17 May 8-14, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | Hear, Hear! The best live music venues in Fort Lauderdale. BY JOSE D. DURAN W hat makes a live music venue great? Is it the shape of the building? The acoustics? The sound system? Ulti- mately, it’s about the music. Even if a venue is a state-of-the-art facility, it’s nothing if it can book acts that people want to see live. Thankfully, Fort Lauderdale and the vast area that encompasses Broward County have no shortage of great music venues, from large arenas that can host large touring acts to small spaces perfect for local acts trying to make a name for themselves. As a concert- goer, you are certainly spoilt for choice. If you need to know where to start in your live mu- sic search, New Times has compiled the best venues in Fort Lauderdale. Amerant Bank Arena 1 Panther Pkwy., Sunrise 954-835-7000 amerantbankarena.com Whether you call it the National Car Rental Center, BankAtlantic Center, or OfficeDepot Center, this multipurpose arena in suburban Broward County has been hosting everything from NHL games to national tours since it opened in 1998. While it is perhaps best known as the home of the Florida Panthers, it also reg- ularly hosts arena-size performances by some of the biggest names in music. Lizzo, Depeche Mode, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, and Kylie Minogue are just a tiny sample of the acts that have performed here. Thanks to the venue’s malleability in terms of what kind of produc- tions it can host and its ideal location between Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, tours regularly call on the Amerant Bank Arena. Broward Center for the Performing Arts 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale 954-462-0222 browardcenter.org The oldest performing arts center in South Florida, the Broward Center is equipped to host all kinds of shows, be it theater, opera, ballet, and, yes, live music. The venue com- prises the Au-Rene Theater, its main perfor- mance space, the smaller Amaturo Theater, and the intimate Abdo New River Room. All three spaces host live music, from legacy acts to jazz groups and orchestras. While not a regular occurrence, contemporary pop, hip- hop, and R&B artists will also perform here. Culture Room 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-564-1074 cultureroom.net Since around the late Nineties, Fort Lauder- dale’s Culture Room has been a live music in- stitution. The intimate venue has played host to countless midsized acts over the decades, from Charli XCX and A Flock of Seagulls to the Misfits and Bleachers. It’s standing- room-only here, so don’t expect any VIP comforts — not that patrons would have it any other way. Culture Room has lasted over the years because it never forgets the most im- portant thing: the music. Grimz 3260 NW 23rd Ave., Ste. 400E, Pompano Beach grimz-pompano.com If you haven’t heard of Grimz, that’s okay — maybe this isn’t the place for you. The Pom- pano Beach venue focuses mainly on local acts as well as smaller touring acts making their way to South Florida. Most shows here are all- ages, which is a rarity for concert venues of this size. While it will host late-night parties now and then, Grimz’s specialty is rock music in its most noisest forms: punk, hardcore, al- ternative, postpunk, indie rock, and metal. The black-box space is bare bones, but your atten- tion should be on the stage and not the decor. Hard Rock Live 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood 954-797-5531 myhrl.com The concert venue at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino got a much-needed up- grade after the complex’s $1.5 billion expan- sion, which also included the opening of the Guitar Hotel. After tearing down the old venue, Hard Rock Live returned in 2019 as a state-of-the-art space with a capacity for 7,000 concertgoers. Weezer, Green Day, Billy Joel, Elton John, Maroon 5, Megan Thee Stal- lion — they’ve all performed here. Hard Rock Live often punches well above its weight, booking acts that could easily fill stadiums to perform here. The Parker 707 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale 954-462-0222 parkerplayhouse.com Opened in 1967, Fort Lauderdale’s the Parker (AKA Parker Playhouse) is a neo-classical de- light that can accomadate nearly 1,200 guests. These days, it’s managed and operated by the Broward Center, which manages to book a steady stream of performers, mostly legacy acts. The Might Be Giants, Dweezil Zappa, Ben Folds, Amy Grant, Sophie Ellis‐Bextor, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram have per- formed here in recent years. With so many venues around the city, it often feels like the Parker gets overlooked by bigger and flashier spaces, but make no mistake, it’s a great mid- sized venue. Pompano Beach Amphitheater 1801 NE Sixth St., Pompano Beach 561-223-7231 pompanobeacharts.org/amp Managed by AEG, the Pompano Beach Amphi- theater can accommodate up to 10,000 patrons — 3,000 in seats and 7,000 on the lawn. Thanks to its design, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. National touring acts mostly stop here — not enough, if you ask me, though. It almost feels underutilized. Still, the acts that do come are top-notch, like Willie Nelson, the Mavericks, UB40, Patti LaBelle, and Third Eye Blind. Revolution Live 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale 954-449-1025 jointherevolution.net Formerly home of the Chili Pepper, Revolu- tion Live opened its doors in 2004 and quickly became the go-to midsized venue in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The venue has hosted plenty of before-there-were-famous shows, including a pre-The Fame Monster Lady Gaga, Katy Perry still riding the high of “I Kissed a Girl,” the Weeknd before he made his major-label debut. There’s a good chance Revolution is still hosting tomorrow’s biggest acts right now. The venue’s industrial feel only adds to its charms, with a stand-room- only pit area and plenty of mezzanine and balcony spaces if you want to enjoy a show in a bit more comfort. War Memorial Auditorium 800 NE Eighth St., Fort Lauderdale 954-828-5380 ftlwarmemorial.com Located in Holiday Park, War Memorial Audi- torium reopened in January after an extensive renovation that brought it up to modern stan- dards. The venue has been in operation since 1950 when it was the city’s imminent venue for all kinds of shows. Over the decades, it would be surpassed by newer venues with more bells and whistles, but it was primed for a come- back. Thankfully, under the management of the Florida Panthers, the auditorium received a $65 million refresh, with its signature mid- century modern façade looking as good as ever. [email protected] Scream for your favorite acts at Fort Lauderdale’s best music venues. Photo by Michele Eve Sandberg | CROSSFADE | t Music
