Live-music venues worth the trip in Memphis, Tennessee

A century-old former bread factory in Midtown reworked into dual rooms of 1,600 and 400, and a regular pick for the best place to catch a show in Memphis.

A 1928 Italian Renaissance palace on South Main, ~2,300 seats on the National Register. Broadway, touring concerts and comedy under the original chandeliers.

The 1936 WPA-era open-air shell where Elvis played his first paid concert in 1954. Now the home of dozens of free shows a year in Overton Park.

The flagship Beale Street blues club, open since the 1991 festival, with daily live blues, soul and rock and roll.

A 1970s rock room that helped launch Billy Joel and Big Star, relaunched in Overton Square with live music seven nights a week.

A ~400-cap two-level room open since 1998, a cornerstone of the Memphis independent scene across indie, hip-hop, R&B and blues.

A Beale Street mainstay of three decades with live blues seven nights a week and a ceiling of signed guitars.