Birmingham

Downtown Birmingham keeps several of the city’s biggest venues within a short stretch, from restored music halls and outdoor amphitheaters to major arena stages near restaurants, bars, and nightlife spots.

• Iron City Birmingham: Built in 1929, Iron City blends a restored industrial space with live music, dining, a mezzanine, a large dance floor, and standing-room capacity for 1,300 guests.²
• Legacy Arena at the BJCC: Open since 1976 as the BJCC Coliseum and modernized in 2021, Legacy Arena seats 17,000 for touring concerts, productions, and sporting events.^3,4
• Coca-Cola Amphitheater: Located north of the Uptown Entertainment District, Coca-Cola Amphitheater is a 9,300-capacity outdoor venue designed for large touring concerts and outdoor live events.⁵

Birmingham’s music scene spans orchestra performances, hip-hop events, and long-running folk traditions.

• Symphony in the Summer: The Alabama Symphony Orchestra has brought the series to Railroad Park since 2011, drawing more than 130,000 people to outdoor classical music performances.⁶
• Dilla Day BHM: Dilla Day BHM honors producer J Dilla with hip-hop performances, DJ sets, a youth workshop focused on beat production, breakdancing, graffiti art, and lupus awareness programming.⁷
• Birmingham Folk Fest: Birmingham Folk Fest presents a free public folk festival centered on folk music, live performances, and community access.⁸

Sports stay close to Birmingham’s downtown core, with football, soccer, and baseball all drawing steady local support.

• Birmingham Stallions at Protective Stadium: The Birmingham Stallions compete in the United Football League, returned in 2022, and won three straight championships from 2022 through 2024.⁹
• Birmingham Legion FC at Protective Stadium: Birmingham Legion FC plays at Protective Stadium, bringing USL Championship soccer into Birmingham’s downtown stadium district.¹⁰
• Birmingham Barons at Regions Field: The Barons’ history dates back to 1885, and the current downtown era began when Regions Field opened in 2013.¹¹

Birmingham’s arts scene spans downtown festivals, gallery districts, and smaller live-performance rooms across the city.

• Birmingham Artwalk: Birmingham Artwalk turns the downtown loft district into an arts destination with more than 100 visual artists, live musicians, street performers, vendors, and children’s activities.¹²
• Bluff Park Annual Art Show: Bluff Park Annual Art Show brings visual artists to the Birmingham area and supports a permanent collection displayed in schools, libraries, and universities.¹³
• StarDome Comedy Club: StarDome Comedy Club is a 420-capacity Birmingham comedy venue with a main showroom, restaurant, bar, and additional event spaces.¹⁴