America’s Music Hotspots In 2026

I bet you thought that either New York, Nashville, or Los Angeles was the music capital of the United States. I figured Nashville, but this latest research from Spin Genie tells us it’s actually Atlanta. Yep, I’m scratching my head too, but the company says that it analyzed everything from the number of venues, artists, events, festivals, Google searches, and music-related jobs per capita, to determine this year’s ultimate U.S. music hotspots.

Here’s the list:

Now if you’re a music creator I’m reasonably sure you don’t agree with this data, but keep in mind that this is coming all from the music consumer’s point of view.

The research gives us some key takeaways, according to the company:

The most musical American cities are in the South; four of the top five are located in Southern states. With the influence of Caribbean and Latin American styles, the music in these cities has become very popular.
Music remains a major economic force. With high levels of employment in music-related industries across several cities, the findings point to a sector that continues to provide jobs, tourism, and cultural value nationwide.
Creative talent is widespread across America, with a national average of 212 musicians per 100,000 people highlighting a wealth of creative energy and talent across the country.

Here are some other surprising music hotspot facts:

Oakland, California has the most venues with almost 50 per 100,000 people, or more than three and a half times higher than the national average of just over 14.

New Orleans has the highest number of musical artists per person, at 633 per 100,000, which is almost triple the national average of 212.7 per 100,000.

The most online interest for music in any city is in Austin, Texas. Over 200,000 people searched on Google for music festivals and live music in the city, making it the only place to cross this milestone.

Las Vegas lives up to its reputation as the entertainment capital of the world, with 599 upcoming music events per 100,000 residents. That’s over 400 more than any other city.

Phoenix ranks first for upcoming music festivals, with 13 scheduled in the near future.

And the most surprising of all, Orlando leads the nation for music-related employment, offering over 50 industry jobs per 100,000 residents, or almost double the U.S. average.

The bottom line is that today’s music hotspots are different from even just a few years ago. Don’t let your assumptions get in the way of facts.