Lahaina
From the warm greeting to the feast and hula dances, everything here is premium (including the drinks). No other luau on Maui comes close to matching this…
Must-see entertainment in North America
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Baseball fans roar April to October at the Giants' 81 home games. As any orange-blooded San Franciscan will remind you, the Giants have won three World…
Coyoacán & San Ángel
Mexican and foreign indie movies are shown daily on 10 screens at the architecturally interesting Cineteca in Coyoacán in the south. In November the large…
Chicago
You can hear the call of the banjos from the street outside this venerable institution, where major national and international acts such as Richard…
Honolulu
The Doris Duke Theatre shows an array of experimental, alternative, retro-classic and art-house films, especially groundbreaking documentaries, inside the…
Walt Disney World
Disney's best live show features mind-boggling acrobatic feats expertly fused to light, stage and costume design to create a cohesive artistic vision. And…
Waikiki
The Kapiʻolani Park Bandstand is the perfect venue for this time-honored troupe that performs classics from the Hawaiian monarchy era. It’s a…
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre
Hollywood
Founded in New York by Saturday Night Live alums Amy Poehler and Ian Roberts along with Matt Besser and Matt Walsh, this sketch-comedy group cloned itself…
Blue Ridge Highlands & Southwest Virginia
An arts and music hub for the region that offers programming that focuses on local musicians carrying on the traditions of Appalachian music. Headline…
Hilton Hawaiian Village Fireworks
Waikiki
Every Friday night, the Hilton Hawaiian Village stages a booming 10-minute fireworks show. Although it's done in conjunction with a touristy luau …
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Forget what you've learned about drag on TV – at this dedicated dragstravaganza venue, the shows are so fearless, freaky-deaky and funny you'll laugh…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
For 45 years ODC has been redefining dance with risky, raw performances and the sheer joy of movement. ODC's season runs from September to December, but…
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
Sit in total darkness as Stan Shaff plays his unique musical instrument: an auditorium constructed in 1962 as a living sound sculpture, lined floor to…
Denver
'No guts, no story' is the tagline of this award-winning theater company, set in a converted church. Plays pack a punch with thought-provoking stories…
Dallas & the Panhandle Plains
From April to October the Texas Rangers play at the vintage-ballpark–inspired Globe Life Park, which features replicas of the Fenway Park scoreboard and…
Kensington Market & Chinatown
Well past its 70th birthday, the legendary Horseshoe still plays a crucial role in the development of local indie rock. This place oozes a history of good…
Naples
Naples' 85-piece Philharmonic Orchestra is increasingly recognized as one of the country's best young orchestras. Andrey Boreyko was named as music…
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Bragging rights are earned with breakthrough shows at the small but mighty Independent, featuring indie dreamers (Magnetic Fields, Death Cab for Cutie),…
Vancouver
This beloved cinema operates like an ongoing film festival with a daily-changing program of movies. A $3 annual membership is required – organize it at…
Wicker Park, Bucktown & Ukrainian Village
Hidden behind a factory past the edge of Bucktown, this two-room lodge of indie rock and alt-country is well worth seeking out. The owners have nursed an…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Brava's been producing women-run theater for 30-plus years, hosting acts from comedian Sandra Bernhard to V-day monologist Eve Ensler, and it's the nation…
Las Vegas
You'd be hard pressed to find a better A-list collection of famous stand-up comedians than this year-round series of appearances at the Mirage, which…
Pioneer Valley
Offering 'booze, blues and BBQ,' this joint is a gem. Truly great blues and jazz acts get booked in the lively bar, and the barbecue is finger-lickin'…
North Beach & Chinatown
Snow White searches for Prince Charming in San Francisco: what could possibly go wrong? This Disney-spoof musical-comedy cabaret has been running since…
Cambridge
The legendary Club Passim is a holdout from the days when folk music was a staple in Cambridge (and around the country). The club continues to book top…
Aspen
Long the top nightspot in Aspen, Belly Up has built and maintained its street cred by bringing the best live acts to the Aspen people. That means…
Lihuʻe
Skip the same-old commercial luau and catch this dinner theater-in-the-round with a dash of Cirque du Soleil (think dancers, flashy leotards and…
Financial District & Lower Manhattan
One of NYC's top off-off-Broadway venues, Flea is famous for staging innovative and timely new works. It houses three performance spaces, including the …
Disneyland Resort
Disney California Adventure's premier show is the 22-minute World of Color, a dazzling nighttime display of lasers, lights and animation projected over…
Kansas City
Near 18th and Vine in the Historic Jazz District, this former union hall for African American musicians has hosted after-hours jam sessions since 1930…
Swedish American Hall & Cafe du Nord
San Francisco
The Castro was once known as Little Scandinavia after the sailors who docked here – and the secret to their community spirit was the speakeasy running in…
Honolulu
Beautifully restored, this architecturally significant historic theater is a major venue for dance, music and theater. Performances include top Hawaii…
Chicago
Hometown indie bands, jazz combos and DJs rock this wee, arty bar most nights. There’s never a cover charge, but you’d be a schmuck if you didn’t order at…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
The bottom of Potrero Hill tops the list for rocking with punk legends the Avengers, Pansy Division and Nerf Herder, and newcomers worth checking out for…
Hamakua Coast
There's something wonderful about watching a movie in a huge, old-fashioned theater – like this one, with a 50ft screen and over 500 seats. Built in 1930,…
Zihuatanejo
Hipster central Loot wears many hats, and we like them all. There's the downstairs cafe and art showroom that serves Veracruz coffee and imaginative…
Back Bay
Run by Berklee students, the Red Room @ Cafe 939 has emerged as one of Boston's least predictable and most enjoyable music venues. It has an excellent…
Missouri
If you're going Branson, go all in with the musical comedy show that started it all in 1959. Three generations of the Mabe family – and a lot of 'friends'…
Marin County
Hosting Bay Area legends, visiting acts and up-and-comers since 1972, this lively venue (in a new location since 2012) is a must for lovers of good ole…
Old Town, Corktown & Distillery District
Swing dancers, jazz singers and blues crooners call this cool, candlelit basement lounge home, and it's hosted its fair share of musical greats over the…
