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The 6 Ski Towns With the Best Local Music Scenes

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated May 10, 2025 9:00 AM ET

What does one do when the lifts have stopped spinning for the day, but you've done all the après you can? The long answer is that it depends, but the short answer is to find some live music! Believe it or not, there are ski towns that are also hubs for live music, despite being kind of remote.

Whether you're one of those die-hard bluegrass-loving skiers or you prefer a side of bass music with your après, a lot of ski towns have great venues and attract both big-name acts, as well as great local talent. Here are some of the ski towns with the liveliest music scenes to check out all year round.

As always, this isn't an exhaustive list of ski towns with good music scenes. There are towns not on here, like Breckenridge and Bozeman, that have a couple of legendary venues that regularly attract great acts. There are also a lot of local ski town bands that are absolutely fantastic and well worth going to see, like Durango's Liver Down the River, but most of these are a little more niche and require local knowledge. We've tossed in some that we know and love, but if you're hanging out in a ski town, ask some folks on the lift about their favorite local bands because you're bound to find a new one.

Going to Aspen, Colorado? Catch a show at Belly Up.Photo: Adventure_Photo/Getty Images

1. Aspen, CO

Aspen is probably the crown jewel of ski town music scenes for one reason alone, and that reason is the Belly Up. The Belly Up is one of the most legendary music venues around, even outside ski towns. Named one of the "Best Clubs in America" by Rolling Stone Magazine, the Belly Up is a 450-person venue that's hosted some of the most famous bands and musicians over the years.

The venue initially opened during the 2005 X-Games and has welcomed everyone from B.B. King to Snoop Dogg to The Flaming Lips to Old Crow Medicine Show to Chromo to play shows. If you're taking a trip to Aspen, put seeing a show at the Belly Up on your list, and you won't regret it.

2. Jackson Hole, WY/ Teton Valley, ID

Despite being kind of in the middle of nowhere, Jackson, Wyoming, has an incredibly vibrant music scene. The Mangy Moose in Teton Village has long held it down as an intimate and sometimes rowdy music venue, not just during the ski season but into the summer as well. Acts like Fruition, the Sponges, Rayland Baxter, and Galactic have all played the Moose. During the summer, JHMR also has a free Concert on the Commons series that takes place a few Sunday afternoons during the season in Teton Village.

While the town is still mourning the loss of the Pink Garter Theater as an amazing in-town concert venue, an epic new venue in the Tetons has almost filled that void. Over the last three summers, Snow King Mountain has established a concert series on top of the mountain, making for one of the coolest outdoor concert venues that rivals even places like Red Rocks Amphitheater. Live music with a sunset over the Tetons? Say less. Since its inception, bands like Trampled by Turtles, Dark Star Orchestra, the Motet, Cypress Hill, and Souls of Mischief have all played atop Snow King.

The other side of Teton Pass also has a lively music scene, especially in the summer. Right in downtown Victor, the Knotty Pine Supper Club has been known to host incredible music acts and make for yet another intimate and fun venue. Bluegrass bands like the Kitchen Dwellers often make a yearly stop at the Knotty over the winter. In the summer, you can find weekly free concerts at Victor's city park for Music on Main.

Every Thursday night, most of the town (and about half of Jackson) makes the pilgrimage to enjoy live tunes on the lawn. Late in the summer is Grand Targhee's Bluegrass Festival, which was recently revived after a hiatus. Targhee Bluegrass is three days of camping and biking and includes some of the biggest names in bluegrass like Greensky Bluegrass, the String Cheese Incident, and Del McCoury.

Although the Tetons draw big names, there's also a great local music scene. Namely, a band that started as Hot Pocket and has been through iterations as Sneaky Pete and the Secret Weapons and Sghetti has been a longtime local favorite that plays bops like "I Like to Dance, I Like to Ski."

3. Steamboat Springs, CO

Steamboat is almost as synonymous with bluegrass as it is skiing. While there are several music venues in downtown Steamboat that host a variety of music, there is a lot of bluegrass in that town. Old Town Pub is a pretty good first place to look if you're trying to catch some live music in Steamboat. They've hosted small local bands as well as bigger acts like Goose in a quintessential ski town bar venue.

Schmiggity's is usually the go-to for electronic music (or salsa dancing lessons!) and, like OTP, has had everyone from Maddy O'Neal to Boombox play. In the summer, Steamboat puts on a free concert series at the base of Howelsen Hill with monthly concerts. Dubbed the "town meeting" by locals because just about everyone and their brother shows up, these shows are fantastic staples of summer and usually have pretty big-name artists playing, like the Wood Brothers and Billy Strings.

Perhaps Steamboat's affinity for bluegrass makes sense as it's also the home of the WinterWonderGrass festival. For three days over the winter, the resort's Meadows parking lot is transformed into a festival venue complete with multiple stages and a beer-tasting tent. The festival boasts three days of skiing, beer, and bluegrass, and is a fantastic time for locals and visitors.

Winter music festivals in Tahoe are quite common. Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images

4. Lake Tahoe, CA

The Lake Tahoe area is one of those spots with a sneaky good music scene as well. The same WinterWonderGrass festival that graces Steamboat Springs also makes a stop in Tahoe for another three days of skiing, bluegrass, and beer. While there's some overlap in the festival lineup, WWG Tahoe is its own festival with its own lineup of music and craft beer.

The Tahoe Live festival also takes place over the winter at the base of Palisades Tahoe. Tahoe Live is a full-on, high-production, EDM festival with big-name DJs like RL Grime and Diplo playing. Lil Wayne was even slated to headline the event in 2024, but ended up cancelling. In the summer, the Caesar's Republic Hotel and Casino in South Lake Tahoe has a concert series that takes place in their 4,000-person outdoor amphitheater. In the past, artists like Paul Simon, Lady Gaga, and the Who have all performed.

There are also several smaller local venues in the Tahoe area, like RMU Truckee, Moody's Bistro Bar, and Beats and Alibi Ale Works, where you can regularly find live music.

5. Bend, OR

For arguments sake, we're gonna call Bend, Oregon a ski town, and for a ski town, it's got a great music scene. At the top of the list for Bend music is Hayden Homes Amphitheater, a venue right in Bend's Old Mill District on the Deschutes River. The outdoor venue holds 8,000 people and has beautiful views of the river and Old Mill as the sun sets. Hayden Homes attracts a super diverse lineup of big-name artists each year, such as Mt. Joy, LCD Soundsystem, Tyler Childers, Khruangbin, and the Beach Boys.

Bend also has several smaller indoor venues in town. The Volcanic Theater hosts not just a handful of great music acts but also shows films and has events every so often. Midtown Ballroom is, well, right in midtown and has two venue spaces, the Ballroom and the Domino Room, that each host great acts all year round. Big names across genres like the California Honey Drops have played the Ballroom, as well as smaller bands in the more intimate Domino Room.

Mt. Bachelor also hosts an annual free music festival at the mountain's base called RendezVan. The ski area opens up its parking lot to folks camping in vans and trailers and has free live music throughout the weekend.

Music and skiing go hand-in-hand around Salt Lake City, Utah.Photo: Ken Redding/Getty Images

6. Salt Lake City, UT

Again, for argument's sake, we'll call Salt Lake City a ski town. After all, some of the best skiing in the world is just up the road in the Wasatch. Salt Lake is a big city with tons of live music. There are several large, amphitheater-style venues in the area, and music acts from all over play in Salt Lake regularly. However, one piece of the Salt Lake City music scene stands out in particular for skiers, and it's the band Pixie and the PartyGrass Boys.

Another staple in the inexplicable link between skiing and bluegrass, Pixie and the PartyGrass Boys started as a band of ski bums playing house parties in Cottonwood Canyon and has since blown up into a nationally known touring bluegrass band. With songs like "Ski and Party," PatPGB is one of the most fun, energetic bluegrass shows you can see, so if you're in SLC and happen to hear of a show, put it on the list.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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