Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Each summer non-profit Grand Performances presents a brilliant season of free outdoor concerts by the splashing fountains of California Plaza in Downtown…
Must-see entertainment in California
Santa Barbara
With over 40 beers on tap, pool tables and a video arcade (Skee-Ball!), this bowling alley near UCSB is good ol’ family fun. Call ahead to get on the wait…
Westlake & Koreatown
Part progressive-rock and folk venue, part theater space, part multidisciplinary arts foundation and laboratory. This restored 1930s warehouse hosts one…
San Francisco
A vast yet cozy venue with all the right moves, including Monday salsa dance classes, Russian karaoke (no language skills required) and indie rock acts…
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
In all American sports, it would be hard to find a more dominant team than the UCLA squads under the late, great John Wooden, who led his teams to 10…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Since it opened in 1960, this legendary comedy club has helped launch the careers of dozens of comics, including household names such as David Letterman,…
Hollywood
Disney rolls out family-friendly blockbusters at this movie palace, sometimes with costumed characters putting on the Ritz in live preshow routines. The…
Los Angeles
Cinema complex in the heart of downtown Culver City, screening mainly new-release mainstream films. Parking validation is available for the Cardiff and…
Long Beach & San Pedro
An anchor of Retro Row, this lovingly restored 1924 art-deco gem is Long Beach's only single-screen cinema, showing a compelling mix of classic and art…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
Founded in 1965, this pioneering Asian-American ensemble seeks to build a bridge between Eastern and Western theatrical styles. Its repertoire of Broadway…
Marin County
This 1906 saloon has live bands and country-and-western bric-a-brac everywhere you look. Prince Charles stopped in for an impromptu pint during a local…
Berkeley
At the south end of the University of California, Berkeley campus near Bancroft Way and Dana St, Zellerbach Hall features dance events, musical concerts…
Santa Monica
Aspiring Harry Potters won't be the only ones who enjoy the comedy-laced sleight-of-hand, levitation and other illusions performed by Steve Spills and…
San Luis Obispo
Recline your seat, put your feet up on the dash and munch on bottomless bags of popcorn at this classic Americana drive-in. Sticking around for the second…
Los Angeles
What was originally an art-deco movie house is now a 317-seat theater used by the Center Theatre Group to stage oft-terrific new plays by fresh, up-and…
Marin County
Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, the park’s natural-stone, 3750-seat theater hosts the annual family-friendly ‘Mountain Play’ series…
La Jolla
One of the area’s most established comedy venues, the Comedy Store also serves popcorn, drinks and barrels of laughs. Expect a cover charge (from $10 on…
San Jose
The San Jose Sharks – the city’s tremendously popular professional hockey team – play at this massive glass-and-metal stadium (formerly the HP Pavilion)…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
A 1931 art-deco dance hall decked out in red velvet and chandeliers and flaunting an awesome sound system and excellent sightlines. Although it can hold…
Hollywood
Every seat is within 100ft of the stage at this up-close-and-personal outdoor amphitheater. Recently renovated and with the Hollywood Hills as a backdrop,…
Segerstrom Center for the Arts
Coastal Orange County
The county's main performance venue is home to the Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale. It draws international…
West Hollywood & Mid-City
A fancy all-stadium, 14-screen multiplex with comfy reclining seats, wall-to-wall screens and superb sound. The Monday Morning Mommy Movies series (11am)…
Russian River Area
Dinner and a movie take on new meaning at this vintage-WWII Quonset hut converted to a cinema in 1950. In 2014 they finally added heat, but still supply…
Oakland
Once a vaudeville theater and silent-movie house, this 1926 beauty near Lake Merritt lures you in with its huge corner marquee (which sometimes displays…
Hollywood
Runs the hugely popular summer season of outdoor movies at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, as well as organizing occasional film screenings at Downtown's…
Russian River Area
Raucous roadhouse bar, 4 miles east of Guerneville, with eclectic lineup of live bands. Shows start 6pm Saturday and sometimes Friday and Sunday too;…
Oakland
There's live music every night of the week at this ramshackle locals' favorite, which feels like a roadside juke joint plopped onto Grand Ave. The tunes…
Hollywood
Established in 1997, this acclaimed, non-profit theater company is known for staging innovative, eclectic works, including world and West Coast premieres…
Santa Monica
Sure, this mecca of musicianship sells guitars and other instruments, but you want to come for the concerts in the back room. Since 1969 everyone from…
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
This historic theater originally opened in 1914 as the National Theater, and became the Regent in 1917. These days it's known as a live-music venue,…
Santa Barbara
Harking back to 1931, this Mission Revival–style movie palace has a Spanish courtyard and a star-spangled ceiling. It’s a drop-dead gorgeous place to…
Berkeley
This legendary club has almost 50 years of history and is conveniently located in the downtown arts district. It features great traditional folk, country,…
San Luis Obispo
This small-scale movie house showing foreign and indie flicks just happens to be the USA’s first solar-powered cinema. Seats are a bargain $5 on Mondays…
San Diego
This huge Native American–owned casino-hotel offers plenty of slots, blackjack and roulette. Entertainment includes stand-up acts in its comedy club, and…
Westlake & Koreatown
MacArthur Park's historic band shell hosts a series of free evening concerts each summer. The programming is eclectic and democratic, ranging from world…
Gold Country
This brick fortress is one of California’s first theaters (1865) and has welcomed the likes of Jack London, Emma Nevada and Mark Twain to its stage. Now…
Coastal Highway 1
Shows mainstream, foreign and art films in a beautifully restored movie house. Sue, the ticket seller of 40 years, passed away in 2018, but her…
San Jose
Located near San Jose's airport, this is the home of the San Jose Earthquakes, the city's professional soccer team (season runs from February through…
Berkeley
This warmhearted community center presents dynamic dance classes and musical and visual arts events with a social justice bent. Look for a vibrant mural…
Los Angeles
The ‘Gang’ was founded in 1981 by Tim Robbins and other renegade UCLA acting-school grads. Robbins remains the artistic director and the company's daring,…
