First show at Variety Playhouse was Aimee Mann, June 2025. A perfect venue for such a show--great acoustics, comfortable seats, and good views from pretty much any area. Interesting neighberhood with plenty of pre- and/or post- dining or drinking options. Concessions/drinks high as they are at most such venues. Clean restrooms, friendly staff. I'd definitely see another show here. I think this type of venue is best for a certain type of show--for more active shows where one might want to dance or otherwise engage a venue like The Eastern is more fitting, but for a show where you're more of a spectator absorbing the music being played this one works very well. read more

Variety Playhouse - Aimee Mann + Jonathan Coulton - 6/22/25 - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

I enjoy this concert venue. I like that it's in little five points because that's definitely a nice area in terms of things to do close by. The staff that helped us get inside were also really nice and professional. There was a lot of space in the general admission area and I felt comfortable. The sound system was good and I overall really enjoyed this concert. We went to see the Afrobeat artist known as Benson and he put on a great show and the concert venue definitely helped him to give us that. I would recommend this place for sure. read more

Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

This place is a joke . The security was hounding an elderly man and made him stand up . He was resting on some steps due to a cramp or medical condition. Shame on them! read more

Variety Playhouse - Security harassing an elderly man for resting on some steps due to a cramp or medical condition - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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Awesome Venue! I lost my tickets and they were so nice and understanding.. reprinted my tickets using my recipt. Fast bar service, clean bathrooms. Acoustics were great! Plenty of space to wander and see the show, great for short people - like me! read more

Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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Variety Playhouse is a great spot for a smaller-sized concert or event. I attended the Countess Cabaret last night with a few of my friends. The staff were all helpful and kind, and the bar was quick and easy. The layout is nice: a decently sized pit with elevated seating behind it, making every seat a great spot. It's located in a pretty cool part of downtown with plenty of eating and drinking options around. The only major downside is the restrooms and rather tiny (only two stalls in the women's room) making every trip to the restroom a longer one. I would definitely recommend this spot for a concert! read more

Variety Playhouse - Stage view - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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This is definitely a solid spot to go watch a concert! I have been here for some great concerts for sure. What I love most about the venue is that you are never too far from the artists. It's just big enough to attract popular artists without being so big that you can't see the performers haha. The drinks are reasonably priced, especially for a music venue. The last show I saw was an Infamous Stringdusters concert. The sound was pretty good, and the lights were well done. Parking is available behind the venue, and it should be no problem to get a space as long as you get there early. The strategy a lot of times is to arrive early, park, and then grab a bite to eat before heading to the concert. If you want to go see a good concert at a reasonable price, give Variety Playhouse a go! read more

Variety Playhouse - Del Yeah! - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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Variety playhouse is an Atlanta staple , no doubt. I've come for years. I'm currently in awe of the line down the block and wrapped around the building. It's been a 30-40 min line for the last hour. I've sat, watched, drank , returned, watched, cried, slept and wondered - will the madness ever end??? We're here to stand and watch music, why should we stand more!? There's no reason for this. I've never waited this long to get into a show. There's 4 people handing out wristbands and 3 people at the door. Surely there could be more people at the door, more entrances idk !!? I'm considering not even attending the show at this point. Maybe this is a sign of the times. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for Little Five Points, a crusty, character laden den for the adventurous and conspicuous. Maybe it's time we say goodnight to this era, and painfully welcome the arrival of the gentrified, sanitized likes of The Eastern, Superica, and god help me, Bartaco. UPDATE: the show started 10 mins ago and the line is still several blocks down. read more

Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

The Variety helped me answer a cosmically important question the other night. So, I'm kind of a blues fan, but I've noticed that, whenever I go to these kind of shows, the crowd seems like it's filled with middle aged men (and their dates of course). I always wondered why this crowd likes this style so much. With the pandemic behind us, I think I've got my answer: By the time a man gets to a certain age, he realizes that life really is a tragic affair, and expressing lament is healthy for the soul. I've been to a few shows here since moving to ATL in 2016. This time, I went to have my face melted by Larkin Poe's sweet, sweet southern rock (check em out). The venue is just-above-intimate size, say maybe a max capacity of 1200 or so. It was built in the mid-1900's and has served several different categories of performance arts. In the current iteration, it may be Atlanta's most beloved concert venue on the east side, nestled on Euclid in the down hill part of Little Five Points. If you get lost, just ask a local hipster to point the way. The venue really is lovely, with generous standing room in front of the stage. I think the bar is one of the best features of this place, their service is incredibly fast. It's definitely a more adult venue with drink service, there's no scowling, tattooed 20-something that won't serve you cuz you're like too old to be in this place anymore, old man. Acoustics are perfectly fine and dandy, but I'm no engineer. I just like to rock out once in a while. read more

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I like this venue! The recent Sango concert was my 1st time coming here. Love the seating/standing options. The floor plan has a great layout and there's easy access to the bar. The check-in and security line process was super quick and easy. The sound quality was also fantastic. Downside: the parking lot in the back doesnt have enough spaces to accommodate the full crowd. (I managed to create my own space & thankfully didnt a ticket) If you get to a concert late you may need to find street parking. Also, there was no coat check. read more

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My first time seeing a show here in November 2021 was great! Caroline Polachek was amazing as was the lighting and sound. My partner works in the industry and said it sounded great. I love the vintage theatre vibe. The open floor down front is awesome but if you want to sit there's also chairs in a slope so it's easier to see if you're in the back. Nice staff and expensive drinks as expected. Decent ticket prices and Bathroom lines weren't too bad either. read more

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The California Honeydrops concert was amazing. One of the most energetic performances I've seen in a while!!!!

I've been to the Variety Playhouse many, many times over the years, and I had my first bad experience there tonight. Kishi Bashi performed and did a quiet acoustic set at the end, which was lovely, but the unprofessional bar staff loudly talked amongst themselves through 4 songs. Finally about a dozen audience members shushed them, but they continued to decide that that was a good time to refill the ice buckets, etc. Where is management in this scenario? As checked out as the bar staff? There's not much that a venue's staff can do to take a 5 star review to a 2, but that's one way. I'll add that the bright, bistro style lights above the bar are distracting when the performance brings the lights down low. Is this place wanting to be a bar, or a venue? Figure it out! read more

I love the venue, been going for 25+ years. The place has spruced up over the years, it's full of helpful friendly staff. The seating/standing situation is weird and uncomfortable but whatever, most people can probably at least see the stage. The only problem is the sound. I went to see Stereolab last night and went with people who'd never seen them before. the sound for this usually pristine and tight band was so abysmal, I saw people leaving. The subs were cranked so loud that the rest of the sound became indistinguishable and then after that was adjusted several songs later, the vocals themselves were cranked in the low midrange, making the singing unbearable, constantly verging on feedback. Whoever runs sound there needs to take a break or something. I'd like to think maybe the problem is that Stereolab travels with their own soundperson, but I can't imagine that a dedicated soundperson would have murdered the audio that way. So loud, people were covering their ears. Saw the same band a year ago in a different venue and it was magnificent so it's not the band. We left early because I feared for my hearing. I do not think I will be going back. read more

Name drop a few adjectives and superlatives... Intimate, captivating, accessible, convenient, interactive, and fabulous among many. I always enjoy shows at Variety. If you have an artist or performer you really want to get to know or be able to enjoy in the most comfortable and non-disruptive fashion, you can't beat Variety with a baseball bat. The bar is strategically located so that you don't have miss any action (but still get saucy as necessary). Variety has a few food choices as well. Sometime Das BBQ caters, other times it's typical pizza, popcorn and the like. The layout of the venue is pretty good. Sometimes they have provisions for a standing section on both sides of the building, upstairs (balcony), and down in the pit. Center of the venue is the grandstand, sometimes general admission but not a bad seat in the house. When it's general admission, get there early so you can earmark your spot. The seating room can get a little tight, but that's only when someone needs to pass by. Two negatives: One negative is the box office ticket vendor whose name begins with event and ends with brite. They are no better (or worse) than any other ticket vendor, but these guys charge a 25% vig on ticket purchases. It baffles me that this is acceptable. I rather give that 25% to the artist or maybe even making the venue better. But the ticket vendor is juicing us and it ain't right. Second negative is the parking situation. It can be hit or miss. Valet is meh. Street parking is non-existent for the most park. But this is par for the course in L5P. Not necessarily a Variety Playhouse problem. Cheers! read more

Variety Playhouse - Pre-event and sound check - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

This was my first time at Variety Playhouse and I was pleasantly surprised. From the outside, the place looks small and sketchy, but it's neither. The inside is much larger than it looks from the outside, and I really like that there's an upstairs seating area with a good view for those of us who aren't teenagers anymore, but still like concerts. All of the venue staff I encountered were also very nice and helpful. The show I attended was on a weeknight, so it's definitely possible the surrounding area gets much worse late night on weekends, but it was totally fine when I was there. I was warned about lots of car break-ins in the parking lot behind the venue, so I parked in a more visible public lot on a main road just a couple blocks away. I happened to be alone this time, and I'm a big guy so probably among the last people a trouble maker would pick to mess with, but I didn't see anything or anyone that might cause any concern while walking back to my car late night after the show. read more

Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

Great venue for live music. Nice layout and comfortable vibe. Lots of great shows ---and close to plenty of bars and restaurants. Winning. read more

Sad to give this review as I have attended many shows at this venue since the early 90s. I had the same experience as Keith M on December 8th at the Robert Earl Keen Christmas concert. We had friends in from out of town and also planned to get there early to get seats as we have always done but quickly learned that seating was not available downstairs and the upstairs was closed for the owners' private party (we were told by an employee that the owner is a big REK fan). One person with us tried to sit on the stairs that led to the balcony for a minute (not even watching the show) and was told to move- After standing through the opening act and part of REK (who we couldn't even see because of all of the very tall people standing in front of us), we left early. read more

Loved this venue...the location and the vibe is great. We stayed in Midtown and took an Uber there and back with ease-a 5-10 min ride. read more

Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

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The following was copied and pasted from their Variety Playhouse website: "The majority of our shows are general admission. There are permanent fixed seats on both levels of the venue, but for GA shows these are first-come first-serve - arrive early if you want to make sure to get a seat! If you have an injury or health issue that makes it hard to stand, please give us a call and we'll take care of you. We want everyone to be able to enjoy their favorite band, no matter what!" Having arrived at 6:30 for the 8pm REK concert on 12/824, we fully expected to get seats...just as we have at least a dozen times before at Variety. Being one of the first through security, I knew we would get great seats. However upon entering the venue, we were surprised to see that the floor seats on both sides were gone. After being told by ushers that there no GA seats on the floor only standing, we were told there were GA seats upstairs in the balcony. When we got upstairs we were surprised to see that the entire upstairs area was blocked off. No seats, nor standing either. It was all reserved by the owner for a private party we were told. Contrary to their printed/on line and well established seating chart, all GA was standing only. The rude manager (or possibly owner) informed us we could either stand downstairs or he could give us refunds, which was not an option since we had already checked in to the hotel where we were staying for the concert. The Robert Earl Keen Christmas concert which has been a family tradition for us for years. We have traveled to see REK concerts in Texas, Georgia, Tennessee and Utah. Variety's apparent bait and switch advertised seating was very disappointing . To make matters worse, the obnoxious clowns at the private party upstairs were talking louder than the music at times. Extremely bad look for what was an awesome venue in past years. read more

Intimate venue with ample seating. I saw JoJo perform here and it was great. Easy to get drinks and find the restrooms!

You know that saying that "there is not a bad seat in the house?" Well, that is true in the case of the Variety Playhouse. This was our first show here, and we had seats on the side about half way back on the floor level and they were great! This particular show had reserved seating (chairs) in the pit area, but even in a GA situation, the seats behind are elevated enough to see over people standing well. There is a bar that operates on two sides in the middle in the back. They have some cocktails on draft and the service is quick. I like that the bar is in the back so conversations in that area can hardly be heard while a quiet moment in the how is happening. On the acoustics, they are some of the best around. Our show happened to be a singer/songwriter and the environment was near perfect! PRO TIP: Save on Eventbrite Fees by buying tickets at the Box Office read more

Lovely intimate venue with $20 double well drinks. I'll definitely be back to enjoy more shows! read more

Variety Playhouse - Front view - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

This is a really nice venue! I came here to see Ari Lennox and it was amazing! I love that you're able to stand if you want and sit if you want. I was quite unfortunate and thought what should've been a good seat ended up not being so great. A few people kept standing up in front of me even though there was absolutely no reason to stand in the seated section. Like other reviews have stated, every seat is pretty decent. The security was good about keeping people clear of the walkway, but they'd get 5 stars from me if they enforced seating in the seated section. I know a person can stand if they want, but that's what the nice designated standing areas at Variety Playhouse are for =). Otherwise, awesome venue. Would love to come here for another show. read more

The venue itself is nice. It's near the Inman Park Marta so you can walk through the park to get to it. Kinda creepy at night because there's trees and no street lights. I didn't enjoy that part but the venue was nice We saw Cameron Espocito and Rhea Butcher and it was fantastic! The venue isn't huge so everyone will be able to see. There were seats so you're not sitting the whole time, not the nicest chairs but something to sit on. There's a bar so you can order beverages but no hot food. They might've had chips or something but I wouldn't count on it. It was clean and the venue staff selling merch was friendly but not knowledgeable on the artists or merch so don't ask them questions. These two came out after and signed stuff and took pictures so that was awesome. There's an upstairs area but we didn't go up so I'm not sure what's up there. read more

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Was my second time here and was an awful experience. No air flow at all, building was hot, cramped, and they ran out of water cups in the first 30 minutes. Nail in the coffin was a double vodka red bull that cost 38$, twice the amount of the ticket. read more

Alright, so I get that Variety Playhouse is a L5P institution. I'm a big ole meanie for not rating it well, but I had a pretty crappy experience here recently. I saw a production of Rent at this venue, and the seats were uncomfortably close together. This is 'Murica not Europe. This is the South, not Anorexiaville. The fact is that many people are larger here. Why the heck were the seats bundled so closely together? How much of this is the venue's fault? Some of this probably falls on the event organizers rather than the venue. I say that's fair only to a certain point. The venue could've easily insisted that patrons have a comfortable viewing experience. I'm sure the Variety Playhouse is great for concerts. I'm sure it's great for some productions where adequate seating is available. I just didn't have a good experience. read more

Came to Variety Playhouse for a Daley concert with my boyfriend for the first time last week. First off let me just tell you all that no matter how long you live in the city new gems can pop up. Just like this one. Variety is located around the corner from East Atlanta Village eateries in a quaint little theater. Patrons can easily recognize this old theater has been renovated to create a funky venue for musicians, comedians, and more. Once you walk in there was a selling point to the right. Where you could pick up merchandise and even a bite to eat. However if you walk forward there is a 360 bar. Pretty cool because this make getting drinks and snacks plenty easy. Snacks include favorite household candies and chips. Yummm... then once you walk around the bar is the theater. The theater has an upstairs (which I didn't explore). In the center there are a couple of rows of chairs. The sides include empty spaces with railings that can either be standing space or the owners can add chairs. At the bottom is standing room. From where I stood it looked like a mosh pit (lol)! And in front of the "mosh pit" was the stage. Pretty unique venue. The inside definitely surprised me, because the outside of the venue didn't look as large. Overall this theater/venue deserves an A. The inside of the theater has various seating and standing room, there is a 360 bar, and I thought the location was perfect for a dinner, movie, and going out experience. Pitfalls, parking is limited and get there early to claim the space you want to get the experience you want. read more

Variety Playhouse - Daley @ Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

Recently visited the new-and-improved Variety Playhouse for Shawn Mullins (with Angie Aparo) and I gotta say: what a difference renovations can make. It had been a hot minute since I'd be there and I remember it being the Tabernacle of L5P: charmingly grungey and long-in-the-tooth. Today it's positively swanky, with upper and lower bar areas; new seating; and updated/modern decor. I was getting an off-broadway vibe big time. Very much a fan. I guess the only quibble I'll mention is--if you're gonna charge top dollar for pit seats right at the stage as we did--make those seats worth the extra cash. our chairs were cheap and folding, stacked so close together it was like I was sitting on the laps of both people next to me. no bueno. Shawn is actually better experienced in a smaller venue, but that has nothing to do with Variety Playhouse. (Seriously: if you haven't seen him live please do so immediately.) read more

I went to Variety Playhouse to watch Chris Hardwick, a stand-up comedian known for a variety of things including Comedy Central's @midnight comedy game show and the Nerdist podcast. I know him best as the host of AMC's Talking Dead. His 2015 Funcomfortable stand-up tour, also starring Atlanta's own April Richardson, stopped for two shows in the ATL. Over the last 25 years, Variety Playhouse has primarily been a music venue, so my visit was for one of the more atypical acts: comedy. The venue originally opened in 1940 as an Art Deco movie theater. In this regard, Variety Playhouse reminds me a lot of Midtown's historic Plaza Theatre, an independent local movie theater still in operation today. Movies stopped being shown at Variety (last known as Ellis Cinema) in the late 1980s and the venue has hosted mostly concerts and live performances since. Variety Playhouse is old and exudes character. It fits in nicely with the alternative Little Five Points neighborhood. It's next door to 7 Stages Theatre, a versatile non-profit theater featuring a wide range of shows from international plays to The Amazing Acro-Cats (http://www.yelp.com/biz/acro-cats-chicago) traveling cat circus. Variety can hold roughly 1,000 folks. Even after some renovation work, it still very much resembles an old-school movie theater. The main floor has numerous rows of theater-style seating. On either side of the theater-style seats and directly in front of the stage are open spaces which can be used for standing areas or additional seating. For the Chris Hardwick show, economy-quality (plastic?) stackable chairs were laid out to provide additional seating capacity. All shows at Variety Playhouse are general admission so you'll want to show up early if you want a good seat (or spot) to a sold-out show. The Chris Hardwick show we attended was sold-out. We saw a good amount of people begin lining up 2 hours before showtime. We lined up about 45 minutes before showtime. When we queued up, the line stretched back into the parking lot behind Variety Playhouse and Elmyr, the Mexican restaurant next door. For the second show at 10:30pm, the line stretched down Euclid, in front of Elmyr and down the sidewalk. Variety staff started letting people in at 7pm for the 8pm show. The line moved rather smoothly. Tickets were scanned at the door and plenty of good seats were available when we entered, including the front row on the balcony. I recommend sitting on the small balcony upstairs. It has decent unobstructed views of the stage. The place filled up fast. For a sold-out show, you probably should show up no later than 30 minutes before showtime. Otherwise, you and your friends may struggle to find seats, which is what I saw happen to several individuals. There are concessions in the lobby and a bar up on the balcony. Alcohol is served. Restrooms (clean) are located upstairs. I'm not a fan of the traditional theater-style seating downstairs. The padding on the seats are aged and worn-out (not very comfortable) and views can easily be blocked by the people sitting in front of you. Obviously, don't expect stadium-style seats like in a modern movie theater. The sound and lighting were great. We could hear Chris and April loud and clear. The tech guys did a nice job. There was an inconsistency regarding the photo and video policy. I believe this policy varies from show to show. As we entered the theater, ushers/security personnel told us absolutely no photos or video were allowed. However, when the show began, Chris Hardwick said no *flash* photography was allowed, implying that photos without flash were okay (which is typically the case). The ushers were strict and approached several guests who pulled out their cameras or phones to snap a no-flash shot. Oh well. Variety Playhouse has its own parking lot in the back. This is the best place to park. It cost $7 the night we went. Non-affiliated nearby lots were charging as much as $20. Free street parking is available in the residential neighborhoods adjacent to Little Five, but be aware of the parking signs because some streets are permit-only and monitored by ruthless PARKatlanta. read more

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We saw Yacht Rock Schooner at The Variety Playhouse and it was the first time we had been since the renovation. This place is fantastic. The service was great, the configuration of the stage and bars outstanding and the acoustics are superior. Can't wait to go again. read more

Came to Atlanta over New Years Eve to see one of our favorite bands play at Variety Playhouse. Great venue to see a show. We had general admission tickets and were right up at the stage, but from the layout it looks like all areas of the venue were good for seating. Great, friendly staff. Great beers available. Very strict covid procedures to get in. That's the reason for 4 stars. They went a little overboard, but I understand being overly cautious. I am already looking for upcoming shows at Variety Playhouse. Will definitely be back if some good bands are playing. read more

I attended a concert featuring one of my favorite gospel artists here. It's a cool venue in an eclectic neighborhood. Lots of seating if you get there early, but standing room isn't so bad either. Parking isn't adequate and because of the location, you will have to compete with nearby businesses. Watch where you park or risk your vehicle being towed. read more

Variety Playhouse - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

"Mikey, it's a trap! A pizza with that variety of cheese is a culinary impossibility!" -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) I love this venue and have been coming here for many many years. So how is it I have never reviewed it? It's not in the greatest spot - lack of good lighting, some bums roaming the streets and you think you could be in the red light district... but really, that's just the charm of Little Five. The venue is great and while there is paid parking behind during shows, Uber or Lyft are probably easier to come and go. I've come for so many concerts I could not name them all - from They Might Be Giants (so many times) to Elle King too Butch Walker. Add in comedy shows (shout out to Chris Hardwick and April Richardson), variety shows, plays, and shows you cannot really categorize - Variety showcases them all. The seats are old, but cushy yet slightly uncomfortable; that's how it should be. This joint does a killer job of getting people in the doors and filtering people out afterwards. The place is clean (the bathrooms are cleaner) and the staff is friendly, geeky and fun. It is just that cool. Variety is just that, a Playhouse with Variety. I'll love it forever and you can't that that away from me. read more

Nice venue but the staff could use some sensitivity training. I'm non-binary and was using the mens restroom and the staff came in and harassed me until I left. Mind you - this was a queer concert so it was very jarring. Don't think i'll be attending a concert at this venue again. It's extremely disappointing to treat the LGBTQ+ community like this. read more

I came here for a rock n roll show. My husband and I drove from out of town and had not had dinner yet. I have an autoimmune disease that I have to take supplements for to function. My husband was carrying my supplements in a tiny ziplock bag in his pocket. I was waiting to take them with dinner. Upon entering, the security guard asked him to empty his pockets. The guy immediately threw away my bag of very expensive supplements. In addition to this, we could not leave to get dinner and come back. Considering how small the venue is we wouldn't have guessed there would be no re-entry and security did not tell us this before entering. In fact, I was asking security if the restaurant next door was open before we went in. I asked the bartender if I could have food delivered since I wasn't allowed re-entry, and they said there was no food allowed--even though they sell snacks at the bar. I guess it's a good thing I'm not also diabetic. I spoke with the manager about my supplements being thrown in the trash, and he was nice enough. However, he did not offer any compensation whatsoever. No refund for my ticket. No free drink. No free tiny bag of chips. Terrible customer service. They should take some cues from venues that actually care about their patrons and supporting local restaurants-- like Saturn in Birmingham. If nothing else they could have a food truck/cart attached to the outside of the venue. read more

Absolutely terrible experience with the staff here at the recent BoyWithUke concert. Brought a laptop book bag with nothing but a power bank/cable in case my device died, and the security outside all gave me a green flag. They asked about it in the line twice and checked through it through the security check and had no issue whatever. Some balding old white guy wearing a floral flannel aggressively stopped me and basically yelled at me why i'm bringing the bag in. I told him it was cleared by security and that it was fine as it was just a flat bag with nothing but a power bank and cable, and he said he didn't care and told me to go put it in my car. Mind you, I'm out of state and I don't have a car in the state of Georgia, and I told him this to which he said it wasn't his problem and I was kicked out by him until I could discard of the bag. Thank god the next door coffee shop Java Lords were kind enough to let me put my bag there, but man Variety Playhouse security/staff were just TERRIBLE. Avoid this venue if you can. read more

Update - we attended our first show since the renovations and what was once an Atlanta music destination is no more. While the downstairs offers a decent view of the artists, the balcony should be sold at a discount as "obstructed view" seats. You can thank Agon Entertainment for this disaster of a renovation as they purchased the Variety Playhouse in 2015. We were attending the sold out Gillian Welch show and arrived at the venue at 6:45 (doors at 7PM) to find a massive line stretching more than a block from the venue. This was not surprising due to the popularity of who we were seeing. After parking a ways away in the nearby neighborhood, we joined the line and once the doors opened entered the venue. The downstairs bar with a see through view of the stage is nice, well done, no complaints there. Because we were so far back in line we ran up to the balcony to try to get seats there. We were able to get seats on the 5th row, but quickly realized that we'd probably never see the stage. The seats are barely slanted towards the stage, rendering all but the first couple of rows useless. There are select seats that might have line of site to the stage, but for the most part the balcony is simply a listening room. It is not for viewing the act on stage. How this was considered a good redesign of a classic venue is inexplicable. They had every chance to get this right but really blew it. After the second set started, I tried to go down to the floor. This was usually a way to see the band if nothing else, but now they have bouncers blocking access unless you were one of the first to get down there hours ago when the doors opened. So, it's no longer the free flowing venue that it once was. If you want into the pit, go straight there when the doors open and plan to stay there for the remainder of the show, or be forced to stand in the back of the balcony and listen to the band you can't see if you decide to retreat. In addition to the mostly worthless balcony seats, the venue was so sold out that there were 10 deep people standing behind the balcony seats between the seats and the bar. The cynic in me believes that this awful balcony design was done on purpose to allow for overselling the venue while still staying within fire marshal limits. A properly designed balcony would have blocked the SRO customers from even pretending to see the stage, which they can't anyway with the current design. I have no complaints about the show we saw - the music was great, the sound was good as usual at the Variety, but I only caught glimpses of Gillian Welch and the top of Dave Rawlings hat during the two sets they played. It used to be the balcony seats were further from the stage but unobstructed, but no more is this the case. If you are going to see a show at the Variety Playhouse I suggest you arrive one hour before doors open and get in line. Hope that the weather is decent because seeing a show here will be a commitment of not just hard earned dollars but time standing in line. Oh, and good luck if you are elderly or handicapped . . . What used to be my favorite go-to venue for live music in Atlanta is no more. Given the cost of last night's show (about $43 each in advance) and the hassle of having to find parking in L5P and now the new requirement of being in line TWO HOURS before show time in order to get a decent spot in the venue, I'm just not sure it's worth it. I'll look to Terminal West or the Buckhead Theater (gasp) which don't sell seats that are inherently obstructed. The Variety Playhouse should put a disclaimer on their ticket sales site. read more

Variety Playhouse - 5th row, balcony.  The couple in front of me, both rather tall, stretch and crane their necks in hopes of glimpsing the stage. - Music Venues Near Me - Atlanta, Georgia

My wife and I had over $500 invested in a meet and greet package for the Rick Wakeman show at this venue in November. A week ago I got an email that this venue is now requiring proof of the Covid vaccine before anyone can enter. Because of a medical condition I can't take the vaccine. My alternative was to miss the event and get a refund. I've tested negative for Covid twice since July. What a horrible policy. I will never enter this venue again. read more

Went here recently for concert and honestly one of the BEST venues for general admission. There were opportunities to stand right in front of the stage or on the sides, which are sloped so shorter people can still see. There is a seating area in the middle, you had to purchase those for this concert, but honestly I had more fun standing. And I'm really tall so I enjoyed standing on the floor and not having people tell me I'm in there way. Great venue. Only thing that sucks is parking. The lot fills early and street parking is limited. In Little Five Points so convenient location. read more

A pillar of the Atlanta cultural scene. This old stage is one of the best places in the city I can count on for catching shows that aren't just variations on a pop-dreck theme. This isn't the Fox. This isn't the Cobb Energy whatchamacallit. This is The Variety. I used to do security here back in the day. I love this place. It's comfortable, almost intimate, and smoke free! Plus, in a world where ticket prices for nearly everything else are becoming cost prohibitive, ticket prices for shows at The Variety remain reasonable. Eclectic is the name of the game. Just check the calendar. You'll see a wide variety of acts coming through. This most recent time, I went to catch the Eric Johnson & Mike Stern show. (The show was fantastic, but that's beside the point.) The point is that The Variety remains a great place to see any show. My only complaints do not amount to much: The bathrooms are tucked away upstairs. (If you have to go, go early.) Concessions are a cash-only enterprise. And it's L5P, which means parking is sometimes a challenge. But don't let these minor annoyances stop you from enjoying a show here. I'll look forward to my next visit here. Holler if you're coming with. read more