It’s hard to think of Atlanta without thinking of music. The two are so inseparably intertwined that music has simply become a foundation for the city which so many artists and music lovers alike call home.
You may recall Andre 3000’s iconic and unforgettable quote from the 1995 Source Awards that has become one of the Atlanta music scene’s slogans and founding mantras like “the South got something to say.” It was then that Atlanta started snowballing its way onto the music map, and rappers from the South were taken seriously.
Fast forward to now, and Atlanta remains a staple in American music culture. According to current data from SeatPick, Atlanta sits at no. 10 for best cities for music. Atlanta has 112 music venues, including The Tabernacle and the Fox Theatre, with 1,041 live shows planned this year. It also has four annual music festivals, including Shaky Knees and Music Midtown. Impressively, within its several boroughs, there are 98 musical instrument stores, the most in the top ten.
Where Atlanta lacks in its amount of festivals and record shops, it makes up in artists who call the city their home. The impressive roster includes Ludacris, TLC, Ray Charles, John Mayer, Usher, Gladys Knight, Little Richard, Luke Bryan and many more.
If you’re a fan of buying vinyl records, you may want to head to Tokyo — that city holds the number one spot for most record stores, 224 of them, to be exact. If you’re a festival goer, make a trip to London, which has 21 festivals per year. Although outnumbered in the record store numbers, Atlanta is also home to some of the most iconic and influential record shops in the South. Criminal Records, in Little Five Points, has held its reputation as the largest and most recognizable record shop in the city.
Atlanta’s music venues create spaces for unforgettable concert experiences. One of the most notable is the Tabernacle, which was originally built as a church in 1911 and transformed into a music venue for the ‘96 Olympic Games. Over 200 musical acts grace its stage each year. Another historical Atlanta gem is Fox Theatre, which was built in 1928 as a home for Atlanta’s Shriners organization.
Outside of music venues, festivals, concerts and record shop numbers, it’s easy to see why Atlanta is such an integral hub in the music industry world. Songwriters, producers, engineers and industry executives roam through its streets and studios. These key players and musicians build community in every Atlanta borough and maintain the deep, soulful, hospitable ties that the South is all about.
Landing the number one spot on the list is London, England. While the USA may dominate the top 10 list, no U.S. city can beat the king player that is the UK’s capital. London scored highly across the board, with 77 music venues, 21 music festivals and 1,906 concerts each year on average, 110 record stores, and 2,850 artists and bands claiming the sprawling city as their home. London is known for its music-drenched nightlife, where both big and small names in music perform at venues such as the iconic O2 arena, Royal Albert Hall and Alexandra Palace.
Next on the list, and unquestionably so, is Los Angeles, followed by Chicago, New York, and Nashville. Atlanta locals believe that as film, television and music labels continue to create roots in the South, Atlanta will undoubtedly climb the ladder of top musical cities to earn even higher rankings in the coming years.
View SeatPick’s full report here.
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