<p>Re Nashville: other posters are far more knowledgeable than I, and hopefully they will weigh in, but my son, a student at Vanderbilt, goes into town for indie and other non-country bands. That doesn’t tell you much about quantity or quality, of course, but certainly country is not the only option.</p>
<p>At the on-campus information session we attended last year, the speaker tried very hard to dispel the notion that Nashville music was only about country.</p>
<p>Northwestern not only has Chicago right next door but one of the finest music schools in the nation. There are numerous concerts on campus during the academic year. <a href=“Pickstaiger”>Pickstaiger; shows the schedule of last quarter.</p>
<p>I don’t think it matters where you go to school because nearly everywhere I visited, the tour guides all mentioned that the All-American Rejects had played on campus in the last year. I’m not a fan, but I just found it funny that they all pointed out this band.</p>
<p>Yale…</p>
<p>Handyandy58, that’s absolutely hilarious.</p>
<p>spazattack: Not gonna lie, that’s something I’ve been thinking about. Some of the schools I’ve applied to are around Seattle, Boston, and Chicago, all solid for live music and there are certainly a few schools within driving of those areas. Basically any major city, you’re going to find something, depending on what genre(s) you’re into (I could go on and on about that). And even some less-major cities I’ve heard have great scenes (Omaha, Indianapolis…Lawrence, KS maybe?)</p>
<p>-in support of UT Austin (never thought I’d say that…) and the Austin scene, three words: South by Southwest.
-Portland: Lewis & Clark
-to tout my homestate Colorado, University of Colorado - Boulder has some great folk and world acts coming out. Denver has a very diverse, innovative scene, and the University of Denver is a good school not far from some of the best venues in town. Not to mention, we have the legendary Red Rocks Ampitheatre…</p>
<p>Anyways, enough of that.</p>
<p>Point is, as long as you’re not in podunksville, you’ll probably find something. Especially with a college crowd.</p>
<p>OKAY…PEOPLE…the OP doesn’t care about what the SCHOOL music scene is all about…the OP is talking about music within the city…like indie or rock concerts and such…not the next classical or orchestra concert…</p>
<p>Jesus.</p>
<p>Occidental is in LA…mine:x</p>
<p>Nashville has a great music scene. Lots of indie bands play around Elliston Place (venues like Exit/In) and Cafe Coco is a popular hangout around there. The bigger indie bands play at the Ryman Downtown (modest mouse, etc.).</p>
<p>Check out the Nashville Scene. Great Paper about the alternative rock/indie Nashville music venues:</p>
<p>[Nashville</a> Scene - Home Page](<a href=“http://www.nashvillescene.com/]Nashville”>http://www.nashvillescene.com/)</p>
<p>The Pacific Northwest seems to be the obvious answer if the poster is talking about the alternative scene, but really just about any major city in the US will have plenty to offer. It’s a dificult question to answer because of the vagueness.</p>
<p>I think there is another aspect to the question that has not been addressed directly. Particularly for freshman, a great music scene off campus may not be very accessible. Lack of transportation, large amounts of time required to get to and from some venues, unsafe areas, etc., may make it difficult to take advantage of opportunities.</p>
<p>With regard to Vanderbilt and Nashville, most freshman do not have cars, and there isn’t a lot in the way of public transportation. However, the campus is not too distant from the downtown area, and cab fare can be subtracted from the meal cards. At least, that is what I hear from my son, who does use cabs for some trips downtown. Or he walks, since the area between the downtown and the campus is not unsafe.</p>
<p>Just something to consider when discussing the music scene of various large cities.</p>
<p>Between access, cost, and quality Austin can’t be beat. No huge cover charges and plenty of all ages shows. The Pacific Northwest scene is dying and lacking in fun. Way too much angst and drugs. Clubs are closing left and right. Austin has more diverse and up music and people.</p>
<p>UT at Austin. Austin City Limits will be the best concert of your life.</p>