Top Live Music Venues in St. Louis, Missouri

The Fabulous Fox Theatre. 527 North Grand. (314) 534-1111 The Fabulous Fox opened in1929 as one of the crown jewels in William Fox’s motion picture empire. It was designed by C. Howard Crane and built to the tune of six million dollars, an unheard of cost at the time when movie tickets were a quarter. Fox’s wife, Eve, filled the place with paintings, sculptures, and furnishings gathered from her travels around the world for the astronomical sum of $700,000. The first thing that you see when you enter is the grand staircase covered with a royal purple carpet. Fierce rajahs armed with wicked curving scimitars glare down from their niches in the lobby. Indian Vishnus meditate on either side of the stage. From the dome in the auditorium hangs a 2,000-pound chandelier, 12 feet in diameter and glittering with 2,264 pieces of jeweled glass. A giant Wurlitzer organ, one of only five of its type ever built, sits underneath the main stage, ready to rise from the depths in a spectacular blaze of light.

In 1981, the Fox was completely refurbished at a cost of well over two million dollars. Thousands of feet of ornate plaster were meticulously restored. 4,500 seats were completely re-upholstered and restored. 7,300 yards of carpet were woven in the original elephant pattern, even the 108 foot high ceiling was vacuumed. State-of-the-art sound, lighting, and stage equipment was installed, making this one of the most unique and certainly the most lavish places to see live music in the St. Louis area, or even the country for that matter. The music ranges from Broadway plays to nationally touring rock bands and everything in between. It’s the only place where it is suggested that you take a tour (every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 10:30 a.m.) before you attend a concert there. At least arrive a few minutes early to check the place out.