We are off to NYC (for the second time) in May and I’m keen to find out any recommendations for small live music venues.
I’m aware of most of the Jazz clubs in Manhattan (Village Vanguard, Small’s, Blue Note, Lincoln center, Birdland, Jazz Gallery etc.) We went to NYC two years ago for the first time and had a great time - we saw shows at The Jazz Gallery and Birdland. I tried to get tickets last time for Bill Charlap at the Village Vanguard but for some reason my credit card wasnt accepted on their website, he’s playing at Lincoln Center when we are there this time so I’ll try and get tickets for that.
Mrs BN is keen to sample other non-Jazz venues, but I’ve been struggling to find much - hence this post. Ideally looking for small places eg bars/clubs with regular music sessions away from tourist hotspots anywhere in Manhattan or maybe Brooklyn.
Any ideas gratefully received.
TIA
Just talking jazz? All the venues you mentioned in Manhattan are obviously great, but I would add Smoke (uptown) and Nublu (east village) to your list if you wanted something new.
Brooklyn has lots of great venues for all sorts of music, but for Jazz, Roulette Intermedium and Public Records downtown are great. There are tons of smaller venues around the borough where you may find good stuff like Ornothology, Barbes, and National Sawdust. 
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Hi - thanks for the reply and other recommendations. Apologies - I didn’t make it clear I’m really looking for non-Jazz venues. I’m currently looking at Groove Bar and Grill in Greenwich Village which has some interesting artists during our stay. This was the kind of venue I am interested in. I’ll try and alter the title of the post. Cheers Nick
Cool. In that case, for Manhattan check listings for Iridium, The Stone, Le Poisson Rouge, and Nuyorican Poets Cafe (reopening this month).
Brooklyn has a million venues: Public Records, TV Eye, Sultan Room, Littlefield, National Sawdust, Barbes, Pioneer Works, Elsewhere, and Shapeshifter Lab—list goes on; but these all offer a smaller, more intimate experience for all kinda of music. A good resource while you are here is the Dice app—you can download it from an App store. Lots of the clubs mentioned above use Dice for ticketing and events listing. Otherwise, all these venues have instagram and other social media you can browse to see what’s what.
Have fun!
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Great - thats really useful stuff. I’ll get on with my homework. Thank you !