Live Entertainment in Providence

AS220 is Providence's most important arts organization and music venue — a non-profit arts incubator with a 300-capacity music venue, gallery, printmaking studio, and restaurant in downtown that has been at the center of Providence's extraordinary creative renaissance since 1985. The venue's uncensored, experimental programming philosophy has made it a home for emerging artists across every medium and a reason why Providence consistently ranks among America's most creative and arts-supportive cities.

Amica Mutual Pavilion is Rhode Island's premier indoor arena — presenting major concerts and events for the Ocean State. Providence's remarkable concentration of creative talent from RISD and Brown University and the arena's consistent programming create concert experiences of considerable Rhode Island entertainment significance.

Columbus Theatre presents touring indie and rock acts in a restored 1926 vaudeville house in Providence.

Festival Ballet Providence is Rhode Island's most important professional dance company — presenting outstanding classical and contemporary ballet for the Ocean State. Festival Ballet's remarkable programming and its extraordinary community engagement create a dance company of genuine Rhode Island performing arts significance.

Fete Music Hall is Providence's finest mid-size concert venue — a 1,000-capacity beautifully converted industrial space in the Olneyville neighborhood that represents the next generation of Providence's vibrant live music infrastructure. The venue's commitment to quality sound, excellent sightlines, and diverse programming across dance music, indie, hip-hop, and electronic acts has made it the preferred room for artists playing between club and theater scale in southern New England.

Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel is Providence's most celebrated live music venue — a 1,800-capacity downtown club that has been the anchor of Rhode Island's music scene for decades, booking national touring rock, hip-hop, electronic, and alternative acts for New England's smallest state. Named with self-aware Providence flair after Elvis's classic, Lupo's has provided generations of Brown, RISD, and Providence College students with their most memorable concert experiences.

Providence's performing arts scene includes an extraordinary depth of theater companies serving one of America's most creatively gifted small cities. The Providence Improv Guild, the Burbage Theatre, and dozens of independent companies create a theatrical ecosystem of unusual American small-city performing arts vitality, reflecting the extraordinary creative energy generated by RISD's and Brown's combined artistic community.

Providence Performing Arts Center is Rhode Island's grandest theater — a 3,200-seat 1928 Loew's-era movie palace with one of the most opulently restored interiors in New England, serving as the primary venue for Broadway touring productions, major concerts, and large-scale performances in the state's capital city. The PPAC's ornate gilded interior and world-class Broadway programming put it on par with historic theaters in cities many times Providence's size.

Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) is Rhode Island's premier Broadway touring venue — a stunning 3,200-seat Loew's theater beautifully restored to present the finest Broadway touring productions and major concerts for the greater Providence area. PPAC's extraordinary 1928 movie palace design (one of the finest surviving examples of 1920s theater architecture in New England), its consistent programming of A-list Broadway tours, and its role as Providence's most important cultural anchor make it Rhode Island's most historically and architecturally significant performing arts venue.

RISD Museum presents cultural events alongside one of the finest college art museums in America — a Providence institution housing 100,000 objects from ancient civilizations to contemporary design. RISD's extraordinary collection (including works by Monet, Rodin, and America's finest industrial design collection) and its remarkable performing arts programming create a cultural venue of genuine American arts education significance.

Rhode Island College Roberts Hall presents outstanding theatrical productions and concerts for the Ocean State — a Providence institution serving the broader Rhode Island community with outstanding performing arts. RIC's remarkable community engagement and its extraordinary commitment to accessible performing arts create a venue of genuine Rhode Island community cultural significance.

Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra is the Ocean State's most important classical music institution — presenting outstanding orchestral concerts that reflect Rhode Island's remarkable arts-educated community (Providence is home to RISD, the finest art and design university in America). The RIPO's extraordinary programming and its remarkable community engagement create an orchestra of genuine Rhode Island cultural significance.

Dunkin' Donuts Center (The Dunk) is Rhode Island's most important arena — a 14,000-capacity Providence venue presenting major concerts, Providence Bruins AHL hockey, and Providence College Friars basketball. The Dunk's central Providence location and its consistent programming of major touring acts create an entertainment venue of considerable Rhode Island sporting and entertainment significance.

Trinity Repertory Company is America's most important resident theater — a Providence institution and Tony Award winner that has been producing some of America's most critically acclaimed theatrical work for over 60 years. Trinity Rep's extraordinary artistic ambition, its development of actors including Derek Jacobi and Richard Kneeland, and its role in making Providence one of America's premier theater cities create a theatrical institution of the highest national importance.

Veterans Memorial Auditorium is Rhode Island's most important performing arts hall — a beautiful Providence theater presenting the RI Philharmonic, Broadway touring shows, and major cultural events. The Vets's remarkable Art Deco design and its consistent programming of world-class entertainment create a performing arts venue of genuine Rhode Island state cultural significance.