Live-music venues worth the trip in Peoria, Illinois

The arena wing of a downtown civic center open since 1982, an arena that is home to Bradley Braves basketball and Peoria Rivermen hockey, with a high-definition scoreboard, LED ribbon boards and suite, loft and loge seating for its touring concerts, family shows and conventions.

The Peoria Civic Center’s theater, renamed under a Prairie Home Alliance naming partnership and home to the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and Broadway in Peoria, a room its venue page credits with intimate sightlines, recent renovations and a history of acclaimed musical acts and comedians.

A Peoria pub opened on St. Patrick’s Day 2013 to honor the city’s Irish community while, in its own words, hosting the best live music at the absolutely best venue in Peoria, with a calendar that also lists shows at its affiliated Friendly Valley Tavern.