Hollywood
Dating back to the Roaring Twenties, the since-restored Henry Fonda Theatre remains one of Hollywood’s best venues for live tunes. It’s an intimate, …
Must-see entertainment in California
Japantown, Fillmore & Pacific Heights
A go-to for rainy day matinees, featuring big-name flicks and film festival favorites. Pro tips: reserve a stadium seat online ($2 extra) and arrive early…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Big acts with international followings play this former vaudeville theater. Marquee names like Wu-Tang Clan, Iggy Pop, Kanye West and Sarah Silverman…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
On the radar since 1995, divey Satellite remains immensely popular thanks to its kicking lineup of indie bands. Rock on downstairs or escape to the…
Los Angeles
Founded by the late hard-bop drummer Billy Higgins, this place doesn’t serve food or drink, just good music from some of the best emerging talents in jazz…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Forget standard playlists – this closet-sized boho dive will make you lose your mind for Monday bluegrass jams, Tuesday Troubled Comedy sessions,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Not your grandma's ballet, Smuin debuts original balletic works inspired by cartoons, cello prodigies and Dr Martin Luther King's civil rights speeches…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Jazz cats have stalked the Tenderloin ever since Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker and Dave Brubeck played underground clubs here – and Black…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
The vintage dive-bar neon in the middle of warehouse nowhere-land is pointing you in the Rite direction for offbeat performances banged out on a tinkling…
San Francisco
First stop Cannes; next stop Balboa and 37th, where film-fest favorites split the bill with Bogart noir classics, family-friendly Saturday-morning…
Oakland
A local favorite for live music, art shows, dance parties, comedy sets, readings and other events, the Starline has a vintage feel, which makes sense, as…
The Peninsula
Kick off your shoes and stomp your feet to live bluegrass, Celtic and folk music on weekend afternoons at this landmark general store. Check out the…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
This Victorian saloon ruled SF's '70s underground scene, when upstarts Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams took to the stage – and fresh talents surface…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
This celebrated 1957 rock hall launched 1000 careers, including those of James Taylor and Tom Waits, and was central to John Lennon's 'Lost Weekend in…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Musicians, you're among friends: classically trained musicians and jazz artists jam here daily. Hot weekend days call for iced coffee and live Latin jazz,…
The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Bay Area Theater Sports explores all things improv, from audience-inspired themes to whacked-out musicals at completely extemporaneous weekend shows. Or…
Zombie Joe's Underground Theatre
San Fernando Valley
Oh, the horror! Part theater, part haunted house, Zombie Joe's presents for your entertainment shows that are at turns creepy, campy, Goth, killer…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
This attractive, adobe-style complex was founded in 1917 and by 1937 had developed such a reputation that it was named State Theater of California. It's…
San Francisco
Big voices at this mixed straight-gay karaoke bar could rattle pennies in the US mint uphill. If you can't decide what to sing from the 30,000-plus…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Guaranteed good times by Gogol Bordello, New Found Glory, Shiny Toy Guns and female Stones tribute band Chick Jagger fit the bill at this intimate club,…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Big nights come with bragging rights at Mezzanine, with one of the city's best sound systems and crowds hyped for breakthrough shows by hip-hop greats…
Coastal Orange County
Next to Segerstrom Center, South Coast Rep was started by a band of plucky theater grads in the 1960s and has evolved into a multiple Tony Award–winning…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
The pool table and TV are mostly ignored at this artsy Parisian-style cafe-bar, where the local crowd roars for free live jazz, DJs, vintage soul and…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
An exceptional theater housed in UCLA’s historic heart. The brick building reeks of academia, but CAP UCLA has been known to bring in spectacular…
Hollywood
An anomaly on glittery Cahuenga Corridor, this intimate venue is the place for handmade music by message-minded singer-songwriters. It’s mainly a stepping…
San Diego
Re-imagined colorful containers make up this new outdoor community space and stage in East Village, a short walk from Gas Lamp. Home to a coffee shop,…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Throwing swanky soirees since 1916, the Verdi Club hosts bawdy storytelling nights, swing-dancing lessons, drag-star comedy shows, the odd lucha libre …
Hollywood
The place for grown-up salseros. Order a mojito and watch the beautiful dancers do their thing (or join in if you feel you’ve got the moves). Live shows…
Berkeley
A world-renowned film center with an ever-changing schedule of international and classic films – cineastes should seek out this place. The spacious…
Oakland
The RIC straddles that line between a bar and a performance space; the beers are good and the bartenders are friendly, but for us, the big draw is a…
Westlake & Koreatown
If you're seeking a break from the Hollywood fare, catch a new-release Korean movie at this South Korean cinema chain. Films are subtitled in English, and…
Hollywood
On Monday nights, KCRW’s Chris Douridas brings School Night (www.itsaschoolnight.com), a free live-music club featuring buzz-worthy talent to the…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
‘Art house’ and blockbuster ‘multiplex’ in the same breath? That’s the cocktail at the sleek Landmark with its dozen deluxe, stadium-style screening rooms…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
Built in 1937, Mint is an intimate, historic venue. Legends such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder played here on the way up, and axe-man Ben Harper got…
Oakland
This massive 1931 art deco masterpiece shows classic films a few times each month and is also home to the Oakland Symphony and Oakland Ballet. It…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
This 7100-seat theater was christened by the Eagles and the Dixie Chicks when it opened in 2007, and has continued to host big names ever since, from Neil…
San Fernando Valley
The stage of this one-time vaudeville house from 1926 has been graced by headliners from Debbie Reynolds to Smokey Robinson, Carol Channing to James…
Silver Lake & Echo Park
Lurking below retro Mexican restaurant Casita del Campo, this camp little bolthole serves up drag shows, outré revues and other fabulously kooky…
Downtown, Civic Center & SoMa
Known for launching big talent (including Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Ellen DeGeneres and David Cross), this historic stand-up venue is small enough for…
Santa Cruz
Over the years, this stage for local bands has seen big-time national acts perform, from Queens of the Stone Age to Snoop Dogg. Expect loads of punk…
