Boston live music venues by size

Pick the room before you pick the band. In a small room you can see the drummer's hands. In a big hall you get a seat, a big sound and a long walk out. Here is Boston-area live music sorted by size. Capacities come from the cited pages and shift with the show setup.

Small rooms: close and loud

Start at The Lilypad in Inman Square, the smallest room on the list. Time Out gives it just an 80-person capacity. If you want to be a few feet from the players, this is it.

Lizard Lounge, just north of Harvard Square, is a cozy dim basement locale for local musicians. Club Passim in Harvard Square is another basement, and the pick for intimate folk and world music where you listen instead of talk.

Two more small stages are worth knowing. The Burren in Davis Square advertises live music 7 days a week. Midway Cafe in Jamaica Plain has a Queeraoke night on Thursdays alongside the rock shows.

Off Cabot in Beverly is the North Shore option, with 125 seated and 150 standing spots, and it mixes comedy and music.

Mid-size clubs: roughly 400 to 1,000

These are the standard rock-club rooms, general admission and standing.

• Brighton Music Hall in Allston is a 476-capacity club. There are pool tables in the back room between bands.
• Paradise Rock Club, nearby on Commonwealth Avenue, holds 933 people. Check the age limit first, since Wikipedia says most shows are eighteen and over.
• The Sinclair in Harvard Square is a bi-level room. The restaurant and bar next door can be accessed separately.
• The Middle East in Central Square is really several smaller live venues under one roof. Check which room your ticket is for.
• Royale Boston in the Theater District has weekend shows that start and end earlier, so do not show up at midnight.

Theaters and halls: 2,000 and up

• Roadrunner on Guest Street is billed as New England's largest indoor general admission venue. Time Out puts the crowd at 3,500.
• Orpheum Theatre dates to 1852. Time Out ranks it among the oldest theaters in the U.S..
• Symphony Hall seats 2,625 in symphony season.
• MGM Music Hall at Fenway near Fenway is the biggest on the list at 5,007. Time Out's verdict is that there is not a bad seat.
• Berklee Performance Center offers a seated auditorium with a grand stage. Across Boylston, its little sister Cafe 939 is more of a club-type venue.
• Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell lists capacity 2,800. The Cabot in Beverly is an 850 seat venue.

Before you go

• Age limits vary by venue and by show, from all ages to 21+. Check the show page.
• Big rooms print separate door and show times. Small rooms run late, so leave time to get home.
• For a late show, check Last Train and getting home after last call before you leave.