The 9:30 Club is a pillar of D.C.’s music scene, revered through the ’80s and ’90s as a hub for local punk bands (Fugazi, Bad Brains) and go-go pioneers like Chuck Brown. Since relocating to the U Street Corridor in 1996, the all-ages club has cemented itself as the region’s best big room to catch artists before they hit arena status, whether that’s Adele celebrating her second album in 2011, 100 gecs selling out their 2021 set, or Omar Apollo playing here just before blowing up on TikTok.

Since opening its doors in 2017 with a show headlined by Foo Fighters, the massive waterfront venue has functioned as the 9:30 Club’s splashy younger sibling. Past the lobby’s art installation where cymbals hang like chandeliers, the concert hall can hold anywhere from 2500 to 6000 people thanks to a fancy moving stage and multitiered box seats with no bad views. Grab a bite on the balcony overlooking the water before catching a set from Kaytranada, Patti Smith, or Lil Uzi Vert.

Once billed as the “Theater for the People,” the Howard has been a cornerstone of Black expression from its 1910 grand opening through the district’s history of segregation. In the ’30s, Duke Ellington established the theater as a jazz hot spot where future luminaries like Ella Fitzgerald played early on in their careers. After being shuttered in the ’80s, the renovated landmark reopened in 2012 and now hosts modern-day greats, among them Thundercat, Lauryn Hill, and D.C.’s own Ari Lennox.

The U Street Corridor has changed dramatically over the years, but the Black Cat remains a constant. Opened in 1993 to fill a void in D.C.’s underground scene, the club became a hipster haven where you might bump into Kate Moss on your way into an Elliott Smith show. Today the lineups cast a wider net (Billie Eilish, Madlib) while staying true to the club’s indie origins: In 2023, its 30th-anniversary party featured homecoming sets from Ted Leo and the Pharmacists and Velocity Girl.

A sprawling, multilevel warehouse that practically screams “rave,” this hybrid club and concert hall is considered among the area’s best for its top-tier sound system and big-tent billings like Calvin Harris and Tiësto. (Also: dramatic smoke machines and LED light shows.) But it’s not all EDM at this northeast warehouse: The Dipset reunion tour also passed through the 3000-capacity space, as did a fresh-out-of-jail Gucci Mane and Cardi B back when “Bodak Yellow” was everywhere.

This Georgetown haunt is everything you want in a classic jazz club: snug, dark, and brimming with history as the nation’s oldest continuing jazz supper club. Since opening its doors in 1965 in an 18th-century carriage house, Blues Alley has showcased the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, and Esperanza Spalding. It’s also a place to catch lesser-known local acts, continuing the city’s legacy of honing jazz talent. You might even catch Senator Tim Kaine jamming on the harmonica.

Opened in 1922 on the U Street Corridor, the elegant theater was the crown jewel of the area known as “Black Broadway,” where Cab Calloway, Billie Holiday, and Lena Horne performed in the nation’s still-segregated capital. (It’s also the subject of a famous Langston Hughes poem.) These days, you can revel in the restored landmark’s history and neoclassical opulence while catching a show from Kendrick Lamar, The Smashing Pumpkins, or Blood Orange.

Study the cover of Roberta Flack’s debut album, First Take, and you’ll see the oak paneling of Mr. Henry’s behind her. The singer got her start at this Capitol Hill club, which opened in 1966 as a diverse, LGBTQ-inclusive jazz watering hole decorated with the same dusty paintings you’ll see there today. The “Victorian pub” continues to serve the local music scene through efforts like the Capitol Hill Jazz Jam, which welcomes musicians, dancers, and poets every Wednesday night.