Best Place to Hear Music For Free

Ah, we love those beans and beats. Want some music with that coffee concoction? The best place to hear music for free these days is at two very different, yet equally appealing, locations of AURORA COFFEE. A cool ’60s feel permeates the proceedings, no matter what sort of music is playing. Harkening back to the days of bongos and finger-snapping beatniks, the audience usually pays rapt attention and the performers repay the respect in kind, with heartfelt, often unique versions of their repertoire. At the Little Five Points and Virginia-Highland locations, bands play acoustically, though there’s the occasional deviation from that norm. Either way, the air is filled with — sorry, we couldn’t resist — rhythm and brews. Drink it all in. less...

DOWNTOWN ROCKS emerged as the winner when On the Bricks hits the bricks after losing its sponsorship. With its new home in Underground Atlanta, 99X brought the tried-and-true alternative rockers Cake, Weezer, Ben Folds and Garbage. Also on the bill were acts breaking into the mainstream, including Spoon, the Bravery, Kasabian and the Caesars, and if you got there early, local acts kicked off each night. Although it rained for most concerts, crowds packed in anyway because free makes everything better. less...

In America, freedom is the most valuable possession. And in Bush's America, free is an equally prized, if far more elusive, commodity. By that reasoning, Little Five Points is like heaven/Rodeo Drive for fans of free music. Just wandering around, there are beats leaking and creeping from every storefront, and plenty to sample at listening stations in Satellite Records. But we specifically celebrate A CAPPELLA BOOKS, CRIMINAL RECORDS and THE FIVE SPOT for supporting free live performances. At A Cappella, locals like Anna Kramer and Daniel Clay perform insurgent, experimental indie folk every Wednesday from 8:30-10 p.m. Criminal hosts local and national touring acts like Jet By Day and Andrew WK both in store and in the parking lot for singing and signings. The Five Spot hosts a variety of acts, including funk, jazz and reggae and rarely charges a cover. less...

After a few years of battling free concert series, DOWNTOWN ROCKS emerged as the winner when On the Bricks hits the bricks after losing its sponsorship. With its new home in Underground Atlanta, 99X brought the tried-and-true alternative rockers Cake, Weezer, Ben Folds and Garbage. Also on the bill were acts breaking into the mainstream, including Spoon, the Bravery, Kasabian and the Caesars, and if you got there early, local acts kicked off each night. Although it rained for most concerts, crowds packed in anyway because free makes everything better.
www.99x.com.

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In America, freedom is the most valuable possession. And in Bush's America, free is an equally prized, if far more elusive, commodity. By that reasoning, Little Five Points is like heaven/Rodeo Drive for fans of free music. Just wandering around, there are beats leaking and creeping from every storefront, and plenty to sample at listening stations in Satellite Records. But we specifically celebrate A CAPPELLA BOOKS, CRIMINAL RECORDS and THE FIVE SPOT for supporting free live performances. At A Cappella, locals like Anna Kramer and Daniel Clay perform insurgent, experimental indie folk every Wednesday from 8:30-10 p.m. Criminal hosts local and national touring acts like Jet By Day and Andrew WK both in store and in the parking lot for singing and signings. The Five Spot hosts a variety of acts, including funk, jazz and reggae and rarely charges a cover. less...

In America, freedom is the most valuable possession. And in Bush's America, free is an equally prized, if far more elusive, commodity. By that reasoning, Little Five Points is like heaven/Rodeo Drive for fans of free music. Just wandering around, there are beats leaking and creeping from every storefront, and plenty to sample at listening stations in Satellite Records. But we specifically celebrate A CAPPELLA BOOKS, CRIMINAL RECORDS and THE FIVE SPOT for supporting free live performances. At A Cappella, locals like Anna Kramer and Daniel Clay perform insurgent, experimental indie folk every Wednesday from 8:30-10 p.m. Criminal hosts local and national touring acts like Jet By Day and Andrew WK both in store and in the parking lot for singing and signings. The Five Spot hosts a variety of acts, including funk, jazz and reggae and rarely charges a cover. less...

In America, freedom is the most valuable possession. And in Bush’s America, free is an equally prized, if far more elusive, commodity. By that reasoning, Little Five Points is like heaven/Rodeo Drive for fans of free music. Just wandering around, there are beats leaking and creeping from every storefront, and plenty to sample at listening stations in Satellite Records. But we specifically celebrate A CAPPELLA BOOKS, CRIMINAL RECORDS and THE FIVE SPOT for supporting free live performances. At A Cappella, locals like Anna Kramer and Daniel Clay perform insurgent, experimental indie folk every Thursday from 8:30-10 p.m. Criminal hosts local and national touring acts like Jet By Day and Andrew WK both in store and in the parking lot for singing and signings. The Five Spot hosts a variety of acts, including funk, jazz and reggae and rarely charges a cover. less...

From Vanilla Ice and Sir Mix-a-Lot to Dr. Dre and the Clipse, there's a long tradition in hip-hop of celebrating the sheer joy of cruisin'. Call it rollin' or - depending how you got your stroll - grindin'. The tradition remains strong in the ATL. Every Friday or Saturday night, from downtown to Midtown, PEACHTREE STREET is bumper-to-bumper bumpin'. Can it be a nuisance? Sure. But the cruisin' does serve a purpose: Forget your local music store's listening station. This is the best place to hear the hottest, of-the-minute jams in the city as they blare from every window and boom from every crunk trunk. less...