When people discuss just about anything in New York, the price of admission is a popular—and very reasonable—critique. And while the expense is real and felt at every level of existence in the five boroughs, not everything in the city requires a second mortgage or a high-yield savings account. Thankfully, seeing live music in Brooklyn is still one of the most accessible—and affordable— forms of entertainment and reprieve available.
To support the collective project of ensuring those in-person experiences remain as viable and visible as possible, we’ve assembled a list of the venues where you can consistently see live music for $20 or less. These spots not only feature interesting and original performers but place them in spaces that aren’t stuffy or loaded with pretense, so you can keep your focus where it belongs (the music).
Scroll on for some of the bars and venues keeping live music affordable across the borough.
Bad Therapy
1008 Cortelyou Rd.
The old English lettering used in the Bad Therapy sign lets locals know this is not just another place to stop for a beverage, but that the Kensington coffeeshop-by-day, bar-by-night is a sophisticated and unpretentious space that welcomes a wide range of musicians, all of them with serious chops you might otherwise spend a lot more money seeing at larger venues. Here, they perform in an intimate setting with their backs to bookshelves, and there is no cover. During warmer times, find a seat in a large, pretty yard.
While you’re listening, enjoy a glass of natural wine, some olives, and a salami plate. The only thing we find misleading is the name. After a night at Bad Therapy, it’s not uncommon to feel better than when you entered, and realize that, as the text on a cool drawing inside tells you, “Everything will be OK.”
Lowlands
543 3rd Ave.
One of the great things about live music venues in Brooklyn, compared to its northern neighbor, is their relaxed, unpretentious atmospheres. That certainly applies to Lowlands, a bar where you can sit down and start to drink without even realizing that there is a band on the bill for the evening. The only indication might be beer pitchers—with the name of the artist stuck to the side—in which you can show appreciation for the performers by sliding them some cash.
Performers include people like saxophonist Tim Berne, who has collaborated with The Bad Plus and Nels Cline. Berne played there recently with a band featuring an accordion player whose instrument featured bellows that stretched and contracted and were about as gratifying to see as they were to hear.
Sisters
900 Fulton St.
The sleek wood on the walls and great acoustics let you know that this is a place for serious musicians. Recent performers include Brian Chase, a member of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs who was crowned by Gigwise as one of the greatest drummers of all time, as well as Andrew Drury, who has somehow figured out how to turn a drum into a wind instrument and was labeled by All About Jazz as one of the “most innovative and bold drummers.” The emphasis here on experimentation also extends to singer-songwriters and DJs, who spin music until 2 a.m. Admission is sometimes free; other times it operates on a sliding scale between $10 and $20.
Ornithology Jazz Club
6 Suydam St.
Named for bebop legend Charlie “Bird” Parker, the music here is hot enough to live up to its name. Performers start playing at 6:30 p.m., and except for a few short breaks, they typically don’t stop until almost two in the morning. The bands set up in the center of the room with fans sitting and standing on all sides. Bills typically feature a mix of established players and younger musicians who breathe new life into the genre. The venue charges a $10 cover, and like LunÀtico, there is often a line of people waiting to get inside. But rather than wait outside, walk next door to the club’s sibling, Café Ornithology, which opened in 2023, is typically less crowded than its neighbor, and features the same quality of music.
Sunny’s Bar
253 Conover St.
If you want to take in music in a saloon untainted by the latest trends, take a few steps away from the Red Hook Channel and stop at Sunny’s, which opened in 1890. That long history inspired the much-missed icon Anthony Bourdain to visit for his CNN show and Lady Gaga to perform there in 2016. You can sit in the front room and enjoy singer-songwriters, Americana, and groovy swing from afar or walk to the back and sit close enough to touch the musicians (but please don’t).
Bobby Hawk, a fiddler who played on Taylor Swift’s album Folklore, recently performed here. There is also a weekly bluegrass jam on Saturday nights featuring only the most capable pickers who consistently stretch the genre in new directions. The bartender typically passes around a tip jar, so you can show some love to the musicians who work as hard as the longshoreman who visited a century ago.
Barbès
376 9th St.
If you want to start a new weekly tradition, Barbès is a great spot to build it around. The Park Slope venue incorporates several residencies into its calendar. There’s Slavic Soul Party, comprising top musicians playing Balkan brass music with dashes of NOLA and klezmer variants on Tuesday nights. You can also catch Mamady Kouyate and his Mandingo Ambassadors, led by a guitarist from Guinea who imports music from West Africa each Wednesday. The venue fills in its schedule with one-off shows, which, like the residents, introduce listeners to music from around the world they might not have otherwise heard, as well as more familiar—but just as lively—American strains of music. Recent performers include Kaethe Hostetter, a violist performing compositions inspired by traditional Ethiopian music, and Andy Statman, who plays both the mandolin and clarinet and has performed with legends like David Grisman. The suggested donation is typically $20.
LunÀtico
486 Halsey St.
In Spanish, the word “lunático” means a “moody person” or a “lunatic.” And while the crowd at this small space is typically pretty tame, the musicians on the small stage often swing in crazy directions. On any night, you can expect to see world-class players exploring a range of genres, including Brazilian jazz, Afrobeat, and bluegrass. Some of them might be familiar names, like Marc Ribot and Fred Thomas. Others are a few years out of the New School’s jazz program and could soon become household names for studious jazz heads. The musicians perform two sets each night, starting at 9 p.m., and during each, a LunÀtico owner or manager will briefly interrupt the music to ask people to donate at least $10. While you’re there, order the hummus and pita plate or a dessert, which are almost as satisfying as what you get to see and hear at this Bed-Stuy treasure.
Union Pool
484 Union Ave.
Mondays are for listening to reverends. The Rev. Vince Anderson has been reminding people of that for a quarter-century by performing what he describes as “dirty gospel” in the back room of this bar, a former swimming pool supply store. “Once you come into this room, you are experiencing a religious act because we are dealing with spirituality on some level, and we are dealing with it together,” said Anderson—who sings, plays the keys, and leads the “Love Choir”—in a 2022 documentary. The weekly show is free, as are many other events on the venue’s calendar. Step out of the dedicated concert space and into the main room, and you will often see a DJ spinning and a packed dance floor. During the summer, you can find bands—including legends like surviving members of the Sun Ra Arkestra—performing free daytime shows in the backyard.
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