Corvallis Listening Bars — campus warmth, river-town ease, quietly cur – Tracks & Tales — A Global Guide to Listening Bars & Listening Culture.

Rafi Mercer

The Spoils

In August 2016 I spent three days in Paris with every door open — basement to glass stairwell to rooftop to festival ...

Rafi Mercer

Wichita Listening Bars — Flat Land, Long Sound — Tracks & Tales Guide

The Air Capital has a domed dance hall from 1960, a jazz festival older than most of its audience, two record shops w...

Rafi Mercer

Littleton Listening Bars — The Quiet Side of the Front Range — Tracks & Tales Guide

Twelve miles south of Denver, Littleton has red brick, a river, a family-run record shop and no listening bar. A guid...

Rafi Mercer

Hebden Bridge Listening Bars — Sound in a Narrow Valley — Tracks & Tales Guide

A town of four thousand people with a music venue the whole country knows. Hebden Bridge has no listening bars, no ho...

Rafi Mercer

Memphis Listening Bars — Where Soul Is Held in Common — Tracks & Tales Guide

Memphis never lost its listening culture — it pressed it. From Sun and Stax to a free public listening library and a ...

Rafi Mercer

Leeds Listening Bars — Basement Soundsystems and Art-School Fire — Tracks & Tales Guide

Leeds built its music in rooms — art-school basements, community centres, working men's clubs — and half a century la...

Rafi Mercer

Wakefield Listening Bars — The Quiet Corner of Yorkshire's Sound Triangle — Tracks & Tales Guide

Wakefield's music has always travelled further than its name — Pretenders debuts, Northern Soul nights, and a studio ...

Rafi Mercer

Franklin Listening Bars — Front Porch Fidelity — Tracks & Tales Guide

Twenty miles south of Nashville, Franklin is where Music City's musicians go home. A Victorian Main Street, a restore...

Rafi Mercer

St. Louis Listening Bars — Blues, Ragtime and the River That Carried American Music — Tracks & Tales Guide

St. Louis is where American music learned to travel — blues, ragtime and jazz all moved through the city on their way...

Rafi Mercer

Downey Listening Bars — Aerospace Memory, Mid-Century Light, California Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Downey is more than a Los Angeles suburb. It is aerospace memory, roadside history and California evening light — a c...

Rafi Mercer

Athens Listening Bars — College Spirit, Indie Heritage, Southern Creativity — Tracks & Tales Guide

Athens is one of those rare cities where music feels woven into everyday life. Long before visitors arrived looking f...

Rafi Mercer

Goodyear Listening Bars — Desert Horizons, Evening Light, Sonoran Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Goodyear sits on the western edge of the Phoenix metropolitan area, where the city begins to dissolve into desert. It...

Rafi Mercer

Durham Listening Bars — Tobacco Warehouses, Jazz Echoes, Creative Energy — Tracks & Tales Guide

Durham is a city that understands reinvention. Once defined by tobacco warehouses, rail lines, and manufacturing, it ...

Rafi Mercer

Dorchester Listening Bars — Harbour Echoes, Neighbourhood Rhythm, Boston Soul — Tracks & Tales Guide

Dorchester occupies a distinctive place within Boston. It is the city's largest neighbourhood, yet it often feels les...

Rafi Mercer

Pasadena Listening Bars — Craftsman Calm, Mountain Light, Sonic Curiosity — Tracks & Tales Guide

Pasadena sits just beyond the noise of Los Angeles, but it has always felt like a place with its own rhythm. The city...

Rafi Mercer

London Listening Bars — Appalachian Echoes, Southern Crossroads, Kentucky Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

London sits in the heart of southeastern Kentucky, surrounded by the rolling landscapes and wooded ridges that define...

Rafi Mercer

Chester Listening Bars — River Heritage, Southern Rhythm, Quiet Discovery — Tracks & Tales Guide

Situated south of Richmond, Chester exists in a space between city and countryside, history and growth, movement and ...

Rafi Mercer

San Mateo Listening Bars — Bay Light, Innovation, Everyday Ritual — Tracks & Tales Guide

There is a tendency to think of the San Francisco Bay Area through its biggest names. San Francisco. Oakland. San Jos...

Rafi Mercer

Burien Listening Bars — Coastal Calm, Pacific Light, Neighbourhood Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Situated just south of Seattle, Burien occupies an interesting position. Close enough to one of America's great music...

Rafi Mercer

Lake Charles Listening Bars — Gulf Rhythms, Southern Soul, Open Horizons — Tracks & Tales Guide

Set in southwest Louisiana, between the Gulf Coast and the wide landscapes that stretch toward Texas, Lake Charles is...

Rafi Mercer

Marshville Listening Bars — Carolina Rhythm, Small-Town Character, Southern Soundscape — Tracks & Tales Guide

Situated in the countryside of eastern North Carolina, a short drive from the expanding skyline of Charlotte, Marshvi...

Rafi Mercer

San Leandro Listening Bars — Bay Breezes, East Bay Rhythm, California Character — Tracks & Tales Guide

To the north sits Oakland. Across the bay rises San Francisco. Silicon Valley lies further south. Yet San Leandro has...

Rafi Mercer

Salt Lake City Listening Bars — Mountain Air, Desert Light, Wide Open Sound — Tracks & Tales Guide

To one side rise the dramatic peaks of the Wasatch Mountains. To the other stretches the vast basin landscape that le...

Rafi Mercer

Canton Listening Bars — Appalachian Echoes, River Paths, Georgia Horizons — Tracks & Tales Guide

Drive north from the city and the landscape gradually changes. The roads become more winding. The horizon becomes mor...

Rafi Mercer

Greenville Listening Bars — Mill Town Rhythm, Mountain Air, Southern Soul — Tracks & Tales Guide

Once known primarily for textiles and manufacturing, it now feels like one of the American South's most compelling ur...

Rafi Mercer

Grand Forks Listening Bars — Prairie Sky, River Light, Northern Quiet — Tracks & Tales Guide

In the northeastern corner of North Dakota, where the Red River marks the border with Minnesota, the landscape seems ...

Rafi Mercer

Fort Lauderdale Listening Bars — Atlantic Light, Canal Reflections, Tropical Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Spend enough time here and you begin to notice a slower rhythm hidden beneath the sunshine and tourism. Early morning...

Rafi Mercer

Black Mountain Listening Bars — Appalachian Air, Creative Spirit, Mountain Silence — Tracks & Tales Guide

Nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, just east of Asheville, it occupies a landscape whe...

Rafi Mercer

Saratoga Springs Listening Bars — Mineral Waters, Jazz Echoes, Adirondack Air — Tracks & Tales Guide

Rafi Mercer

Hamburg Listening Bars — Lake Wind, Rust Belt Soul, Great Lakes Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Just south of Buffalo, on the shores of Lake Erie, it belongs to that band of American towns shaped by water, weather...

Rafi Mercer

Belvedere Listening Bars — Bay Light, Hillside Calm, Pacific Perspective — Tracks & Tales Guide

Perched on a small peninsula in Marin County, surrounded by the waters of San Francisco Bay, it occupies one of those...

Rafi Mercer

Roseville Listening Bars — California Light, Suburban Rhythm, Sierra Horizon — Tracks & Tales Guide

Most visitors know it as a city of movement. A place where people arrive, build lives, raise families and continue we...

Rafi Mercer

Boston Listening Bars — Brickwork, Brass Notes, Harbour Light — Tracks & Tales Guide

Long before it became a centre of universities, innovation and technology, it was a harbour town facing the Atlantic,...

Rafi Mercer

Norwich Listening Bars — Medieval Streets, Creative Energy, Quiet Discoveries — Tracks & Tales Guide

Norwich has always felt slightly apart from the rest of England. Perhaps it is geography. Tucked deep into East Angli...

Rafi Mercer

Albuquerque Listening Bars — Desert Rhythms, Open Skies, Quiet Frequencies — Tracks & Tales Guide

Albuquerque is a city built on distance. The sky feels larger here than in most American cities. The horizon stretche...

Rafi Mercer

Struer Listening Bars — Sound Heritage, Nordic Calm, Coastal Resonance — Tracks & Tales Guide

There are cities known for architecture. Cities known for food. Cities known for music. And then there is Struer.

Rafi Mercer

Bootle Listening Bars — Dockside Rhythms, Working-Class Soul, Mersey Frequencies — Tracks & Tales Guide

There are cities that become famous for their music, and there are places that quietly help create it.

Rafi Mercer

New Orleans Listening Bars — Brass Echoes, River Rhythms, Midnight Frequencies — Tracks & Tales Guide

Before you reach the music, you hear the city itself. Ceiling fans turning lazily above old wooden floors. The distan...

Rafi Mercer

Andalusia Listening Bars — Sun, Sound and Long Evenings — Tracks & Tales Guide

Andalusia is one of those places that makes you slow down without asking permission. The days start late, the evening...

Rafi Mercer

Oklahoma City Listening Bars — Prairie Rhythms, Wide Skies, Quiet Signals — Tracks & Tales Guide

There is something about Oklahoma City that feels larger than the map suggests. Perhaps it is the sky. Perhaps it is ...

Rafi Mercer

Monterey Listening Bars — Jazz, coastline, Cannery Row — Tracks & Tales Guide

This is not a city that announces itself loudly. It arrives in layers: the Pacific moving against the rocks, the old ...

Rafi Mercer

Wolverhampton Listening Bars — Black Country rhythm, industrial memory, unexpected warmth — Tracks & Tales Guide

It does not unfold like Bath or Edinburgh. It does not market itself endlessly through nostalgia or architecture or r...

Rafi Mercer

Plymouth Listening Bars — Atlantic weather, naval echoes, salt-air stillness — Tracks & Tales Guide

Long before playlists became portable and music travelled invisibly through the air, this was a city of ships, crossi...

Rafi Mercer

Baltimore Listening Bars — Harbour echoes, rowhouse soul, deep American rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Baltimore is a city that carries its history openly. You feel it in the brick rowhouses climbing long streets toward ...

Rafi Mercer

Santa Clara Listening Bars — Silicon rhythms, late-night glow, quiet calibration — Tracks & Tales Guide

There are cities built around memory, and cities built around the future. Santa Clara somehow exists between the two.

Rafi Mercer

Vancouver Listening Bars — Stillness, Vinyl, and the Rooms the Pacific Coast Built

Vancouver listens differently. Between mountains and ocean, the city has developed a music culture that is quiet, con...

Rafi Mercer

Honolulu Listening Bars — trade winds, ocean light, island rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Discover Honolulu through listening culture, from ocean-side vinyl bars and jazz lounges to warm island nights shaped...

Rafi Mercer

Atlanta Listening Bars — basslines, late nights, southern rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Discover Atlanta through listening culture, from deep southern basslines and vinyl bars to jazz lounges, hi-fi spaces...

Rafi Mercer

Philadelphia Listening Bars — soul, streets, late-night records — Tracks & Tales Guide

Philadelphia is one of America's great listening cities. Explore the home of soul, jazz and vinyl culture through the...

Rafi Mercer

Denver Listening Bars — altitude, dust, twilight — Tracks & Tales Guide

Discover Denver through listening culture, from mountain light and vinyl bars to spacious late-night sound systems sh...

Country/region

Search Listening City Guides

Suggested Destinations

The Spoils

Wichita Listening Bars — Flat Land, Long Sound — Tracks & Tales Guide

Littleton Listening Bars — The Quiet Side of the Front Range — Tracks & Tales Guide

Hebden Bridge Listening Bars — Sound in a Narrow Valley — Tracks & Tales Guide

Memphis Listening Bars — Where Soul Is Held in Common — Tracks & Tales Guide

Leeds Listening Bars — Basement Soundsystems and Art-School Fire — Tracks & Tales Guide

Wakefield Listening Bars — The Quiet Corner of Yorkshire's Sound Triangle — Tracks & Tales Guide

Franklin Listening Bars — Front Porch Fidelity — Tracks & Tales Guide

St. Louis Listening Bars — Blues, Ragtime and the River That Carried American Music — Tracks & Tales Guide

Downey Listening Bars — Aerospace Memory, Mid-Century Light, California Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Athens Listening Bars — College Spirit, Indie Heritage, Southern Creativity — Tracks & Tales Guide

Goodyear Listening Bars — Desert Horizons, Evening Light, Sonoran Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Durham Listening Bars — Tobacco Warehouses, Jazz Echoes, Creative Energy — Tracks & Tales Guide

Dorchester Listening Bars — Harbour Echoes, Neighbourhood Rhythm, Boston Soul — Tracks & Tales Guide

Pasadena Listening Bars — Craftsman Calm, Mountain Light, Sonic Curiosity — Tracks & Tales Guide

London Listening Bars — Appalachian Echoes, Southern Crossroads, Kentucky Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Chester Listening Bars — River Heritage, Southern Rhythm, Quiet Discovery — Tracks & Tales Guide

San Mateo Listening Bars — Bay Light, Innovation, Everyday Ritual — Tracks & Tales Guide

Burien Listening Bars — Coastal Calm, Pacific Light, Neighbourhood Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Lake Charles Listening Bars — Gulf Rhythms, Southern Soul, Open Horizons — Tracks & Tales Guide

Marshville Listening Bars — Carolina Rhythm, Small-Town Character, Southern Soundscape — Tracks & Tales Guide

San Leandro Listening Bars — Bay Breezes, East Bay Rhythm, California Character — Tracks & Tales Guide

Salt Lake City Listening Bars — Mountain Air, Desert Light, Wide Open Sound — Tracks & Tales Guide

Canton Listening Bars — Appalachian Echoes, River Paths, Georgia Horizons — Tracks & Tales Guide

Greenville Listening Bars — Mill Town Rhythm, Mountain Air, Southern Soul — Tracks & Tales Guide

Grand Forks Listening Bars — Prairie Sky, River Light, Northern Quiet — Tracks & Tales Guide

Fort Lauderdale Listening Bars — Atlantic Light, Canal Reflections, Tropical Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Black Mountain Listening Bars — Appalachian Air, Creative Spirit, Mountain Silence — Tracks & Tales Guide

Saratoga Springs Listening Bars — Mineral Waters, Jazz Echoes, Adirondack Air — Tracks & Tales Guide

Hamburg Listening Bars — Lake Wind, Rust Belt Soul, Great Lakes Rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Belvedere Listening Bars — Bay Light, Hillside Calm, Pacific Perspective — Tracks & Tales Guide

Roseville Listening Bars — California Light, Suburban Rhythm, Sierra Horizon — Tracks & Tales Guide

Boston Listening Bars — Brickwork, Brass Notes, Harbour Light — Tracks & Tales Guide

Norwich Listening Bars — Medieval Streets, Creative Energy, Quiet Discoveries — Tracks & Tales Guide

Albuquerque Listening Bars — Desert Rhythms, Open Skies, Quiet Frequencies — Tracks & Tales Guide

Struer Listening Bars — Sound Heritage, Nordic Calm, Coastal Resonance — Tracks & Tales Guide

Bootle Listening Bars — Dockside Rhythms, Working-Class Soul, Mersey Frequencies — Tracks & Tales Guide

New Orleans Listening Bars — Brass Echoes, River Rhythms, Midnight Frequencies — Tracks & Tales Guide

Andalusia Listening Bars — Sun, Sound and Long Evenings — Tracks & Tales Guide

Oklahoma City Listening Bars — Prairie Rhythms, Wide Skies, Quiet Signals — Tracks & Tales Guide

Monterey Listening Bars — Jazz, coastline, Cannery Row — Tracks & Tales Guide

Wolverhampton Listening Bars — Black Country rhythm, industrial memory, unexpected warmth — Tracks & Tales Guide

Plymouth Listening Bars — Atlantic weather, naval echoes, salt-air stillness — Tracks & Tales Guide

Baltimore Listening Bars — Harbour echoes, rowhouse soul, deep American rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Santa Clara Listening Bars — Silicon rhythms, late-night glow, quiet calibration — Tracks & Tales Guide

Vancouver Listening Bars — Stillness, Vinyl, and the Rooms the Pacific Coast Built

Honolulu Listening Bars — trade winds, ocean light, island rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Atlanta Listening Bars — basslines, late nights, southern rhythm — Tracks & Tales Guide

Philadelphia Listening Bars — soul, streets, late-night records — Tracks & Tales Guide

Denver Listening Bars — altitude, dust, twilight — Tracks & Tales Guide