Live-music venues worth the trip in Appleton, Wisconsin

Fox Cities Performing Arts Center opened in downtown Appleton in 2002 and books touring Broadway, concerts and comedy into Thrivent Hall and the smaller Kimberly-Clark Theater. Its own site lists Thrivent Hall at “Total Capacity: 2,072” and says “The downstage edge of the stage to the furthest seat in the Family Circle is only 108 feet.”

Appleton Music Factory is the ticketed live-music room inside Appleton Beer Factory in downtown Appleton, and its own site bills it as home to Appleton’s best live music and entertainment, from high-energy concerts to intimate acoustic sets.

Gibson Community Music Hall occupies a 1931 Art Deco former auto dealership on College Avenue in downtown Appleton and books original artists on two stages. Its own site calls it “a top-notch live music venue that showcases original music artists representing a variety of music genres” and says it “values an active listening experience”.

Stone Arch Brewpub is a brewery and restaurant on South Olde Oneida Street in Appleton that runs a listening series, Stone Arch Sessions, plus a beer garden series at Van Lieshout Park. Its own site bills the park shows as “Family friendly events that offer something for everyone” with “craft beer, hard seltzer, live music, food and dessert trucks”.