Cincinnati

Despite being smaller than cities like Chicago or New York, Cincinnati is still home to many venues. That includes venues of all sizes, from venues of all sizes, from intimate clubs to large arenas.

• Heritage Bank Center: Located on the banks of the Ohio River, the Heritage Bank Center is perhaps best known for being the home of the city’s hockey team, the Cincinnati Cyclones. But when it isn’t hosting hockey games, the multi-purpose venue hosts traveling shows, large concerts, and other live performances. With a capacity of 17,556 people, it’s one of the city’s largest venues.²
• Bogart’s: On the opposite end of the spectrum from an arena is the intimate venue, Bogart’s. Originally built as a vaudeville theatre in 1890, the primarily standing-room venue now hosts musical performances by artists across many genres.³ The venue can hold up to 1,500 people across three levels.⁴
• Cincinnati Music Hall: Another historic venue, Cincinnati Music Hall was built in 1878 and renovated in 2017. It’s one of the city’s most recognizable icons, and today it hosts the Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.⁵ With multiple halls and rooms, the largest has a capacity of 2,500.⁶

In addition to a constant stream of live concerts and events, Cincinnati is home to several long-running music festivals.

• Cincinnati Music Festival: This festival is often described as one of the largest urban music festivals in the country. Started in 1962 and originally called the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival, the event has hosted major headliners like Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Aretha Franklin.⁷ Today, the festival has branched out to include performances by R&B, jazz, and hip hop performers.⁸
• The Ohio Gospel Music Awards: This annual event celebrates a wide range of artists in the Gospel genre, including worship leaders, independent artists, church choirs, and radio announcers from across the state, and features live performances between the award announcements.⁹

Widely recognized as home to the first fully professional baseball team (the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings), Cincinnati has a long history of sports culture.¹⁰ Today, the city is home to several major teams with fans not just in the city, but across the country.

• Bengals: Cincinnati got its first professional football team in 1968 with the founding of the Bengals.¹¹ Today the team plays in Paycor Stadium, located on the Ohio River in the city’s The Banks development.¹²
• Reds: Since becoming the nation’s first professional baseball team in 1869, the Reds have won five World Series championships and produced some of the sport’s most iconic players.¹³ Today, the team plays its home games just a half mile down the riverbank from Paycor Stadium in the Great American Ball Park.¹⁴
• FC Cincinnati: One of the city’s newest sports teams, FC Cincinnati was started in 2016, and today plays its games in TQL Stadium.¹⁵

In addition to professional sports, music festivals, and large concerts, Cincinnati hosts many comedy shows and arts performances, including at the famous and historic Music Hall.

• Procter and Gamble Hall at the Aronoff Center: The Aronoff Center’s largest theater, Procter and Gamble Hall, can hold 2,700 guests across the orchestra, balcony, and loge seating, and hosts a variety of live performances.¹⁶