10 Great Live Concert Venues (Big and Small) in Upstate New York

There are hundreds of places to see a live concert in Upstate New York.  Here are ten of the best ones.

Best Concert Venues in New York State

They range from big arenas and casinos which hold over 20,000 fans, down to tiny, historic, and oh-so-fun intimate coffeehouses that hold about 100 in their audience.  All are great.

As time goes on and we get older, there are things (no matter how long ago) that we will never forget.  Things like our first car, our first "real" date," the birth of our first child, things like that.  Another one is the first concert we ever went to (without our parents!).  Such a feeling of liberation to be 16 or 17 years old and out at a concert with just your friends whooping and hollering with abandon.  So great.  So, do you remember the first concert you ever went to?

As for me, there are two.  One was free and one I paid for.  The free one was held in 1967 at the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, NY.  I was in college and they gave us a free Peter, Paul and Mary concert to enjoy.  I was 17.  It is still vivid in my mind and I still have a pile of PP&M albums I enjoy.  My first paid concert was at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.  It was 1968 and I was still in college.  My friends and I paid $5.50 each for lawn seats to see Three Dog Night open for The Fifth Dimension.  It was great.  It was exciting.

And, it was pouring.

Do You Remember Your First Concert?  If you would like to share your first concert memory on our Facebook page, we would love to hear from you!