We can all remember back to a time when we were under 21 years of age, ready to go out on a Friday night with friends. But where to go? Long ago, back when the Earth was flat, there was not much to do besides driving around all night or hanging out in your local parking lot.
Luckily for today's young people, some places in Houston offer live music to those still under the legal drinking age; truthfully, some venues listed here have been open to young people for quite some time, though we didn't always know about them back in the old days. Besides being places where young people can venture out on their own, parents can take their younger kids here to introduce them to the wonderful world of live music as well.
Note: We didn't list some of the obvious bigger venues like Toyota Center, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, NRG Stadium, and others that are open to all ages as well. Numbers, the legendary Montrose nightclub, was excluded because although it is an all-ages venue for shows and special events, club nights are 18 and up.
10. MILLER OUTDOOR THEATRE Opened in 1923, Miller Outdoor Theater is unique in that it offers live music, musicals, plays, movies, dance and other artistic performances free during its eight-month season. For families, Miller offers performances that are geared towards young children, often during the day, or take the kids along some evening to see some classical music, jazz or popular artists perform. The new season starts up again in March, with the Spencer Davis Group and Los Lobos among some of the prominent musical acts scheduled to play.
6000 Hermann Park Dr., milleroutdoortheatre.com
9. MKT BAR Moms and Dads can introduce their kids to live music at MKT during a shopping trip to the Phoenicia Specialty Foods grocery store downtown if they so desire. In addition to the live performances from local musicians, the bar schedules several DJ sets throughout the week including Wednesday Vinyl Nights, where guest DJs from various walks of Houston life play their favorite records provided by Cactus Music. MKT Bar has a nice selection of cocktails, craft beers and wines as well as upscale bar food, including a kids' menu, so stick around a bit and make an evening out of it with the whole family.
1001 Austin, phoeniciafoods.com/mkt-bar
8. LAST CONCERT CAFE Last Concert Café serves tasty Tex-Mex cuisine and you can surely take the whole family out for that; you can also stick around later in the evening for the live music that often sounds like some 1960s jam-band session. Hang out with some hippies and bohemians of all ages and you might feel as though you have been transplanted back to a commune in the Summer of Love.
Seriously, this is a cool place, and if you bring you kids they are sure to enjoy the glow-in-the-dark hula hoops and tethered objects the regular patrons will be dancing with in the beach sand out in front of the stage. Stop by late Wednesday night for the drum circle or Sundays starting at 10:30 a.m. for the weekly acoustic jam, with all skill levels welcome.
1403 Nance, lastconcert.com
7. WHITE SWAN This DIY East End staple hosts some of the most extreme, brutal death-metal and black metal shows in town, and it wouldn't be quite fair if only those among us of legal drinking age could enjoy them now, would it? Of course not, which is why the White Swan opens up its doors to younger headbangers, many of whom encounter their first mosh pit upon entrance. Older metal fans may choose to bring along their kids to a show here and introduce them to the exciting world of corpse paint and guttural growls.
4419 Navigation Blvd., whiteswanlive.com
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