Live music and nightlife in Oxford: venues, bars, where to go

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Addresses and phone numbers come from each venue’s own website where it posts them and from Visit Oxford’s music scene and performing arts pages where it does not. We list venues, not specific shows; check each calendar for what is on.

Oxford’s evenings center on the Square, where Visit Oxford says it is rare to find a day other than Sunday without a live performance on or near it. Two rooms carry most of the touring bands: Proud Larry’s, a restaurant by day that has booked music since 1993, and The Lyric, a 1913 movie house turned concert hall a block off the Square. The University of Mississippi’s Ford Center takes the big touring productions.

At a glance

• Concert rooms: Proud Larry’s, The Lyric, Rafters
• Theater and touring shows: Ford Center (Ole Miss), The Powerhouse
• Radio show you can attend: Thacker Mountain Radio Hour, Thursdays at 6 p.m. in fall and spring
• Free music: Double Decker (April), Summer Sunset Series (Sundays in June)
• Getting home: see getting around Oxford

Music venues

Proud Larry’s serves pizza, grill food and pasta by day and has had John Mayer, The Black Keys, Jason Isbell and Kingfish on its stage, Visit Oxford says. The room has no barricade and no VIP area and holds about 250 people standing. Its website marks shows as all ages.

The Lyric opened in 1913 as a silent movie theater and is now one of the town’s main venues for concerts and events, according to Visit Oxford.

Rafters Music & Food pairs Southern and Cajun cooking with a rotating calendar of live music, Visit Oxford says.

Moe’s Penny Bar, under Moe’s Original BBQ just off the Square, holds trivia, bingo, open mic and live music nights. The Library is the largest bar in town, with a sports bar, a music hall with a dance floor, and a patio and balcony; Visit Oxford says it often charges the highest cover and advises arriving early.

Theater and performing arts

• Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts, 351 University Ave., on the Ole Miss campus. The six-story center’s main hall seats 1,200, and it hosted the first 2008 presidential debate. Tickets: 662-915-2787.
• The Powerhouse, 413 S. 14th St. The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council’s community arts center, in the city’s 1928 electric plant, has a 140-seat theater used by Theatre Oxford, Laff Co and Writers in the Round, plus open mic and poetry nights and free rotating art exhibits. Call 662-236-6429.
• Thacker Mountain Radio Hour. The weekly show of author readings and music, with the house band the Yalobushwhackers and host Jim Dees, records live Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the fall and spring. It is usually at The Powerhouse and sometimes at Off Square Books or The Lyric, and admission is free, the show schedule says. The next Oxford shows listed are Thursday, Oct. 15, and Thursday, Oct. 29, both at The Powerhouse, with doors at 5:30 p.m.

Bars on and near the Square

These are drawn from Visit Oxford’s night on the Square guide. The list is not a ranking.

• The Coop, the fourth-floor terrace and lounge at Graduate Oxford, 400 N. Lamar Blvd., with views of the Square.
• City Grocery Bar, upstairs from City Grocery at 152 Courthouse Square, with a balcony.
• Bouré’s balcony bar over the Square; 662-234-1968.
• Blind Pig Pub, 105 N. Lamar Blvd.; 662-234-5119. Pub food, draft beer and pool tables.
• Funky’s, 1012 Jackson Ave. East; 662-259-2881. Daiquiris and pizza.
• The Growler: craft beer, card games and board games.
• Circle and Square Brewery, 100 Depot St.; 662-205-0128. Oxford’s first microbrewery, about half a mile from both the Square and the Ole Miss Circle.

For cocktails, Visit Oxford also keeps a cocktail guide.

Free music through the year

• Double Decker Arts Festival, the last weekend of April on the Square. The music on the main stage on North Lamar is free, Friday night and all day Saturday. The 2026 festival was April 24-25; 2027 dates will be on doubledeckerfestival.com.
• Summer Sunset Series: free live music on Sunday evenings through June, according to Visit Oxford.

Records and the blues

The End of All Music, upstairs in the Duvall’s building on the Square, has sold new and used vinyl since 2012. Oxford has two Mississippi Blues Trail markers, one for Oxford blues and one for the University of Mississippi’s Living Blues magazine, Visit Oxford says.

What this means for you

• Check Proud Larry’s and The Lyric calendars first for touring bands.
• Sunday is the quiet night on the Square, Visit Oxford says.
• On Ole Miss home football weekends, expect crowds and plan your ride home.

Related: the Square, date night, free things to do and New Year’s Eve.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see live music in Oxford, Mississippi?

The main venues are Proud Larry’s, 211 S. Lamar Blvd., and The Lyric, 1006 Van Buren Ave., both by the Square. Rafters on Jackson Avenue East and Moe’s Penny Bar also book live music, and the Ford Center at Ole Miss hosts touring shows.

When is Thacker Mountain Radio Hour recorded?

Thursdays at 6 p.m. in the fall and spring, usually at The Powerhouse, 413 S. 14th St., with some shows at Off Square Books or The Lyric. Admission is free; check the show’s own schedule for each week’s venue.

Is Proud Larry’s all ages?

Proud Larry’s lists shows as all ages on its website. It has been open since 1993 and holds about 250 people standing, Visit Oxford says.

Is there free live music in Oxford?

Yes. The Double Decker Arts Festival on the Square the last weekend of April has a free concert, and the Summer Sunset Series offers free music on Sunday evenings in June, Visit Oxford says.