With music venues reopening, fans of all genres are lining up with their vaccination cards at venues to see their favorite artists perform on stage again. Despite the pandemic, many of the area’s music venues are alive and well.

Here is a list of some of my favorite.

TV Eye

A multi-purpose venue, TV Eye, is an underground rock n’ roll club as well as a bar, eatery and dance club. TV Eye also has a courtyard and cocktail lounge and acts as an art gallery and social club, making it a space that truly has no limitations.

If you get hungry while at TV Eye, food can be ordered from Barker & Sons, which features snacks, such as BBQ cauliflower and bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, as well as tacos, burritos and nachos with choices of vegan fillings and toppings.

TV Eye is located at 1647 Weirfield St. in Ridgewood and is open Monday 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Tuesday through Saturday 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. and Sunday 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Our Wicked Lady

Popular with many North Brooklyn residents looking for a night out to enjoy a drink, rooftop views and live music is Our Wicked Lady (OWL). OWL hosts a variety of acts, ranging from comedy shows to DJs and live bands. Held weekly is free Monday night karaoke from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. On the rooftop each Monday night, a movie is played on a projector screen starting at approximately 8:30 p.m.

If attending a movie, tables are first come, first serve. Grass seating is available with the recommendation of bringing a blanket. Additionally, each Sunday, OWL hosts “Sunday Soul Scream” on the rooftop, which lasts from dusk until dawn and features DJs and live bands.

After dancing your heart out, be sure to grab some food. OWL’s extensive menu includes a wide variety of bar snacks, including its signature “OWL Pocket Packs” and more traditional items like mozzarella sticks, nachos and bratwursts. An array of alcoholic beverages are also available, ranging from draft beers and wine to cocktails and fun frozen drinks.

OWL is located at 153 Morgan Ave. in East Williamsburg and is open Tuesday through Friday 5 p.m. to 2a.m. and Saturday & Sunday 2 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Brooklyn Made

Brooklyn Made is a new live event space opening in Bushwick this fall that has a 500 person capacity. On Sept. 30, the new live music venue will open with two nights featuring Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. The venue offers unique benefits for performing musicians, such as a private pool and use of a loft apartment with breathtaking Manhattan skyline views, making it a home away from home for touring artists.

Brooklyn Made will also have a café that opens at 7 a.m. and will turn into a tapas spot in the evenings, as well as a bar named Connie’s that will stay open until 4 a.m. every night, even when there isn’t a show.

Brooklyn Made is located at 428 Troutman St. in Bushwick and is scheduled for a grand opening date of September 30.

Elsewhere

Elsewhere is a dance club, a music venue and an arts space. The multi-functional venue boasts a 5,000 square foot performance space for live and dance music, a smaller 1,200 square foot space for up-and-coming artists and a 5,000 square foot rooftop with a full bar that hosts many different events, including DJ sets, parties, films and more.

Elsewhere also offers food prepared by Claudia’s, a Guatemalan, family-owned restaurant that features small plates, such as yucca fries, and entrees, such as a fried chicken sandwich called the kampero sandwich and a carnitas sandwich, which includes BBQ pulled pork, coleslaw, pickled jalapeno and onion. Both are served with fries.

Elsewhere is located at 599 Johnson Ave. in East Williamsburg and is open seven days a week with varying hours for events, with occasional dark days. 

Market Hotel

Market Hotel is an all-ages concert venue and “neighborhood meeting place” on the second floor of a 140-year-old building at Myrtle Broadway, above Mr. Kiwi Grocery. Market hotel hosts all types of music (ranging the spectrum of genres) and community events for those in and around the neighborhood.

Market Hotel is located at 1140 Myrtle Ave. in Bushwick. Hours may vary.

The Broadway

A multi-story bar and music venue, The Broadway is located under the J train on the border of Bushwick and Bed-Stuy. Each week, the venue hosts a variety of entertainment, ranging from live bands to drag bingo. The ground floor features a large bar. On the lower level, there’s a noodle shop. Food from Strange Flavor is available everyday from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. and can also be ordered via delivery platforms DoorDash and GrubHub.

The Broadway is located at 1272 Broadway on the Bushwick/Bed-Stuy border and is open every day from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m.

H0l0

Founded in July 2017, H0L0 is a performance venue and artist resource dedicated to diversified subcultures of creative practice in NYC. In addition to hosting concerts, the Ridgewood-based venue presents live-streamed events, produces a podcast and recording series and serves as a shared work space, rehearsal studio and community gathering space for artists, presenters and local nonprofit and organizing groups.

Another interesting thing about H0L0 is that it raises funds by asking its fans to become members on Patreon. Memberships provide fans with perks like early access to all H0L0 media, special access to shows, complementary concessions and even access to its physical space during the day for things like work, rehearsing and more.

H0L0 is located at 1090 Wyckoff Ave. in Ridgewood. Hours may vary.

Starr Bar

Starr Bar is an all-in-one establishment that hosts parties, mixers, live music, art shows, open mics, karaoke, meetings, political discussions, fundraisers, film screenings, film shoots and more. This multi-purpose venue is 2,100 square feet and features a full bar, dance floor, multiple seating areas, a stage, a high-quality sound system, an HD projector, a full kitchen and rotating art decorating the walls. 

Starr Bar is also very passionate about social justice and works with its sister venue, The Mayday Space, to support social justice movements.  

Food at Starr Bar is by Monk’s Vegan Smokehouse, featuring a variety of tasty sandwiches and fries.

Starr Bar is located at 214 Starr Street in Bushwick and is open Monday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m., and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Happy hour is daily from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

Union Pool

Since it opened in 2000, Union Pool has evolved from a local corner bar into a full entertainment venue. Union Pool hosts free outdoor daytime live music shows every weekend in the summertime, and DJs spin close to seven nights per week. The lively spot also has a taco truck on the patio, a black and white analog photobooth and a pinball machine.

Union Pool is located at 484 Union Ave. in Williamsburg and is open Monday through Thursday 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. and Friday & Saturday 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. 

The Knitting Factory

Since it opened in 1987, The Knitting Factory has grown into one of NYC’s most popular live event venues. The company now spans around the country, with Kintting Factories in Spokane, WA and Boise, ID. The company also leads festivals, such as Desert Daze, a three-day show and camping festival, which is scheduled to take place Nov. 12-14 at Lake Perris, CA. Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory holds a variety of events from comedy shows to rock concerts and EDM shows.

The Knitting Factory is located at 361 Metropolitan Ave. in Williamsburg. Hours may vary.

This guide is not a comprehensive list of all music/live event spaces in the area.

Top image courtesy of Avant Gardner. All other images, if not otherwise specified, are from corresponding venues’ Instagrams

For more news, sign up for Bushwick Daily’s newsletter.

Join the fight to save local journalism by becoming a paid subscriber.