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L.A.’s live music scene is booming—from South Pasadena’s new Sid the Cat Auditorium to the forthcoming Long Beach Amphitheater. And this week, a major player in the space is opening in a warehouse nestled between Chinatown and Mission Junction. Pacific Electric is the first West Coast project from TVG Hospitality Group, which entrepreneur and musician Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons founded in 2016. The company develops venues that combine local character with state-of-the-art design, and Pacific Electric in particular hopes to be a creative hub for culture and community in L.A.
While construction on the mid-size concert venue was still in process, I got to take a hard-hat tour with the senior general manager, Stacey Levine, who’s operated L.A. venues including the Wiltern and Hollywood Palladium over the years. She gave me a behind-the-scenes look at what Angelenos can expect from a show at Pacific Electric.
The venue opens March 19 with a private show by L.A. folk rockers Dawes—“a statement of intent for a venue that puts local talent first”—and has a packed schedule for the foreseeable future: TimeCop1983 plays the first ticketed show on March 20, followed by a KCRW-presented show by indie pop band Voxtrot on March 26. Other highlights in the coming months include a soulful set by Norah Jones (May 10), the daylong California Chaos festival, with California-based acts including Militarie Gun and Stateside (April 11), and lo-fi Joaquin Phoenix look-alike Cut Worms (April 28). Pacific Electric will also host 12 shows during the upcoming Netflix is a Joke Fest, welcoming comedians and musicians including Robby Hoffman, Guster, Emil Wakim and Jimmy O. Yang to the stage in May.
TVG has spent over a year renovating the historic Naud Warehouse—a massive brick building near L.A. State Historic Park that’s adorned with several murals. The location feels a bit like no man’s land until you realize that it’s literally next door to David Chang’s Majordōmo and a two-minute walk to Apothéke. The neighborhood is simultaneously off-the-beaten-path and central, bordered by the the L.A. River and train tracks on the east—during my afternoon visit, the Pacific Surfliner rolled by.
Before turning its attention to Los Angeles, TVG opened several venues in London and (surprisingly) Alabama. But an L.A. project has been in the works for some time. “L.A. is such a sprawl and people have settled down in communities that are sometimes an hour apart from each other, and yet they’re still in L.A.,” says Lovett. “Whenever I found myself visiting with my band or even when I used to come just to hang and see shows and go out, I often found that where people were living or in the process of moving to—Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Highland Park, Glendale, Downtown—was all just kinda far away from a lot of the action, so I was excited to find something 20 minutes from those places that could be a new venue for one of the cultural capitals of the world.”
The venue’s name is an homage to the Pacific Electric Railway Company—a.k.a. the Red Cars—that used to connect Los Angeles with surrounding cities from 1895 to the 1960s. While that network may be defunct, TVG was inspired by the legacy of connectivity and hopes to metaphorically connect fans and artists in the same way.
Beyond the lineup and location, the food and beverage program at Pacific Electric is exciting—namely its partnership with Badmaash. The Indian street food specialists will be operating “Secret Indian Food Window” during shows, serving handheld, concert-friendly dishes in the venue’s outdoor garden near the entrance. You can expect longtime favorites like chicken tikka poutine on the menu, as well as venue-exclusive items like Badmaash street tacos with wagyu skirt steak, butter chicken or vegetarian-friendly aloo gobi. Inside the lobby, bartenders will be mixing up ’90s-inspired cocktails reimagined with premium ingredients—think Long Island iced teas with yuzu and Angostura bitters or boilermakers made with local beers.
Once your hunger and thirst are satisfied, it’s showtime. Pacific Electric has a 750-person standing capacity split between the ground floor and a balcony—the entire second floor was actually built from scratch. (One touch I loved was a pair of raised platforms on the balcony, so vertically challenged audience members won’t have trouble seeing the stage.) For a space with industrial roots, the stage is a stunner: The proscenium arch—lit up with LED lights—is made up of dozens of smaller wooden arches, and the talent plays in front of a brick background. While I didn’t get to hear any music yet, Levine assured me the top-of-the-line L-Acoustics sound system will sound incredible. I did get to walk onstage, and Levine pointed out how intimate the room feels from an artist’s perspective when playing to the crowd, even though the room feels large when you’re in the audience.
Looking ahead, the team behind Pacific Electric is planning on hosting a range of programming—beyond genre-spanning concerts, there will be club nights, comedy, conversations and cultural events, reflecting the full breadth of L.A.’s creative community. And while for up-and-coming talent, this might be the largest room they’ve played to date, the team also hopes to book “underplays,” which is when a big-name artist capable of selling out stadiums seeks out the opportunity to play a more intimate show to connect with fans. To that end, there’s a definite emphasis on creating a welcoming space for talent, from ease of set-up to the dressing rooms, which feel like luxe hotel rooms. “We make sure anything that can be friendly, convenient, beneficial to the artist is anticipated, and we really hope artists are more than happy with their experience with us. This feels like an opportunity to level up standards across the board,” says Lovett, speaking from first-hand dressing-room experience.
Still to open is Mitsi, a seriously stylish on-site cocktail bar that’s billed as Lovett’s “love letter to L.A.” Operated independently, the bar will be open Thursdays to Saturdays—as well as for pre-show or post-show gatherings—and will serve craft cocktails, natural wine, nigiri and hand rolls. Stay tuned for that opening.
The arrival of a new live music venue is always exciting—especially one that’s making intentional choices to create an optimal concert experience for both fans and artists. “At the end of the day, Pacific Electric is about creating a place where people can come together, escape their daily routine and share something unforgettable,” says Lovett. I think Pacific Electric is on the right track.
Pacific Electric is located at 1729 Naud Street (the cross streets are Willhardt and Naud). You can find the full upcoming lineup here.