Live-music venues worth the trip in Worcester, Massachusetts

A historic downtown Worcester concert hall with a big general-admission main floor and a smaller upstairs room, the self-described home of the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival and a heavy touring stop for rock, metal and hip-hop bills.

A downtown Worcester arena and convention center that takes the arena-scale tours routing through central Massachusetts, sharing its calendar with hockey and family shows.

A restored 1926 Thomas Lamb movie palace in downtown Worcester with a grand staircase and gilded auditorium, booking Broadway tours, comedy and touring concerts on its main stage.

A multi-use four-season concert venue and restaurant in Worcester that runs line dancing and honky-tonk karaoke nights between a steady run of touring country-leaning and rock headliners.

A Grove Street dive with a diner car out front and a stage upstairs, billed as Worcester’s legendary live music venue and still the city’s home for punk, metal and hardcore bills.