May and September are time for Big Downtown Thursdays, Little Rock’s after-work celebration. Big Downtown Thursdays are held in the River Market District on Thursdays in May and September. The concerts are held under the pavillon and food and refreshments are sold.
Riverfest is another great time to hear some local music. The list of bands gets bigger and better every year. This year Riverfest will have a wide variety of acts including Hootie and the Blowfish, Uncle Kracker, Al Green, Eddie Money, Brad Paisley, Spin Doctors, Brian McComas, Little Feat, The Bouffants, 17th Floor, Gary Allan and my personal favorite, local group Trout Fishing in America. You can check the schedule for dates and times to be sure you don't miss your favorites.
If sitting outdoors and listening music isn't your style, why don't you try one of the River Market's indoor music haunts?
At the Underground Pub, you can Karoke every Thursday night at 7:00. It's East of the River Market Hall. There is no cover charge and they have professional, live music on most weekends, just in case the prospect of hearing your girlfriend's rendition of "Crazy" doesn't excite you.
Sticky Fingers has live music Tuesday through Saturday night. Their site has a description of the band's "sound" and a schedule of bands. Most of the bands that play at Sticky Fingers are from out of town. There is a cover charge on most nights.
If you ears really ache for great local, live music and you don't mind leaving the River Market area and venturing a little further downtown, Juanita's on Main street is one of the best places to go. They have a great lineup and almost always have some kind of entertainment scheduled. All the best Arkansas bands frequent Juanita's. I recommend them to anyone wanting to check out the Little Rock music scene. Another plus is the fact that they have great food.
You should also check out Vino's on 7th Street. They have live music 7 days a week and book the best local bands. Supposedly, Vino's has the best beer in Arkansas. Sounds like the perfect compliment to a night on the town.
Have fun and drive safely.
