Houston's nightlife is focused on the Midtown area, downtown near Montrose, and in the Uptown area around the Galleria. It is one of the very few American cities to have resident performance companies in symphony, ballet, opera, and theatre. The main downtown venues are Jones Hall, the Alley Theatre, and the Wortham Theater Center. In terms of modern music, Houston does have venues for live gigs but doesn't attract the cachet of musicians that nearby Austin does. The best venues are The Big Easy, which has a great blues lineup, and McGonigel's Mucky Duck for acoustic performers.Houston has plenty of mega-clubs in the city centre, great places to enjoy some Latin and hip hop music. Clubs and bars generally have a smarter dress code than many are used to so it's worth dressing up before a big night on the town. For details of nightlife options check out The Houston Press, published every Thursday with full listings of who's playing and what's hot in the city.
