.livenation.com/venue /superpages-com-center-tickets.

Nokia Theatre 

There are 6,333 reserved seats; 6,800 capacity with open floor. Parking is $15 in the Nokia lots, $20 for VIP area. The sound is good; at times really loud depending on the act, but generally good. Versatility is Nokia's middle name. This venue is fearless in regard to genres and styles. Tool; Rod Stewart; Jennifer Hudson; B.B. King; Chayanne; Pepe Aguilar; Earth, Wind & Fire; Chicago; Frankie Beverly & Maze; Third Day; Il Divo; Jonas Brothers; and R. Kelly all quickly come to mind.

1001 Performance Place, Grand Prairie. 972-854-5111 www.nokiatheatredfw.com.

Majestic Theatre 

Seating capacity is 1,704. Combining the adjacent lots and valet, parking ranges from $4 to $20. The sound is wonderful. You always get the living-room feel and the big-show splendor. Of course, since the Majestic is an elegant, vintage theater, you get plenty of musicals, plays and even children's fare. But do not ignore it for music, either. It skews to an adult crowd, yet remains diverse; recent performers have been Bryan Adams, Duran Duran, Maxwell and Jim Brickman.

1925 Elm St. 214-880-0137 www.liveatthemajestic.com

Eisemann Center 

There are two primary performance rooms inside the venue. The Hill Performance Hall seats up to 1,608, and the Bank of America Theatre welcomes 368. Self-parking is $4 for each vehicle in two garages on Performance Drive, which is adjacent to the center. Valet is $10. The sound is very nice. It's crisp, clear and uncluttered. You feel as though you're at home with the main attraction. Classical, jazz, country, traditional pop, Celtic, to name a few genres, from artists such as Kirk Whalum, Najee, Maureen McGovern, the Manhattan Transfer, the Oak Ridge Boys, Asleep at the Wheel, the Five Browns, Mandy Patinkin, Natalie MacMaster and Leahy.

2351 Performance Drive, Richardson. 972-744-4650. www.eisemanncenter.com.

Billy Bob's Texas 

The reserved- seating area accommodates 1,900. The entire club holds 6,036. Self-parking in the Billy Bob's lots is $5; valet parking is $10. The sound is good, but sometimes loud. If you are sitting in the reserved section up front and close to a speaker, you'll want earplugs. Billy Bob's Texas is a honky-tonk, naturally, so country music is the order of the day. In the club's history, nearly 30 years, it has presented superstars such as George Strait and Garth Brooks. And you can still catch Willie Nelson and Pat Green, not to mention other veteran artists and newcomers. But BBT also has a penchant for featuring classic rockers such as ZZ Top, the Doobie Brothers, Pat Benatar, 38 Special and Foreigner.

2520 Rodeo Plaza, Fort Worth. 817-624-7117. www.billybobstexas.com

Bass Performance Hall 

Seating capacity is 2,050. Parking is available at all Sundance Square garages, which are free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and during weekends. The sound is stellar. This is a beautiful concert hall, complete with all the acoustic fine-tuning one would expect from a venue good enough for classical music. Bass Hall covers a lot of ground musically – George Jones (country), Randy Crawford (jazz-R&B), Yes (progressive rock), Ruben Blades (Latin salsa), the Chieftains (Celtic) – and does it all in comfortable, intimate style. Just don't expect to catch a heavy-metal show there.

525 Commerce St. (at Fourth), Fort Worth. 817-212-4280. www.basshall.com .

Other DFW music venues: Sports... and a little music

How we choose

The Best in DFW series presents critics' and staff picks and asks readers to chime in with their favorites.

Critics' picks are presented without ranking.

To view other dining features, check the Restaurants page at DallasNews.com.

FIND IT

MOST POPULAR