5 Places in Fort Collins Made for Music Lovers
Fort Collins isn’t just a city that has great restaurants, stunning sights, and tasty beers, it’s also got a pretty good music scene as well. Check that, an incredible music scene. It has a venue or a store for every type of music, and every type of person. If you’re an incoming CSU student — or even just a weekend visitor who appreciates good music, here’s a list of 5 places you need to check out.
1.) Avogadro’s Number
Sought after as one of the most commonly known restaurants in the city of Fort Collins, Avogadro’s Number is famous for its hippy-like vibes and always interesting live performances throughout the week. If you want to catch some underground music, while also sucking down a couple beers and nachos with some of your friends, Avo’s is a fantastic place to be. For those of you who would like to try your hand at performing in front of a live audience, the venue has an open mic night every Tuesday at 7:00.
2.) The Aggie Theatre
If your favorite band is announcing they’re coming to Fort Collins for a performance, the chances are pretty high that The Aggie Theatre is where they’re going to be playing. Standing since 1906, the Aggie is one of the most iconic buildings in all of Old Town, and has been home to some very accomplished musical groups over the years. These groups are included but not limited to Earl Sweatshirt, Parkway Drive, and Jimmy Eat World. There isn’t anything about the venue itself that necessarily stands out, but if you want to see a bigger artist with some quality sound, the Aggie is where you want to be. Check out their schedule here.
3.) Hodi’s Half Note
Hodi’s is another location that is strictly a music venue, specifically hosting live music, but also events such as stand-up comedy and slam poetry. It is a lot smaller than its neighbor the Aggie Theatre, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t pack some punch. Ask anyone who has seen a show there, it can get pretty wild in a hurry, especially when hardcore/metal bands like Every Time I Die perform there. Both this venue and the Aggie can be found in Old Town, not even 5 minutes away from each other.
4.) The Alley Cat
It seems there is always something fun going on at The Alley Cat, and while this isn’t a true concert venue like some of the other places I mentioned before, there are still opportunities to enjoy and or play music. Although they made their name on great coffee and lunch options, they have an in-house acoustic guitar that they open up to the public anytime. This restaurant in designed for people who want to relax in a comfortable environment while listening to soothing music. So whether you want to study to the sound of some peaceful plucking, or be the one doing the plucking yourself, you can do it all at The Alley Cat.
5.) Rock ’N’ Robbins
Unlike the other places I mentioned before, Rock ’N’ Robbins isn’t a place to catch live music. This isn’t to say you can’t find some quality music there, however. In fact, it is a place where you can find extremely valuable old school records, CDs, and even cassette tapes (yes, those still exist). They specialize in owning very hard-to-find pieces of music, stuff that you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else. If you’re a vinyl junkie who likes to collect older music, I would highly recommend checking out Rock ’N’ Robbins. One thing I will point out though, is the vast majority of their collection is going to be albums from the 2000’s or earlier. Here’s more info about their business.
