Sylvan Esso at 30 Days in LA
Photograph: Jakob N. Layman | Sylvan Esso at 30 Days in LA
Photograph: Jakob N. Layman

The 19 best live music venues in Los Angeles

Your complete guide to live music Los Angeles style, from concert calendars to iconic venues and more

Michael Juliano
Written by: Kate Wertheimer
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When it comes to live music venues, Los Angeles reigns. Ours is a storied history, from the rambling folk history of Woody Guthrie to the rock ’n’ rolling, raunchy ways of bands like the Doors, Van Halen and Motley Crue. And to this day, the city remains one of the best for amazing concerts—and amazingly free concerts—not in small part due to its wide array of venues, from gorgeous outdoor amphitheatres to hole-in-the-wall clubs and dive bars. There’s a steady stream of impressive local talent here, and no big-name artist completes a tour without stopping in L.A. We’ve got it all, when it comes to live music in Los Angeles and we’re damn lucky—see for yourself below.

Top live music venues in Los Angeles

  • Things to do
  • Event spaces
  • Hollywood
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended

This gorgeous outdoor amphitheater has been hosting concerts since the LA Philharmonic first played here in 1922. Nestled in an aesthetically blessed fold of the Hollywood Hills, the 18,000-seat venue can bring out the romantic in the terminally cynical. It’s the summer home of the LA Phil, but it’s hosted everyone from the Beatles to Big Bird. Today, summers at the Bowl are a mix of classical concerts and the biggest names from all genres, from rock and pop to country and musical theater.

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  • Downtown Historic Core
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended

When the Ace Hotel opened in early 2014, we didn’t just gain a super hip hotel in DTLA: We also got a jaw-droppingly beautiful 1920s movie house-turned-performing arts space, which has since billed an impressive lineup of performances, concerts, movie nights, lectures and more. The former flagship United Artists Theater is a 1,600-seat house perfect for folk acts, solo artists and beloved indie bands.

  • Music
  • Music venues
  • West Hollywood
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended

This storied club has a rich musical history: Randy Newman got his start here, and Elton John made his U.S. debut on its stage in 1970. It hasn’t lapsed into irrelevance in the time since, often showcasing bands on the rise—those shows sell out quick. The sound is great and the views are decent from almost anywhere in the room—just stay out from under the balcony.

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  • Music
  • Music venues
  • Griffith Park
  • price 2 of 4

This pleasant, open-air, 6,000-seat theatre stages big summer shows by acts both national and local. It’s a bit like seeing a concert in the woods, and rivals the Hollywood Bowl in terms of L.A.’s most magical outdoor music venue. The only downside: The “stacked” parking means getting out of the parking lot often takes longer than the show, and VIP “Quick Parking” is a pricey $100.

  • Attractions
  • Cemeteries
  • Hollywood
  • price 2 of 4

Aside from popular posthumous celebs, Hollywood Forever is also home to summer outdoor movie screenings; Cinespia-hosted sleepovers with projected films, live music and games; as well as a number of unique concert events (past performers include Bon Iver, Lana del Rey and Karen O, to name just a few). Whether on the lawn or in the Masonic Lodge, seeing a show here is a little bit magical, and the bands booked here are always top notch and perfectly suited to play to a crowd of both living and dead.

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  • Music
  • Music venues
  • Downtown
  • price 3 of 4
  • Recommended

As the $274-million crown jewel of the Music Center, Disney Hall opened in 2003 to rave reviews. The novelty hasn’t yet worn off: Both inside and out, this is a terrific venue. Designed by Frank Gehry, the hall features a 2,265-capacity auditorium with an open platform stage and a stunning pipe organ. The hall is the home of the LA Philharmonic and the LA Master Chorale, but the schedule is surprisingly varied (Björk, Sigur Rós, Sylvan Esso, Nick Cave and Iron & Wine have all played here).

  • Comedy
  • La Cienega
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended

We like venues that take good care of their performers, and that’s clearly the case at L.A.’s home for cultured, bankable singer-songwriters and brilliant comedians. The likes of Aimee Mann, the Watkins Family, Andrew Bird and perennial hot-ticket artist-in-residence Jon Brion ply their trade in the remarkably intimate 280-seat space.

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  • Music
  • Music venues
  • Highland Park

Eastside buzz bands, cult-favorite singer-songwriters and surprise stand-up sets from Dave Chappelle mix at the Lodge Room, an intimate concert hall housed inside a former Masonic lodge in Highland Park. Show up early—or stay late—for a drink and a bite to eat at the adjoined Checker Hall.

  • Music
  • Music venues
  • Inglewood
  • price 2 of 4

It had been a while since this 17,500-seat space was the city’s go-to arena. But after a $100 million renovation in 2014, the half-century-old Forum has become fabulous once again—enough so that it’s poached many major arena shows from DTLA’s Crypto.com Arena. Almost every massive touring act makes a stop here (Eagles, the Strokes, Billie Eilish, Post Malone, U2), and it’s really the best-case scenario as far as arenas go: The bowl nature of the auditorium keeps sightlines clear and near, and the acoustics are actually pretty good (unlike the disappointing sound next door at SoFi Stadium). Try to avoid the parking lot if you can, and instead pay for a lot a couple of blocks away.

The best live music by month

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Just announced

  • Music
  • Rap, hip-hop and R&B
  • Inglewood
  • price 3 of 4
  • Recommended
When R&B singer Abel Tesfaye released his debut mixtape, House of Balloons, in 2011, he did so hidden behind the Weeknd moniker: faceless and nameless, with no pictures, concerts or interviews. Since then, he’s made the leap from mystery-cloaked DIY buzz magnet to pro-hyped superstar drenched in drugged out psychosexual fantasy with ’80s funk basslines and a glossy pop shimmer. After he had to cancel his Rose Bowl show earlier this year, you can see him at SoFi Stadium for a stop on his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour.
  • Music
  • Jazz
  • Hollywood
  • price 2 of 4
  • Recommended
Keen to see jazz greats past and present? Get ready for mellow harmonies and earthy grooves at the annual Blue Note Jazz Festival this summer—formerly the Playboy and then the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival. The two-day concert includes performances from the Isley Brothers, De La Soul, Derrick Hodge, Grace Jones, Willow and more. Remember, it’s at the Hollywood Bowl, so why not share a bottle of wine with some friends and groove along with the jazz’s pride and glory?
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  • Music
  • Lincoln Heights
  • Recommended
Everyone’s favorite NPR member station has a hand in a slew of summer concert slates at public plazas and beloved museums, and this summer’s schedule is reliably packed. Familiar KCRW DJs and local buzz bands will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights from June through September at Union Station, CAAM, Descanso Gardens, Bowers Museum, Wende Museum, the Autry, Benny Boy Brewing, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, California Plaza and—our favorite—the party-till-midnight bashes at Chinatown Central Plaza. The details slightly differ at each spot, but you can typically expect a bunch of food trucks, beer gardens and after-hours museum admission. This year, there’s even a kid-oriented installment at the Kidspace Children’s Museum, where DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba is the special guest. Regardless of the location, you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights. (Note: The kickoff June 7 event at Benny Boy Brewing and Aug. 29’s Descanso Gardens event are only for KCRW members).

The latest L.A. music news

  • Music
  • Music
There’s clearly an insatiable appetite for live film score performances in the Los Angeles area. John Williams has been a fixture at the Hollywood Bowl for decades, as has, more recently, Danny Elfman and a slew of orchestra-backed movie screenings. It’s spilled into the music festival circuit, too; I can very distinctly remember its apparent origin, when the Coachella 2017 crowd lost its collective mind over Hans Zimmer’s performance of his themes from Pirates of the Caribbean and Interstellar. So kudos to award-winning composer duo Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who are putting together an entire one-day-only festival with some of the coolest and most legendary film and television composers on the lineup. Future Ruins will take over the Los Angeles Equestrian Center on November 8, and it’ll bring with it a blockbuster lineup of folks behind some of your favorite moody movie music, including Danny Elfman, John Carpenter and more than a dozen other composers behind films and shows like The White Lotus, Stranger Things, Joker and many, many more. “There’s no headliner. There’s no hierarchy. This is a stacked lineup of visionaries doing something you might not see again,” say Reznor and Ross in a statement (they’re on the lineup too—though you can also catch them in September at the Forum under Reznor’s more storied Nine Inch Nails moniker). Expect three stages at the outdoor Burbank venue with a mix of electronic, live band and orchestral performances, including appearances...
  • Music
  • Music
Summer is so close we can smell it, and that means all of our favorite outdoor events are making their comebacks. Jazz at LACMA is back in action, Cinespia and Barnsdall Park’s Friday Night Wine Tastings have already been announced, and now add to that list the Getty Center’s popular Off the 405 series. The museum’s annual concert series announced its lineup on Wednesday, and it includes four evenings of eclectic programming. The best part: Tickets—like admission to the Getty Center—are free, though you’ll want to try to secure a reservation ahead of time; tickets tend to open up about two to three weeks before each show. The locally beloved Off the 405 series has been drawing crowds to the Getty’s courtyard since 2009 (besides taking a couple years off during the pandemic). With past headliners including Moses Sumney, Allah-Las, Chicano Batman and Shannon and the Clams, each year the series’ curated lineup spans a range of genres and regularly showcases some of the most exciting up-and-comers in the independent music scene. Each performance starts at 7:30pm and will be preceded by a DJ set at 6pm. Listening to free live music while watching the sun set over the L.A. skyline in one of the city’s most beautiful venues—what could be better? Photograph: Courtesy of the artist And now for the lineup: First up on May 31 is SML. No, they’re not an outlet for songs from Saturday Night Live, but rather an L.A.-based quintet of musicians who’ve worked with the likes of Phoebe...
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  • Music
  • Music
If you’re after party music on the biggest stage possible, look no further than Post Malone’s upcoming Coachella set. The pop-rap-country phenom will close out the music festival this weekend with a show of discography-spanning hits. Here’s everything we know—plus some pretty decent hunches—about Malone’s headlining Coachella performance. What day is Post Malone performing at Coachella? You can catch him during the fest’s second weekend on Sunday, April 20; he already hit the stage during weekend one on Sunday, April 13. What time will Post Malone play the Coachella stage? Post Malone will take the stage at 10:25pm on Sunday. There are a couple of sets on other stages (Polo & Pan, XG, Dixon back-to-back with Jimi Jules) that technically start later, but for all practical purposes, Malone has the honor of closing out Coachella.  Has Post Malone played Coachella before? Yes. Though he’s only officially appeared on the Coachella lineup once before, he’s no stranger to the Empire Polo Club: In 2018 he played the Sahara tent, and he returned in 2023 as an unannounced guest during Bad Bunny’s headlining set. And—given his recent turn toward country pop—he actually played last year’s Stagecoach Festival, held on the same grounds as Coachella and just a week later. Any news on Post Malone’s setlist for Coachella? We don’t know exactly what Posty will perform during his second weekend set at Coachella, but we can certainly look to his first weekend set for a pretty good indication....
  • Music
  • Music
Travis Scott’s return to Coachella has been a long time coming. The Auto-Tune–wielding rapper was supposed to top 2020’s canceled edition, and though it seemed all but certain he’d play the music festival’s 2022 return, he didn’t actually end up on that year’s lineup (which was announced only a couple of months after the fatal crowd crush at the rapper’s Astroworld Festival in Houston). But now he’s heading to Indio with a “designs the desert” credit to his name on the fest’s lineup poster. Here’s everything we know—including just what that cryptic tagline means—about Scott’s headlining Coachella performance. What day is Travis Scott performing at Coachella? You can catch him during the fest’s second weekend on Saturday, April 19; he already took the stage for weekend one on Saturday, April 12. What time will Travis Scott play the Coachella stage? Hopefully you don’t mind staying up late: Travis Scott is slated to take the stage at 11:40pm. Though Green Day, who’ll perform on the Coachella/Main stage before Scott, are technically the Saturday night headliner according to the lineup poster, Scott will really be the last to perform on that stage (he essentially has the equivalent of an “and…” credit in a movie or TV show).  Has Travis Scott played Coachella before? Yes, in 2017 he played the Outdoor Theatre—where he arrived on the back of a giant bird puppet. In addition to that very crowded, high-energy set, he appeared as a guest during Kendrick Lamar’s headlining slot...

Where to see live music in Los Angeles

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Music festivals near Los Angeles

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