live music

Meaning

Music that is performed live in front of an audience, rather than being a pre-recorded track. It is commonly experienced at concerts, festivals, cafes, and bars.

Examples

• We sat at an outdoor cafe and listened to some live music.

  We sat at an outdoor cafe and listened to some live music.

• Does this pub have live music on the weekends?

  Does this pub have live music on the weekends?

• I prefer hearing live music to listening to studio albums.

  I prefer hearing live music to listening to studio albums.

• They are planning to have live music at their wedding reception.

  They are planning to have live music at their wedding reception.

• The festival features three days of amazing live music.

  The festival features three days of amazing live music.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I love to listen to alive music.

  ✓ I love to listen to live music.

  'Alive' means living (not dead) and cannot be used to describe musical performances. Use the adjective 'live' (pronounced with a long 'i') instead.

• ✗ We went to a concert with life music.

  ✓ We went to a concert with live music.

  'Life' is a noun. To describe music played in real time by actual musicians, you must use the adjective 'live'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• That coffee shop on the corner has ___ every Friday night.

  💡 The opposite of recorded music played by a DJ or playlist.

  Show answer

  live music

• I love the energy of ___ because you can feel the bass in your chest.

  💡 Performances played in front of an audience.

  Show answer

  live music