No matter where you live in the Boca Raton area, you are just a quick walk or drive from one of the many wonderful music venues around. The city prides itself on its rich history of music, dating back to the early 1900’s.

Grant Clarke, a songwriter, author, and publisher who wrote Broadway scores for Dixie to Broadway and the Plantation Review as well as several popular songs at the time like “Ragtime Cowboy Joe” and “Am I Blue?”, composed a tango called “In Boca Raton”. It never made the charts, but it’s a special part of Boca history. Back in 1951, the Boca Raton Pops band was popular. In the early 1980’s, the Boca Raton Symphony was a hit. Residents also enjoyed the Jan McArt’s Royal Palm Dinner Theater for 25 years until it closed its doors in 2001.

The most popular music venue in Boca Raton is Mizner Amphitheater. It is a state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater, colonnade, and concert green that holds up to 4,200 people. It opened in November 2002, and then in October 2010 the City of Boca Raton took over its operations and ownership. It serves as a social, cultural, and educational center for South County residents and draws audiences from throughout South Florida. Programming includes a variety of community events, city events, and commercial concerts. Some of the big names who have performed there include Boy George, The Romantics, Smashing Pumpkins, Earth Wind & Fire, Kelly Clarkson, B.B. King, Harry Connick, Jr., Norah Jones, The Pixies, ZZ Topp, Branford Marsalis, Widespread Panic and Yitzchak Perlman.

In Downtown Boca in Royal Palm Place, you can enjoy live funk, jazz, blues, and rock n roll music at The Funky Biscuit. Open in July of 2011, it features the finest national, regional, and local entertainment in an intimate atmosphere.

Farther west at Glades and the Turnpike, you can visit the Boca Black Box for a variety of live performances including fun tribute bands.

Finally, Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University also offer enjoyable musical performances throughout the year.