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Jam Out to Live Music in Williamsburg, Virginia
Live music is a perfect way to relax and mingle with locals while you’re visiting any city, including Williamsburg, Virginia. With music festivals, classical venues, and a load of restaurants that offer great flavor and great tunes, the city is always swooning with regional bands (hailing from Yorktown, Williamsburg, Richmond, Norfolk – you name it).
Whether you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind music event or just want to rock out to Williamsburg live music, we’ve got all the info you need.
Regular Live Music Venues in Williamsburg, Virginia
If you’re looking to enjoy the nightlife and live music Williamsburg has to offer, then there are several locations that combine great performances with local food or craft beers. Best of all, it doesn’t matter what time of year you’re visiting, you can find music and great eats/drinks year-round.
Sweet Tea & Barley
Sweet Tea & Barley, a restaurant in Williamsburg Lodge, serves southern-flavored food and hand-crafted cocktails. They also have live music every Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Timeline Jazz is the restaurant’s primary band, and they occasionally bring in other genres, such as latin, funk and rock.
The Social Terrace
If you want to listen to live music while mingling with others on a beautiful outdoor patio, then you’ll want to hit up The Social Terrace at Williamsburg Inn on Friday and Saturday nights. The Terrace has outdoor seating so you can relax while listening their variety of music events, and an outdoor bar makes it easy for you to grab local craft beers, cocktails and wine.
Copper Fox Distillery
Love whiskey? How about live music? Well you’re in luck because you’ll love Copper Fox Distillery. This distillery offers walking tours, and also features a speakeasy lounge and a courtyard where they often host music events.
They run their own summer concert series we’ve listed below, but also have a few other music events throughout the year and across their two locations. From indie-rock, neo-soul, country, and R&B, Copper Fox serves up an eclectic mix of tunes that goes down as smooth as their single malt.
Virginia Beer Co.
If you prefer drinking beer to whiskey, then pop over to the Virginia Beer Co. for one of their live music events. The Virginia Beer Co. has a taproom and beer garden where they hold events such as trivia, fundraising drives, and of course, jam sessions.
Next to the beer garden there are several food trucks that serve up their foods, so you can get a taste of local food and local tunes at the same time. Check their events to see what they have going on while you’re in Williamsburg.
Spoke & Art
If you want to ride the trails around Williamsburg and return to a nice sandwich and beer while you listen to music on a covered porch – then Spoke & Art can help you realize that very specific dream.
Spoke & Art is located right next to the Virginia Capital Trail. It’s a favorite among bikers, offering maintenance, snacks, a water spigot and – you guessed it, live music.
They often have bands play on the covered porch so you can enjoy vibing in the shade or sunshine (can’t hurt to bring a jacket if it gets a little bit cold!). They usually have their music events between 12 and 4 pm, and they happen pretty regularly. If you’re looking for a midday snack after a ride, or an afternoon chill out to live music, check their calendar to see who they have playing while you’re in town.
The Corner Pocket
The Corner Pocket is more than just a pool hall – it’s also a popular music hall of Williamsburg. Local musicians and bands often come to play from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Corner Pocket features a wide variety of music genres from funk to hip hop to pop and rock. Check out their events page if you want to find out more about who’s playing when.
Oh, and you can get some delicious local food and microbrews as well. Popping by on Friday at 6 p.m. is a great way to hit up The Corner Pocket’s happy hour before the show begins.
Silver Hand Meadery
The owner of Silver Hand Meadery loves music so much that he used to tour all across North America and Europe with his band. So, it’s no surprise that his meadery would host music events.
The Silver Hand Meadery music events are a little different than the rest in Williamsburg VA, though. They regularly hold jazz jams where you’re encouraged to bring your instruments (or just your voice) and join along with the live music (you don’t have to if you’re shy – you can just sit back and enjoy the show and the mead).
Craft 31
If you’re hungry for some gourmet burgers or pizza while you’re out enjoying the nightlife, Craft 31 can hit the spot. They also often have local live music to entertain their guests. They also, as their name suggests, offer a wide selection of craft beers to help wash it all down.
Jolene’s Bar and Grill
This trendy bar and grill often hosts a number of events throughout the week. On Friday and Saturday they regularly host live music from a number of bands. You can find Jolene’s Bar and Grill inside of the Clarion Hotel. It’s a favorite spot for locals to mingle – and if you want to take part in the live music, you can always join them for karaoke on Wednesdays.
Revolution Golf and Grille
Revolution offers a lot of entertainment. Inside the venue they offer golf simulation that allows you to play gold on some of the most popular courses worldwide. If you’re not a golf fan, never fear – you can try your hand at other games at Revolution using the golf club and the ball as the controller.
There’s also a large selection of food and craft beer available to help sweeten the deal. In addition to all this, the venue also hosts live music events regularly – typically on Friday and Saturday.
Berret’s Seafood Restaurant and Taphouse Grill
Berret’s offers music nightly on their outdoor dining area stage, so long as the weather is permitting (and it’s not Wednesday night, when they’re closed). They also offer the best crab cakes in all of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and the Hampton Roads area.
Strangeways Brewing
Strangeways Brewing is a wonderful place to visit for those who want something a little weird in their life. They’ve got more than 36 craft beers on the menu as well as a great selection of bar foods to choose from. There are also food trucks located near their huge, outdoor beer garden.
The brewery hosts a number of events like trivia and karaoke, as well as blues nights and performances from local musicians. Check their calendar to see what stars have aligned during your trip to Williamsburg, Virginia.
Yearly Upcoming Events in the Williamsburg Area
There’s more than a couple of yearly music festivals you can depend on for good tunes in the Williamsburg area. Summer is the most popular time for them, but there are music festivals that go on nearly all year. When you add them all up, it’s possible to rock out all year long in Williamsburg no matter when you visit.
Summer Nights Concert Series – Busch Gardens
If you want to liven up your coaster experience with some live music, then Busch Gardens is the place to be. Saturday nights from mid-June to mid-August, the park hosts popular musicians such as Flo Rida and Larger Than Life.
The Fox Rocks Concert Series
Remember the Copper Fox we mentioned earlier? They hold a summer concert series during the month of July. Each Saturday there’s live music from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Rain or shine, you can depend on them to provide you with tunes and craft cocktails – if a storm is brewing, they just move the show in from the patio to the spectacular chandelier room.
Summer Breeze Concert Series
Merchants Square’s summer concert series presents live music every Thursday on the lawn of the art museums of Colonial Williamsburg. The music events take place between mid-July and mid-August. There’s an eclectic mix of genres represented each year – such as brass funk rock by the Empire Strikes Brass, Good Shot Judy’s big band swing, and Corey Harris’s blues.
Williamsburg Live
The Virginia Arts Festival presents a three-day music festival every year in Williamsburg called Williamsburg Live on the lawn of the art museums of Colonial Williamsburg. The festival takes place in June, with featured musical acts such as Kenny Loggins and the Yacht Rock Revue, as well as southern soul from the Wood Brothers and Grammy Award winning artist Keb’ Mo’.
Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra Masterworks Concerts
Change gears and enjoy the soothing sounds of classical music while you’re in Williamsburg. Each year the Williamsburg Symphony Orchestra holds a series of classical music concerts. They hold masterwork concerts and holiday concerts at several venues such as the Williamsburg Lodge and the Williamsburg Community Chapel. Typically, they have one concert a month between the months of September to May.
If you love the sound of an orchestra and are in town during the chillier months, then this series can help bring a touch of wonder to your Williamsburg visit. You can find information about when and where to see the Orchestra on their website.
Ewell Concert Series
The College of William & Mary hosts a concert series each year in several Williamsburg venues. The concerts occur from fall to spring each year and often feature international music acts as well as traditional American music both modern and classical. These music events are only $5 to attend, which means they’re a cost efficient way to add some class to your vacation.
2nd Sundays Art & Music Festival
You can find music and local artisans here (almost) every month of the year. Every second Sunday of the month from March through December, Williamsburg is host to a street fair of local food vendors, artists, and musicians. The street fair is set up in the streets of Colonial Williamsburg from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There are a few stages offering live performances of music and other performance arts, as well as food trucks and face paint, and local authors. The festival is very rarely canceled – typically only in the event of extreme weather such as thunderstorms – and when it is, they update their website early to let you know.
Rock Around the Calendar in Williamsburg
With all the local venues and music festivals, Williamsburg live music is easy to find anywhere and on almost any corner. Start marking your calendar today, and make sure to check out all the other attractions Williamsburg, VA has to offer ahead of time on our website and blog. We can guarantee that when you vacation here, you’re going to be busy. Book your trip to Williamsburg today! You can also find tips & tricks for your travels at relaxandchill.us!