Live Music in NYC Tonight: The Red Lion on Bleecker Street
Not every bar with a stage is a live music venue. At The Red Lion, 151 Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village, the difference is clear by the end of the first song.
Live music runs here seven nights a week, from 7pm until 4am. No cover charge Sunday through Thursday. A cover applies on Fridays, Saturdays, and Holidays check the live music schedule before you head out on a weekend. The stage is close enough to the bar that you feel the bass through the floor, and far enough back that a conversation between sets is still possible. Three different bands play most evenings. The dance floor gets used. Most nights lean toward rock and blues, though the room has a habit of going somewhere unexpected and that willingness to shift is part of why people keep returning to this address rather than searching for somewhere new each week.
The Vibes
The Red Lion has been on Bleecker Street since 1994. The bones of the place have stayed the same: a long bar running along one side and a stage that gets used properly, every night of the week. Greenwich Village has never been short of places to drink, but live music bars in NYC that run three bands a night from Sunday to Thursday without a cover are a shorter list.
The Infatuation named The Red Lion among the best NYC bars with live music in their 2024 guide, drawing the distinction that most live music venues are either too formal or too loud to be worth an evening. Their verdict on The Red Lion: an exception.
Big Ed's Blues Jam
Among the week's fixtures, Monday nights carry their own reputation. Big Ed's World-Famous Blues Jam has run at The Red Lion since 1995, making it one of the longest-running blues jams in the world. Featured in Forbes, the jam takes place on the first and third Monday of every month from 7pm to 10pm. Entry is free.
The format is open. Big Ed Sullivan's house band plays the first set, then musicians who have signed up are called to the stage, two songs at a time. The room draws regulars alongside touring artists who want a stage when they are between dates. Names like Shemekia Copeland and Duke Robillard have played the jam when their schedules allowed. Fender thought highly enough of the event to donate the house band a signature purple Telecaster, built by Grammy winner Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.
House band keyboardist David Bennett Cohen put it plainly: "You never know when the magic is going to happen. People have to realize there's magic in live music."
Musicians who want to play need to sign up in advance. Everyone else just needs to show up.
Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm: half-price drinks and $6 beers. That timing lines up with the early evening bands on weeknights, which makes it a reasonable way to get a seat before the room fills and on those nights there is no cover to worry about. The kitchen is open throughout the evening with a menu that covers everything from bar snacks to proper plates. On weekends, brunch starts from midday if you want to make a full afternoon of it before the music starts.
The Red Lion also screens live sports throughout the week Premier League, Champions League, and ahead of next summer, FIFA World Cup 2026. If you are planning an evening around a match and then music, the schedule works. Doors are open early for all televised fixtures.
Check out one of our blogs "Best Soccer Bar in Greenwich Village NYC " and Watch the FIFA World Cup 2026
More on Bleecker Street
For a full picture of what a night on Bleecker Street looks like — the room, the crowd, the late-night energy — the Bleecker Street guide on this blog covers it in more detail.
Heading Uptown
The Red Lion is part of a wider family of bars and restaurants across New York City. On the Upper West Side, The Ellington at 2745 Broadway sits steps from Riverside Park and Columbia University — a neighbourhood American restaurant with live music, DJ and jazz brunches, and happy hour Monday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm, all night on Thursdays. When the warmer months arrive, the same team opens Ellington in the Park inside Riverside Park at West 105th Street: a two-level
outdoor bar and restaurant built around Hudson River views, running April through November with no reservations needed. In Midtown, Tara Mor at 150 West 30th Street — a short walk from MSG — brings a contemporary take on Irish hospitality, with elevated cocktails, live music, sports, and private event spaces with no room rental fee. And in Murray Hill, Tara Rose at 384 Third Avenue is a craft Irish bar with a speakeasy downstairs, known for its cocktail programme, famous brunch, and private party spaces across three floors.
Getting There
The West 4th Street subway stop is a five-minute walk from the door on the A, C, E, B, D, F, and M lines. The 1 train stops at Christopher Street. Walk-ins are always welcome. For groups of six or more, booking a table in advance is recommended.
Check the full live music schedule at https://www.redlionnyc.com/live-music/