10 Best Student Cities for Music Lovers

If you’re into music, you may well be keen to study in a city where you can soak up the local culture at gigs, bars and music festivals. So here’s a selection of just some of the best cities for music loving students, all guaranteed to get your toes tapping, and all featured in the QS Best Student Cities 2016, which celebrates the world’s 75 best student cities. Click on each city's name to find out more.

1. Manchester 

Manchester’s celebrated music scene has produced some of the world’s most famous and successful bands, including The Smiths, Take That, Buzzcocks, Joy Division and Oasis. Manchester continues to be a music hotspot, attracting touring global superstars and nurturing emerging talent.  Manchester Arena is one of the largest indoor arenas in Europe and the busiest in the world, with a capacity of 21,000. As well as lively rock, pop, indie and dance scenes, the city is also a leading center for classical music. Overall, it ranks 36^th in the latest Best Student Cities index, offering three internationally ranked universities, a large student community, and opportunities to explore the rich history of this part of the UK.

2. Melbourne 

Ranked second in the Best Student Cities index, Melbourne is considered the music capital of Australia, particularly when it comes to live music – a Music Victoria study found that Melbourne hosts 62,000 live concerts annually, making it one of the live music capitals of the world. Famous bands that have emerged from Melbourne include Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Crowded House and The Temper Trap, and the city’s live music industry contributes AU$1 billion to the economy of Melbourne’s state, Victoria. Overall, students here will enjoy a wealth of culture, and Melbourne has also held the top position in The Economist’s ranking of the world’s most livable cities for five years in a row.

3. Berlin 

Having been at the center of the choir movement of the 19^th century, the trendy German capital is today especially well-known for its house music scene. The annual Berlin Music Festival, part of the international Berlin Music Week, focuses on indie rock and electric pop, while jazz fans can enjoy the JazzFest Berlin Festival. The city’s innovative approach to music is illustrated in its distinctive Echtzeitmusik genre of improvisation, and Berlin is famed for offering one of the most diverse and vibrant nightclub selections in Europe, with parties continuing all night and perhaps even all weekend. Home to several of Germany’s leading universities, and with surprisingly low living costs, Berlin ranks ninth in the Best Student Cities index.  

4. Seoul 

The capital of South Korea, Seoul is the birthplace of K-pop, (Korean pop) which is becoming an increasingly global phenomenon, helped by the impact of social media platforms like YouTube. The most famous example of this is ‘Gangnam Style’ (a reference to the Gangnam District in Seoul), by Seoul-born artist Psy, which went viral in 2012; this remains the most-viewed video on YouTube, and was the first to reach one billion views. Hip-hop is also very popular in the city, which hosts major annual music events including a branch of the international dance-focused Ultra Music Festival. Packed full of things to see and do, and with an impressive selection of internationally ranked universities, Seoul is currently 10^th in the Best Student Cities index.

5. Chicago 

If you’re a jazz, house, soul or blues fan then you’ll feel right at home in the next of our best cities for music lovers, the Windy City, which is ranked 30^th in the Best Student Cities index. Chicago’s vibrant mix of genres is partly due to its history as one of the cities to which poor black workers from the South migrated during the early 20^th century, leading to the development of the traditional Chicago Blues and early ‘Dixieland’ jazz. Famous jazz and blues artists to have emerged from Chicago include Nat King Cole, Muddy Waters (who is often considered the father of modern Chicago blues) and Benny Goodman. More recently, Chicago has become known for rock and heavy metal, producing bands such as Smashing Pumpkins and Fall Out Boy.

6. Vienna 

Next up is the capital of Austria, which ranks as the 16^th best student city overall, and has such a famous music culture that it’s nicknamed ‘the City of Music’. Vienna has been an important center of musical innovation for centuries, with the likes of Beethoven, Schubert and Mozart performing at its concert halls.  It remains well known for opera and classical music, with the world-renowned Vienna Philharmonic classical music ensemble touring worldwide. Major music venues in Vienna include the State Opera House, the People's Opera House, the Burgtheater, and the Theater an der Wien, all of which are quite historic and striking. Meanwhile the annual Waves Vienna festival is a celebration of pop, alternative and indie music, spread across the city’s venues.

7. São Paulo 

Ranked joint 63^rd in the Best Student Cities index, São Paulo is Brazil’s financial capital and largest city, home to almost 21 million people. It’s also a cultural melting pot, with its music reflecting the city’s diversity and party spirit. São Paulo has produced notable talents in rock, heavy metal and classical music, and has remains a major hub of the popular Brazilian hip hop genre. Of course Brazil is also known for the iconic and energetic samba style of music and dance, which is very much still alive and kicking at São Paulo’s many vibrant carnivals. Many bars and nightclubs also feature live samba, encouraging patrons to join the fun.

8. Dublin 

Placed 37^th in the Best Student Cities index, the Irish capital has produced many bands and musicians who have achieved international success, including Sinéad O'Connor, The Boomtown Rats, Westlife, U2 and Boyzone. Dublin also has a buzzing nightlife, with live music often found playing on the streets and at venues throughout the city. The underground and independent arts of Dublin flourished as a silver-lining of the recent recession, and the city has many acclaimed dramatic, musical and operatic companies. If you do choose to study in Ireland and you love music, you should also visit the village of Doolin on the west coast, which is considered the ‘capital of Irish traditional music’.

9. Singapore 

You may be surprised to see Singapore on a list of the best cities for music, but this prosperous ‘Asian Tiger’ city-state has more musical delights to offer than you might think. The multicultural diversity of the city’s population is reflected in the diversity of its musical tastes and artists, with almost every genre on offer. Local bands perform nightly at the city’s live music bars, while its larger venues host acts from around the world. The most notable of its venues is The Esplanade, which hosts three music festivals a year, including the indie and alternative-focused Baybeats. The centrality of music to Singaporean life is reflected in the custom of selecting a community-building traditional or contemporary song every year to represent the city’s National Day (pictured at the top of the page), sometimes taking on a theme for the parade. With its universities gaining increasing prominence on the international stage, Singapore ranks sixth in the Best Student Cities index this year.

10. Montréal 

Last but not least on our list of the best cities for music lovers is the French-speaking Canadian city of Montréal, which is ranked the seventh best student city this year. Montréal is often referred to as Canada’s ‘cultural capital’, boasting a world-renowned indie music scene and hosting several major international festivals, including the Montréal International Jazz Festival, which is the world’s largest jazz festival.  Also, every Sunday there is a huge, spontaneous drumming festival known as ‘Tam-Tams’, with everyone welcome to get involved. The city’s music culture combines together many different genres and cultures, contributing to the global success of Montréal-grown music acts such as Arcade Fire and Simple Plan.

Honorary mentions:

New York and London 

These cultural capitals are fantastic for pretty much everything, including being some of the world’s best cities for music! London is home to the iconic ‘Abbey Road’, as well as more famous musicians than can possibly be mentioned. The genres of UK garage, drum and bass, dubstep and grime all evolved in London, while New York is the birthplace of salsa, hip hop, freestyle, doo wop, bebop, disco, punk rock and new wave. Both cities are also home to legendary musical theater scenes, from London’s West End to NYC’s Broadway. And both cities rank well in the Best Student Cities index, with London 5^th and New York 20^th.