A Night at Barbès

Barbès is a small bar on 9th Street in Park Slope with a back room about the size of a living room, and it has presented live music every night for more than two decades. The booking is its signature: Colombian cumbia, Balkan brass, Malian guitar, gypsy jazz, chamber folk and whatever its musician regulars are working on that month. Several long-running bands have built their careers on a weekly slot here, and the house label, Barbès Records, documents the scene.

There is no advance ticketing for most shows; you walk in, and a band member passes a hat or there is a modest suggested cover. Check the calendar on the bar's website for the night's two or three acts, and get there at the start of a set if you want a seat on the back-room benches. The front bar stays social while the back listens. A weekly residency is a good first visit, since those bands have the room's rhythm down.