House of Blues: Boston

Boston is a small, but incredibly dense city. The House of Blues seems to epitomize this notion with their Fenway-Kenmore installation. In a space that used to be home to popular nightclubs like Axis and Avalon, this space was reformatted and redesigned in 2008 to bring a Southern, peanut-shells-on-the-floor-type hospitality in the form of a concert venue to Beantown.

The club is situated on bustling Landsdowne street, right outside of Fenway Park. This means that, depending on the time of year, you might lose your friends in the sea of Red Sox fans while entering or exiting the venue. Before walking through the door, music-seekers will be greeted with the smell of sausages from a nearby vendor.

Once inside, you can grab a quick, moderately priced drink to sip on while you wait for the show to begin.

The floors are sticky, the lighting is dim and the main concert floor is small and cramped — all ingredients of a proper blues aesthetic. In addition to the main open floor, there are second- and third-level mezzanine balconies that overlook the main floor and stage.

Most of the venue space is standing room only, however there are a handful of seats on the third floor for those with bad knees. Still, this is not the place to go for those who like to sit and relax when they listen to their favorite artist.

While the tight feeling of the place might turn off some, others will appreciate the interesting and always loud acoustics and reverberations provided by the space.

Because of the small size, concertgoers will always be just a stone’s throw away from performer(s) on stage, offering a more personal experience.

House of Blues

15 Landsdowne Street

Boston, Mass. 02215

888 693 2583