Music Center At Strathmore

We got there early and wanted a small meal. The soup didn’t look good so sadly I tried the sirloin burger which was dry and tasteless. The freedom fries were Good.
The seats in the orchestra tier were not bad though I paid $ 125.00 for each. The music of Joshua Bell at St Martin in the Fields was good but I was dissatisfied overall because Mr Bell didn’t engage verbally with the audience.

Came here on December 3, 2015 to see the Hip Hop Nutcracker. We had dinner here, the food was great. The cost of the tickets were reasonable, so it was an sold out show. The technology and performance was more than superb. During the intermission there was a DJ playing music and the audience was dancing. I will definitely be bringing back more family and friends to the Strathmore.

If classical music were a religion (and to some people I suppose it might very well be), then Strathmore is one of its finest cathedrals. A starkly modern masterpiece of design, with a warm wooden interior and great visibility from every seat, this is simply a superb venue for watching any kind of musical performance. I’ve been for multiple seasons of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Off the Cuff series, where their charming and hilarious conductor, Marin Alsop, gives a little seminar on the piece before they play it, and it’s always educational and enjoyable. If she had her own TV show or standup comedy tour, I’d be a regular watcher. They also do periodic shows where the BSO plays the score to a movie that’s projected on a screen above them. I saw Psycho several years ago, and it was a really cool experience. Even rock concerts here are tremendous, like when Franz Ferdinand had the place shaking. My advice is to seize any opportunity to come here for a performance, it’s arguably the best concert hall in the DC area, and I’m including the Kennedy Center in that assessment.

This music venue is breathtakingly beautiful, all soft lines and curving wood with some of the best acoustics I have ever experienced! When you walk into the Orchestra, the height of the ceiling is overwhelming but is somehow softened with the honey-​colored carpentry that runs up the walls, encases the box seats and lines both the walkway and seats. The whole place feels like you are in the Star Wars Senate, with the way the boxes float like pods on the wall while the shape of the room is almost like the interior of a violin. Every seat boasts an excellent view (and are quite comfortable too), arranged in such a manner that no matter where you are in the cavernous building, you still can feel intimately connected to the performer on stage.
The Strathmore has easily become my venue of choice for anything having to do with music because of the amazing the sound and relaxed atmosphere. For the most part the people that come here seem to be courteous and polite, there is no need to rush either as your seat will be waiting for you. Oh and the parking situation is spectacular with a free garage that literally connects to the building with a sky bridge and the metro in walking distance. I can’t think of one thing to complain about.
I did not partake in the food situation, but when I walked in there was a small buffet line with what looked to be restaurant quality food (no concession stands here). The menu the night I was there had quite a variety of choices from poached salmon, lobster ravioli, to prime rib with the prices all under $ 20. From the dishes on display and the amount of patrons indulging, I would have to assume the food is quite tasty.

what a wonderful time we had! staff assisting with crowd control and answering visitor questions were AMAZING! all were knowledgeable and friendly… even smiling! music hall was stunning and acoustics were crisp! I can’t wait to return!

Went to see a concert there and when I showed up I found out it had been cancelled. The artist announced the concert had been cancelled two days prior but no one in the Strathmore organization thought it necessary to email a notification of cancellation to the people attending the concert. Thanks for making me drive 4 hours in rush hour traffic for nothing. This venue gets a big fat ZERO from me.

The location is easy to get to since you can arrive by metro. The place is wonderful. It is worth visiting.

Great venue! Great show!

My first time to Strathmore was for a jazz concert by John Pizzarelli. I had a CD from 20 years ago by JP and it was nice to see him perform live in Maryland. This show was scheduled on Valentine’s day 8 PM, unfortunately it also happened to be the night of the crazy blizzard. My friend and I had dinner in Bethesda and was making our way to Strathmore at 7:30 PM it took us longer than expected but we reached there on time. I retrieved the tickets from the Will Call and had to make a big circle around the building to reach entrance. Strathmore could care less about people dealing with weather issue, they started on the dot. We missed the first one or two songs. The usher then opened the door to let us in. We had very good seats in the orchestra section and could see the performance very well. Other than the singing and 4-​piece band, a pin drop could be heard in the silence. The space was nice. The audience that night was… let’s say we were the youngest people and by a gap of 10 – 35 years. That’s a fact.
The performance was 5-​star! John Pizzarelli was entertaining funny, graciously smiling as he sang, kind of the old school entertainment and his soothing light voice/​7-​string guitar performance blew me away I checked my watch and he was playing for 1.5 hours. It suited the crowd.
There was the female vocalist Jane Monheit. She was slightly off key on certain songs you could tell it was not her comfort zone to sing songs with the certain lightness that JP was able to sing. The songs where she could belt — she was fantastic. She also sang in Portuguese in one of the tracks.
So right at the end of the last songs, there was a loud thud, almost like an explosion and the lights went out. Of all of the music venues I had been to, this was the first. People were freaking out a little. The light came back and the singer was trying diffuse the situation. He sang few more songs. At the end, there was a standing ovation and you would think like at the 9:30 club, the overwhelming reaction would be a good enough reason for an encore, they were on the stage given a negative by the Strathmore management. In the end, they tried a quick acapella and before they could finish they were being shut down by the venue, lights went out — this would be a first. Rude to the highly acclaimed singer and rude to the audience. JP even said he would be outside to sign his CDs, that was shut down too. He never appeared. I paid over $ 140 for the tickets. My first and last impression of Strathmore, very unprofessional.

Exceptionally friendly staff.
The seats are all good. The hall is absolutely stunning. There is excellent food and drink available before many of the shows, and the food is served in a causal cafeteria style.
The staff keep the restrooms clean and tidy, which is an important task during a large concert. Indeed, all the public areas of the Strathmore are lovingly cared for.
Getting to the Strathmore is easy because it has a connected metro stop.
The few words typed here cannot do justice to the the beauty of the music center. I suggest that you find a concert and go!

Great venue! The concert hall is beautiful and much more modern then the Kennedy Center in DC. The parking is super easy with the metro garage being attached by a skywalk.
The whole music center is modern and has an open feel to it. Inside the concert hall, most everything is made of this light colored wood, which adds to the great acoustics. And every seat seems to have a great view. Just saw the National Philharmonic play last week and thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

3.5 Stars
A nice venue. But…
The food is overpriced and not very good. Which is to be expected I guess, I didn’t go here for the food.
What really bothered me is that they have this annoying rule that if you step out, you cannot go back in. I started coughing in the middle of a performance and I did not want to disturb everyone else so I stepped out to get some water and to let my cough subside. Little did I know that the ushers would not let me back into the seating area. I had to actually speak to a manager who finally did let me back in. It was all done very courteously, so no complaints there. I understand why someone might want to have rules like this, but do grown ups really need these types of rules? Especially when you take into account that I was trying to be considerate of the other patrons.

I saw Andrew Zimmern do a food demo and lecture here. The event was okay, but I ended up leaving halfway through. I was bored. That said, the venue itself is fantastic! The staff are courteous, friendly, and extremely helpful. I would not hesitate to truck all the way out to Bethesda for another event! Even the parking was sweet. Just park in the metro parking garage and walk over the skywalk. It’s perfect!

A great venue, free parking, right next to Grosvenor-​Strathmore metro rail station, and great acoustics. My only real gripes are the cash bar and dining.
One of my complaints about this venue is their «cafeteria». It is a bit expensive but the food is actually quite tasty. But you cannot find any seats at all! I’ve seen people eat on their stairs, benches, or just standing up. Can’t they either build a much deserved dining room or a tent outside that can accommodate more diners? I stopped eating here because of this and been dining at restaurants nearby before arriving.
Another complaint is that their stand alone cash bars only accepts cash only. For people that want to pay by credit card, you have to stand in the cafeteria line.
Besides those complaints, I really enjoy this venue. The seats are comfortable, leg room much better than most, and the sight line is fantastic.

The Venue was beautiful, the parking was free, sound was amazing.
The boyfriend & I came on a Thursday evening to see the wonderful Chris Botti. The show was absolutely amazing! The only complaint I have about the venue would have to be that the lighting was kind of weird. There was a period when the lights were on in the audience instead of the stage. Oh well.
I would definitely come back to see another show.

Had a lovely time seeing the National Philharmonic perofrm Beethoven’s Fifth here. It’s a shame that we were the youngest people by a mile (except for the few children). It was all senior citizens (not that I don’t love them!), but why don’t people in their 20s, 30s, 40s want to see classical music?
The acoustics are amazing in this beautiful place, which makes it all the more annoying when everyone decides to open their candy wrappers and cough during every pause – but like I said – old people!
Despite the fact that the line for will call was very, very long, the performance started promptly and all of the latecomers had to wait to enter the concert hall– so come on time!
We were able to park in the garage for free; woohoo!

WOW! Color me impressed!
I was at the Strathmore Music Center (not to be confused with the Strathmore Mansion — it’s all on the same property but it’s two different buildings) last night for the Franz Ferdinand concert (i.e. old hipster convention), and it was amazeballs!
For those of you who haven’t been here, don’t go in through the main enterence — follow the signs for the Music Center, and park in the garage that’s by the Metro. Don’t worry — you won’t have to walk far (or even outside), because there is a covered walkway that connects the garage to the Music Center.
Now the Center itself — it was awesome! The acoustics was phenominal! We had tickets in row KK, which is the last row in orchestra and we heard every note and word crisply and clearly. The space is gorgeous; beautiful wood paneling, high balconies, with a perfect view of the stage… and the seats! I LOVE the seats!
Through the years of going to older venues like Kennedy and Warner, I’ve gotten used to airline style seats. You know, nice, but snug, and with little leg room (if someone needs to get through, everyone needs to stand up, skootch back and get uncomfortably intimate with strangers rubbing up on you). Not so here. The seats were WIDE and plush (not that we sat in them for too long — seriously, if you can, catch Franz Ferdinand in concert — they put on a wonderful and exuberant show!), and the leg space was super roomy — no one needed to get up to let someone through, and when we all got up to dance, there was plenty of room — no bumping into people or falling over.
Love love love this venue! Super convenient and really comfortable. Oh — and it’s right next to the metro — so it makes it even more convienent than many other venues!

Strathmore is an exceptional venue, large and aesthetically marvelous. Full of worthwhile events. It’s also conveniently on the Metro and easy to get to.
I’m deducting a star because I sat at the edge of the balcony and spent a whole performance being afraid of heights. Watch out for that.

This is a beautiful, small, intimate venue. We’ve seen two jazz acts in the main concert hall. The first time we sat in the Grand tier and the second time in the Promenade tier. Both times our seats were fantastic and I would venture to say that there aren’t too many bad seats in the hall. Sound was quite good for the first show, but spotty for the second in that we heard feedback and it took some time for the crew to get it right.
It’s very convenient to the NOVA area, both driving or Metro. Free parking is offered in the garage for the concert hall shows. We had no issue getting in or out — a short wait, but nothing annoyingly long.
They serve food, beer and wine. However, we typically check out one of the local Bethesda restaurants — there are several within minutes of the venue. We have purchased a glass of wine before the performance and as with most venues, it was pricey for the quality, but that was not a surprise. The cafeteria type restaurant serves a variety of food (I’ve seen prime rib) and while I can’t speak to the quality, a lot of people do eat there.
There is a large balcony with plenty of room to relax if the weather is nice before the show. This is typically where we enjoy our wine, but there are not many (if any) seats.
After the shows we attended, there was an opportunity to purchase CDs and meet with the artists for autographs. The line moves fairly quickly.
I will definitely be checking the calendar for upcoming events!

I love the Strathmore Music Hall. Personally, I think it’s one of DC’s best kept secrets when it comes to entertainment. Everyone from the late Chuck Brown to Yo-​Yo Ma has performed on the Stathmore stage and I’ve had the opportunity to see a lot of the performances.
Is it as big as the Verizon Center? No. But that’s the great thing about it. There isn’t a bad seat in the hall and the sound system is AWESOME! I’ve had the pleasure of sitting everywhere. From the very front row to the balcony and no matter where my location, I’ve always been able to enjoy the show.
Ticket prices are also quite reasonable for events at the Strathmore. When I saw Yolanda Adams there, I was front row center and I only spent $ 75. for those tickets.
Besides the entertainment, they have a nice restaurant to enjoy a meal and a great gift shop. Staff is always professional and quite friendly. To top it all off, Strathmore is located right at the Grosvenor Metro (Red Line).
Overall, every time I’ve gone to the Strathmore, I’ve had quite an enjoyable experience. Do yourself a favor and catch a show there. You won’t be disappointed.

Strathmore is BEAUTIFUL. It’s a smaller venue but that’s perfect for the kinds of artists that come here. I’ve attended events in both the mansion and the main concert hall. The mansion has beautiful rooms and furniture that reminds you of the «nice» rooms in your parents house that you weren’t allowed to sit on as a kid.
The only down side about this place is that it’s in Maryland (ew) because it takes forever to get there whether you drive (270 sucks) or take metro (long red line) I guess they can’t help that traffic in the area is horrible.