How Your City's Music Venue Got Its Name

“There are plenty of places named Savoy,” says Glenn Crytzer, bandleader of the Glenn Crytzer Orchestra and other swing- and jazz-based projects in New York City. Many jazz venues co-opted the name, but one Savoy Ballroom in particular was the definitive home of big band during its heyday. “When you talk about the Savoy, that’s the one in Harlem,” he says.

At the time, in the 1930s, there were a lot of Ballrooms. There were also lots of Inns, lots of Clubs, and lots of Cafes. Over the course of the music venue’s relatively short life, their monikers have changed drastically. A place’s name depends on a combination of when and where the venue is, as well as the music it serves up, but some trends emerge through the march of popular culture and concertgoers’ shifting tastes.