Music makes everything better. Across the South, venues hum with music history, culture, and live performances, setting the stage for harmonious meetings and events. From cave concerts to Texas dance halls to the home of the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” there’s a beat for every music fan. ConventionSouth hits the high notes, spotlighting venues that will keep attendees in rhythm and put your event at the
top of the charts.
The Caverns
Exploring the underground music scene takes on a different meaning in Tennessee, where attendees can get down at a bucket-list concert experience inside a cave. Billed as “The Greatest Show Under Earth,” The Caverns concert hall in Pelham, Tenn., is an iconic subterranean live music venue in an elaborate cave system. The setting is home to the long-running PBS series The Caverns Sessions, formerly known as Bluegrass Underground.
Underground concerts take place in a section of The Caverns known as Big Mouth Cave, which holds 850 people seated or 1,200 standing. Cave tours are available daily, and guests can stay onsite in 300-square-foot, climate-controlled yurts. The monolithic setting offers state-of-the-art sound and lights, restrooms, and food and beverage and is accessible to those with mobility concerns.
An above-ground 6,000-capacity amphitheater features views of the Cumberland Plateau.
Texas dance halls
Two-stepping in a Texas dance hall is a slice of honky-tonk heaven. These venues have given rise to country-western music royalty, and some of the historic halls are available for private events. Said to be Texas’ oldest continually operating dance hall, Gruene Hall in New Braunfels dates to 1878 and has hosted legendary performers such as Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks, and George Strait. The unassuming tin-roofed, white-clapboard building has 6,000 square feet of space and maintains its original layout, with side flaps for open-air dancing, a bar, a small lighted stage, and an expansive outdoor garden. The facility has a standing-room capacity of 800, indoor seating for 350, and an outdoor beer garden for 200 people. Gristmill River Restaurant & Bar caters all private events.
Generations of Texans have two-stepped at the 133-year-old Schroeder Hall in Goliad, billed as the second-oldest dance hall in Texas. Inside the hall is a 4,000-square-foot oak dance floor, a large professional stage, full-service bar, and kitchen facility with an on-staff chef. In total, the 13,000-square-foot venue can accommodate up to 1,200 people indoors and 2,500 outdoors, where there is a stage, courtyard, and four acres of parking. The venue can help book music performers and provides professional sound engineers.
With gleaming wood floors and twinkling lights, Braun Hall in San Antonio is another of Texas Hill Country’s longstanding dance halls. The historic hall was built as a gun club in 1893 by a nonprofit fraternal insurance organization. Now a dance venue and event center, the family-friendly hall has tables and seats for 250 people and is available for events lasting as long as nine hours. It boasts it is one of the few older dance halls with air conditioning and is known for its monthly line-dance parties. Attendees can grab a Stetson and sidle up for line-dancing lessons every Friday morning.
Luckenbach Dance Hall near Fredericksburg is a Texas landmark with musical heritage dating back more than 150 years. The original dance hall was established in the late 1800s and rebuilt in the 1930s with a maple dance floor. Jerry Jeff Walker and Waylon Jennings were once regulars on the Luckenbach stage in the community Jennings made famous in his classic 1977 hit song Luckenbach, Texas. All 10 acres of the Luckenbach property are available for private events, and dance hall rental includes the use of a portion of the patio, campfire, and surrounding parking areas. The venue’s staff can help book a band.
Music City venues
Nashville, Tenn., is all about music. From museums to famed venues, numerous spots in Music City can provide the soundtrack to a memorable meeting or event. The National Museum of African American Music opened in 2021 to preserve and celebrate more than
50 music genres and styles—including spirituals, blues, jazz, R&B, and hip hop—that were created, influenced, or inspired by African Americans. Each of the 56,000-square-foot museum’s six galleries shares a different narrative of African American music and history through immersive, interactive exhibits. The museum’s tech-forward, multipurpose spaces are available to book for private events including meetings, corporate events, film screenings, receptions, and live music performances. Additional services include catering, valet parking, gallery tours, special lighting, and audiovisual resources.
Nicknamed the “Smithsonian of Country Music,” the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville preserves the history and traditions of country music. Through a $100 million expansion, the museum doubled its footprint to 350,000 square feet. With its striking architecture, the facility has 75,000 square feet of event space, including a cocktail lounge and rooftop terrace, the Hall of Fame Rotunda, the 776-seat CMA Theater, and the 10,000-square-foot Event Hall with glass walls and hardwood floors. With a knack for hosting high-profile events, the venue offers attendees red-carpet arrival service and vintage-style commemorative posters.
The former home of the Grand Ole Opry, Ryman Auditorium is one of music’s most celebrated and historic venues. Often referred to as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the building was constructed as a tabernacle in 1892 and is now a National Historic Landmark. Artists from Elvis Presley and B.B. King to Lizzo and Harry Styles have appeared on the Ryman’s iconic stage—and so can your group. The auditorium’s stage and iconic wooden pews make for an unforgettable event venue, along with the Rock Hall at the Ryman, Ford Lounge, and the Soul of Nashville Theater. Groups of 15 or more can book group tours and receive group ticketing for select events.
Cool clubs
Mississippi and Georgia are home to some of the South’s coolest music clubs. In Athens, Ga., the Georgia Theatre was built in 1889 as the Athens YMCA and has since gone through several iterations, including becoming a music store, movie house, hotel, and Masonic temple. The concert hall features many of its original details and retains its historic marquee. The downtown venue provides multiple event spaces, such as a 150-capacity rooftop offering city views, along with a full bar, onsite catering, and a modern performance area with professional sound and lighting. The venue features flexible floorplans and can host as many as 1,000 guests.
A few blocks away, the 40 Watt Club is a rock music institution that has seen performances from local and national acts for more than three decades. Athens bands including R.E.M. and The B-52’s considered the club a home base in their heyday. Other national artists from punk to pop and country to rap have graced the club’s stage over the years. Its present location opened in 1991 in a building that housed one of the city’s first downtown grocery stores. Featuring a full-service bar, the club can accommodate 460 people and is available for private events, with rental discounts given to nonprofit organizations.
The Lyric Oxford is a live music mainstay in the college town of Oxford, Miss. The space dates to the late 1800s, when it was a livery stable owned by writer William Faulkner’s family. The Lyric Oxford opened in 2008 and was renovated in 2019 and 2020; the venue includes multiple bars, green rooms, and state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment. Bar Muse inside The Lyric serves craft cocktails emphasizing locally sourced ingredients and curated by James Beard Award-nominee Joseph Stinchcomb. Facility rental includes a table and chair inventory, event staff, audiovisual equipment, bartenders, security, a sound system, and use of the theater’s historic marquee. Optional services include catering and band booking.
Ground Zero Blues Club—co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman—is made for music-infused events. The Biloxi, Miss., location opened last year about five hours south of its sister club in Clarksdale, Miss. The three-level Biloxi venue has a distinct rhythm, blending the state’s blues history with coastal details and flavors. Able to accommodate 1,000 people, the club can be rented in its entirety or in smaller spaces. The main floor offers open, flexible space with two large bars, an indoor porch, and room for dancing, while the second- and third-floor balconies can accommodate 75 and 150 guests, respectively. Each floor offers stage views, a private bar, and restrooms. Multiple projection screens are available for presentations or live streaming footage of the stage.
Crescent City culture
Music is central to the New Orleans experience, and the Louisiana city has no shortage of venues that pay homage to local musicians. In the French Quarter, the renowned Preservation Hall celebrates the Crescent City’s musical heritage with nightly traditional jazz performances. Though the hall opened in 1961, its setting is an 1817 Creole home imbued with authentic local character. The venue is an institution that provides an intimate indoor space for events and features a classic Southern courtyard with wrought-iron gates. Catered events can include signature cocktails and the local cuisine for which New Orleans is famed. Groups can buy out nightly and weekend matinee performances or rent the space outside of operating hours. Weddings often include a second-line parade through the streets.
A few blocks away, Vue Orleans is one of the city’s newest attractions. The multilevel experience offers a series of interactive and 4D exhibits showcasing the city’s storied history, music, and culture. Located at the top of the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans tower, the attraction opened last year and features indoor and outdoor observation decks on the 33rd and 34th floors, respectively, with 360-degree views of the city and Mississippi River. The venue can host about 150 people, with events taking place amid cultural exhibits and augmented reality stations. Visit the top-level café for light bites, local beers, or a slice of king cake.
Elvis Presley’s Graceland
Elvis Presley owned several homes, but Graceland was his personal sanctuary. The Memphis, Tenn., mansion and property have evolved into a destination fit for a king—and for taking care of business. The Guest House at Graceland is steps from Presley’s historic home and features 450 guest rooms, including 20 specialty themed suites designed under Priscilla Presley’s supervision; two full-service restaurants; and more than 22,000 square feet of function space. The nearly 11,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom can hold 1,345 reception attendees, and four smaller meeting spaces carry the names of the major music halls of fame to which Elvis was elected: Blues, Country, Gospel, and Rock. For some after-session harmonizing, a 464-seat theater features shows by a lineup of big-name music acts.
