The 9 Best Live Musics in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Mai has 9 live musics tracked in our directory. Adult nightlife in Thailand sits in the "Illegal but Tolerated" category, which sets the door policy and the pricing structure you will encounter at every venue below. Cost tier runs $ (very cheap); safety reads 3/5 (moderate). The list below caps at the top 9 venues sorted by Google rating, with review count as the tiebreaker so a 5-star venue with three reviews ranks below a 4.6-star venue with eight hundred.
16ixcret Show
Loi Kroh Road · Live Music
4.8824 reviewsDrag cabaret bar on the 2nd floor at the rear of the Night Bazaar building, just off Loi Kroh. Free admission with a two-drink minimum. Shows run Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 PM.
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2North Gate Jazz Co-Op
Old City · Live Music
4.75,404 reviewsBare-bones two-floor jazz bar just outside Chang Phueak Gate (north gate) with live jazz, reggae, soul, and blues every night. Shows start around 9 PM. Crowded standing room only on Tuesday open-mic nights, one of the city's most beloved venues.
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3Boy Blues Bar
Loi Kroh Road · Live Music
4.7981 reviewsLong-running live-blues bar on the mezzanine of the Kalare Night Bazaar complex at the east end of Loi Kroh. Smooth blues, soul, and rock most nights, opposite a small dancing-stage food court.
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4Saxophone Bar / Live Lounge
Old City · Live Music
4.7224 reviewsSmall live-music room near the east moat hosting cover bands, acoustic sets, and the occasional jazz combo. Mid-range pricing, mixed Thai-and-foreign crowd, sit-down table service.
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5Roots Rock Reggae (Loi Kroh)
Loi Kroh Road · Live Music
4.6562 reviewsReggae and rock bar with live nightly bands playing ska, roots reggae, and rock covers. Long-running venue popular with the after-Zoe crowd and budget travelers. Originally Ratvithi Road; check current location signage.
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6Roots Rock Reggae
Old City · Live Music
4.6562 reviewsReggae and rock bar on Ratvithi Road next to the Zoe in Yellow complex. Live bands nightly playing ska, roots reggae, dub, and rock covers. Long-running local institution with a chill outdoor seating area.
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7Ram Cabaret
Loi Kroh Road · Live Music
4.51,068 reviewsLong-running ladyboy cabaret venue in the Loi Kroh corridor with nightly drag shows starting around 10 PM. Tourist-focused, with seated table service and a two-drink minimum on busy nights.
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8Riverside Bar & Restaurant
Loi Kroh Road · Live Music
4.32,434 reviewsOld wooden riverside restaurant and bar overlooking the Ping River at the eastern edge of the Loi Kroh corridor. Live cover bands play 90s pop-rock most nights. Older Thai and Western crowd.
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9Reggae Bar at Zoe Complex
Old City · Live Music
4.24,860 reviewsSmall reggae room within the Zoe in Yellow bar block on Ratvithi Road. Lower volume than the main Zoe outdoor space, with live reggae cover sets and a chill outdoor garden seating area.
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Why these venues
The ranking pulls every live music in our Chiang Mai directory and orders by Google's public rating, then by review count as a tiebreaker. A venue with a 4.6 average and a thousand reviews ranks above a 4.9 average with twelve, on the principle that depth of feedback matters more than headline score. We do not weight by recency, distance from a single district, or category-specific factors. For pricing, hours, address, and the surrounding district context, open the venue page through any list item above.
See more lists for Chiang Mai in the Chiang Mai best-of hub, the district tier list, or the full Chiang Mai city guide.