An Unlikely Bohemia: Athens, Georgia, in Reagan's America (2020)

Oh they exist, they’re usually just booked up by boring cover bands.

Living in NYC I watched the death of the Williamsburg bohemian scene in the 00's. The neighborhood was still rough with crummy buildings, warehouses and drug dealers roaming about and other sketchy shit. Small bars/venues/clubs dotted the area and the myriad of commercial buildings rented large spaces for cheap which people turned into art communes. I had a bunch of friends in that scene and it was amazing to walk into a drab looking brick warehouse and into a world of art and music. I remember going to a show which featured performers from side show acts who were musicians which spilled into the street becoming an impromptu late night street circus complete with acrobatics and fire breathing.

Then everyone just HAD to live in WB and the cheap commercial buildings were razed and replaced with giant crappy over priced apartments ($2500 for a 1br back then was insane). Within a few years all the interesting artists left, many heading to Portland which suffered the same fate. Now its all faux luxury apartment buildings and Instagram spaces. Burn it all down.

A lot of areas have auditoriums that folks can rent - and there are generally conference rooms and conference centers. I saw Weird Al perform in a large conference room in a hotel (and the show was absolutely fantastic). I've seen folks perform in very small bars that many towns have. A lot of cities have outdoor places in parks and in the US, a high school will often have a place to rent. Heck, small festivals often have live music, though it might not be what you want.

I don't think real estate is enough. It is much easier to have a Blues festival if your city puts in some work to plan such a thing: Same with making sure there is a music scene. Not all of the bands are going to play for pennies, either: It costs money to travel about with equipment, even if you are in town. It is a group effort that involves more than real estate.