(Satwika Kresna / For The Times)
26 legendary music sites in L.A., from the Troubadour to the Whisky a Go Go
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For nearly a century, musicians and music fans have rolled through Los Angeles hoping to snag a bit of fame — or just visit the spots where it happened for the acts they love. From cherished live venues to world-class recording studios and hotel lobbies where stars courted pleasure and demise, no city in America is imbued with more music history that you can still touch today. As AI, algorithms and exorbitant concert ticket prices make music feel less tangible than ever, this is a great occasion to reconnect with the cultural heritage that’s right down the street.
After purchasing Henson Studios for $44 million, John Mayer and the filmmaker McG have renamed the place Chaplin Studios. Their goal, they say, is to preserve the historic complex on La Brea Avenue.
This list highlights diverse and meaningful places in L.A. music lore (some serious and austere, some grimy and beer-stained) that are still open to visit one way or another. In a city that famously bulldozes its history, many legendary places are now boarded up or unrecognizable — what we’d give to have seen Eve After Dark in its heyday — so they aren’t included here. But with a short day trip to any of these sites, you can put yourself right back into the Laurel Canyon, Compton or Sunset Strip of myth.
Showing Place Places
Capitol Records
Hollywood Record Label
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(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
The most famous tower in all of music was never overtly intended to look like a stack of LPs and a stylus needle. (“The building was not designed as a cartoon or a giggle. To have it trivialized with the stack-of-records myth is annoying and dismaying,” architect Louis Naidorf has said of his Capitol Records Building. “There’s not a thing on the building that doesn’t have a solid purpose to it.”) That was no obstacle for it becoming emblematic of both Los Angeles and the record business. It’s still home to one of the most renowned recording studios on Earth, and its silhouette remains a Hollywood icon and a symbol of Los Angeles on par with the Hollywood sign nearby
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Viper Room
West Hollywood Live Music Venue
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(Rob Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
It may be on the brink of demolition, but the Viper Room is still rocking.
Opened in 1993, the Viper Room carries on the legacy of the nightclubs that had previously inhabited the space, dating back to the 1940s. When actors Johnny Depp and Sal Jenco took over in the ‘90s, they painted it entirely black and insisted that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play on opening night. Other acts like Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Courtney Love, Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Pearl Jam, the Strokes and Sheryl Crow, have all taken the stage over the years. It is also the club where actor River Phoenix overdosed outside.
Today, the club remains a hub for edgy musicians in search of their big break. But over the course of the last several years, the block, which the historic building sits on, has been purchased. There are plans in place to demolish the current buildings and replace them with an 11-story high-end hotel and apartment tower. However, no closing date has been officially announced for the Viper Room.
Opened in 1993, the Viper Room carries on the legacy of the nightclubs that had previously inhabited the space, dating back to the 1940s. When actors Johnny Depp and Sal Jenco took over in the ‘90s, they painted it entirely black and insisted that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play on opening night. Other acts like Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Courtney Love, Natalie Cole, Elvis Costello, Lenny Kravitz, Pearl Jam, the Strokes and Sheryl Crow, have all taken the stage over the years. It is also the club where actor River Phoenix overdosed outside.
Today, the club remains a hub for edgy musicians in search of their big break. But over the course of the last several years, the block, which the historic building sits on, has been purchased. There are plans in place to demolish the current buildings and replace them with an 11-story high-end hotel and apartment tower. However, no closing date has been officially announced for the Viper Room.
Elliott Smith Wall
Silver Lake Memorial
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(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
The beloved singer-songwriter Elliott Smith posed at the swooping mural outside Solutions speaker repair in Silver Lake for the cover of his LP “Figure 8” in 2000. After he died by suicide in 2003, the wall became an unofficial memorial for Smith, where fans left touching notes, song lyrics and nips of liquors mentioned in his songs. While the wall has been cut out in spots to make room for various restaurants — and it’s often covered in more flagrant tagging — it’s still a living connection to one of the city’s most cherished voices.
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VIP Records
Long Beach Record Store
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(William Liang / For The Times)
The Long Beach outpost of this former local record store chain is hallowed ground for gangsta rap history. Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Nate Dogg and DJ Quik combed crates, cut tracks and honed their craft here. Snoop used it as the location for “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” from his 1993 debut album, “Doggystyle,” and acts from James Brown and Rick James to Stevie Wonder held in-store events to specifically reach out to local Black audiences. Its owner is working to turn it into a museum of L.A. hip-hop in time for the 2028 Olympics, which will hopefully mean a prominent, permanent return of its famous whistling-man sign.
The Troubadour
West Hollywood Live Music Venue
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(Scott Dudelson / Getty Images)
Now, the Troubadour was the place for a debut.
Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young and James Taylor are just a handful of the revered musicians who introduced themselves from the WeHo stage. Not to mention, it’s also where international artists like Elton John and Fiona Apple made their U.S. debuts.
Opened in 1957 by Doug Weston, it was also a place for fruitful meetings and aha moments — as it’s both where Don Henley and Glenn Frey of the Eagles met and where the members of the Byrds first came together. It’s where Lou Adler first encountered Cheech & Chong, where Tom Waits was discovered during an amateur night and where Bob Dylan first struck his signature folk-rock blend.
Since opening its doors, the Troubadour has continued to change with the times. It started off featuring the folk singers of the ‘60s, then it continued its legacy with hosting the metal acts of the ‘80s like Metallica and Guns N’ Roses and sounds of the ’90s with Korn, Pearl Jam and No Doubt. In recent years, many musicians have paid homage to the close-quarters club, often doing intimate celebratory gigs where something as rare as a duet between Harry Styles and Stevie Nicks materializes.
Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Kris Kristofferson, Neil Young and James Taylor are just a handful of the revered musicians who introduced themselves from the WeHo stage. Not to mention, it’s also where international artists like Elton John and Fiona Apple made their U.S. debuts.
Opened in 1957 by Doug Weston, it was also a place for fruitful meetings and aha moments — as it’s both where Don Henley and Glenn Frey of the Eagles met and where the members of the Byrds first came together. It’s where Lou Adler first encountered Cheech & Chong, where Tom Waits was discovered during an amateur night and where Bob Dylan first struck his signature folk-rock blend.
Since opening its doors, the Troubadour has continued to change with the times. It started off featuring the folk singers of the ‘60s, then it continued its legacy with hosting the metal acts of the ‘80s like Metallica and Guns N’ Roses and sounds of the ’90s with Korn, Pearl Jam and No Doubt. In recent years, many musicians have paid homage to the close-quarters club, often doing intimate celebratory gigs where something as rare as a duet between Harry Styles and Stevie Nicks materializes.
Sunset Sound
Hollywood Recording
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(Emil Ravelo / For The Times)
The grand dames of L.A. recording studios have fallen on brutal times — Record Plant and United Recording have either closed or laid off staff, who speak candidly about the death spiral impending for this era of studios while redevelopers are circling. Sunset Sound is still very much kicking though, even after recent burglaries and arson attacks. You can book rooms where the Beach Boys, the Doors, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Prince cut classics.
Chaplin Studios
Hollywood Recording
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(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)
John Mayer calls it “adult day care”: the historic recording studio behind the arched gates on La Brea Avenue where famous musicians have been keeping themselves — and one another — creatively occupied since the mid-1960s. Known for decades as Henson Studios — and as A&M Studios before that — the 3-acre complex in the heart of Hollywood has played host to the creation of some of music’s most celebrated records, among them Carole King’s “Tapestry,” Joni Mitchell’s “Blue,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Use Your Illusion” and D’Angelo’s “Black Messiah.” Charlie Chaplin, who was born in London, began building the lot in 1917 in a white-and-brown English Tudor style; he went on to direct some of his best-known films, including “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator,” on the property. In 1966, Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss bought the place and made it the base for their A&M Records; they converted two of the lot’s soundstages into high-end recording studios that drew the likes of Sergio Mendes, the Carpenters, Stevie Nicks, U2 and John Lennon.
In 1985, A&M’s parquet-floored Studio A was where Quincy Jones gathered the all-star congregation that recorded “We Are the World” in a marathon overnight session; in 2014, Daft Punk evoked the studios’ wood-paneled splendor in a performance of “Get Lucky” with Stevie Wonder at the 56th Grammy Awards.
Now, with an eye on preserving the spot at a moment of widespread upheaval in the entertainment industry, Mayer and his business partner, the filmmaker McG, have finalized a purchase of the lot, which they bought for $44 million from the family of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson and which they’ve renamed Chaplin Studios in honor of the silent-film giant who broke ground on it more than a century ago.
In 1985, A&M’s parquet-floored Studio A was where Quincy Jones gathered the all-star congregation that recorded “We Are the World” in a marathon overnight session; in 2014, Daft Punk evoked the studios’ wood-paneled splendor in a performance of “Get Lucky” with Stevie Wonder at the 56th Grammy Awards.
Now, with an eye on preserving the spot at a moment of widespread upheaval in the entertainment industry, Mayer and his business partner, the filmmaker McG, have finalized a purchase of the lot, which they bought for $44 million from the family of the late Muppets creator Jim Henson and which they’ve renamed Chaplin Studios in honor of the silent-film giant who broke ground on it more than a century ago.
Neighborhood Nip Foundation
Hyde Park Clothing Store
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(Luis Sinco)
The original site of the late Nipsey Hussle’s Marathon Clothing company was a South L.A. cultural hub where, sadly, the rapper was killed in 2019. The property, the heart of the officially designated Nipsey Hussle Square, is being redeveloped into a home base for the Neighborhood Nip Foundation, which continues Hussle’s legacy of block-by-block activism (we still miss you, World on Wheels) and empowerment in the area.
The Lighthouse Cafe
Hermosa Beach Live Music Venue
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(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
The Lighthouse Cafe might seem familiar from its cameo in the Oscar-winning movie “La La Land,” but this jazz cafe was once instrumental in shaping the West Coast jazz scene. The beachside spot first opened as a restaurant in 1934 and was changed into a bar by the 1940s. It first started to play jazz in 1949 when the owner let bassist Howard Rumsey host a recurring jam session. The jams quickly began to draw both a vivacious crowd of listeners and a core group of budding jazz musicians.
Over the years, musicians like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis and Max Roach all made regular appearances at the Lighthouse. Today, the venue still hosts jazz brunches every Sunday and other musical gigs throughout the week.
Over the years, musicians like Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis and Max Roach all made regular appearances at the Lighthouse. Today, the venue still hosts jazz brunches every Sunday and other musical gigs throughout the week.
Laurel Canyon Country Store
Hollywood Hills West Grocery Store
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(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
It’s just a charming little grocery store and sundries stop in a quaint and expensive neighborhood. But it’s the “store where the creatures meet,” as Jim Morrison famously sang. Mama Cass once lived in the basement and helped introduce the whole Laurel Canyon scene to each other and the world. Folk luminaries from Crosby, Stills & Nash, Joni Mitchell and the Byrds lived and jammed nearby and shopped there when they needed provisions, as did Linda Ronstadt, Micky Dolenz, Gram Parsons and Bonnie Raitt. You can still pick up the imported British candies beloved by David Bowie.
Grammy Museum
Downtown L.A. Museum
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(Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
This small but consistently refreshed museum functions more or less as a history of the record industry as exemplified by the Recording Academy, and how it’s shaped and reflected culture at large. There are lots of rare and compelling artifacts from pop history in constant rotation depending on the exhibits, but the intimate artist showcases in the attached theater are the best reason to make a day of it.
Sound City
Van Nuys Recording
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(Paul Bergen / Redferns)
Has any drum fill changed music more than the first hits of “Smells Like Teen Spirit?” This is the room where Dave Grohl played them during his time in Nirvana, and one he returned to for a 2013 documentary that tracked the studio’s legacy of LPs from Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Metallica and so many more.
Whisky a Go Go
West Hollywood Live Music Venue
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(Amy Dickerson / For The Times)
Dubbed the first real American discotheque, the Whisky a Go Go opened in 1964 and is one of the Sunset Strip’s original clubs. A stone’s throw away from fellow OG club the Roxy, the bright-red corner building is hard to miss with its ever-glowing marquee. Between the 1960s and 1990s, the well-loved venue is known to have given many of music’s greats their first shots.
The Doors were the club’s house band and would play between other featured acts. It is where Jim Morrison improvised the controversial Oedipal verse on “The End,” which eventually led to the band’s firing. The Byrds and Janis Joplin were frequenters; Otis Redding recorded a live album here; and bands like Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses spent their formative years molding their sound onstage. The rock venue also offered British musicians, like the Kinks, Led Zeppelin and Oasis, their first L.A. gigs.
Not to mention, the go-go dancer originated here. A DJ named Joanie Labine, one of the club’s first DJs, would play records from a suspended booth between sets. She would often start dancing and energize the crowd — paving the way for the short-skirt, knee-high-boot-wearing dancers who began to dance on elevated, caged surfaces around the country.
The Doors were the club’s house band and would play between other featured acts. It is where Jim Morrison improvised the controversial Oedipal verse on “The End,” which eventually led to the band’s firing. The Byrds and Janis Joplin were frequenters; Otis Redding recorded a live album here; and bands like Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses spent their formative years molding their sound onstage. The rock venue also offered British musicians, like the Kinks, Led Zeppelin and Oasis, their first L.A. gigs.
Not to mention, the go-go dancer originated here. A DJ named Joanie Labine, one of the club’s first DJs, would play records from a suspended booth between sets. She would often start dancing and energize the crowd — paving the way for the short-skirt, knee-high-boot-wearing dancers who began to dance on elevated, caged surfaces around the country.
Dunbar Hotel
Historic South-Central Historic Hotel
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(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
First opened as the Hotel Somerville, what became the Dunbar Hotel hosted the first West Coast convention of the NAACP in 1928 and served as safe lodging and hospitality for Black travelers and migrants into Los Angeles. Its lounge became the definitive hub of jazz in Los Angeles, hosting sets from Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald and Bessie Smith, among countless others. Now a senior center and affordable housing complex, the building has been restored to its prewar grandeur and houses some residents who were there for its heyday. The attached restaurant Delicious at the Dunbar will serve you a hearty soul food plate like what the greats would have enjoyed.
Canter's Deli
Beverly Grove Restaurant and lounge
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(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
You can still sit in the very booth where Guns N’ Roses took its first official photo as a nascent hard rock outfit (Slash is a childhood friend of owner Marc Canter). The attached Kibitz Room bar retains a bit of the cozy grit from when Frank Zappa, Jim Morrison, Rick James and Joni Mitchell would stop by for beers and impromptu jams. The matzo ball soup and reubens still feed the last of L.A.’s late-night rock revelers.
Los Angeles Central Library
Downtown L.A. Library
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(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
People have been writing songs about L.A. for as long as there has been a Los Angeles to croon about. Local music history buffs can parse through the LAPL’s sheet music archives that formed the backbone of MacArthur fellow Josh Kun’s 2013 “Songs in the Key of Los Angeles” project, which collected some of the earliest attempts to capture — and market — SoCal’s allure to the world in song.
The Roxy
West Hollywood Live Music Venue
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(Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for SiriusXM)
More than 50 years ago, Neil Young was the first performer to play the latest, cutting-edge West Hollywood club, the Roxy. The venue was opened in 1973 by Lou Adler and Elmer Valentine. From the get-go, the Roxy cemented itself as an intimate musical hub along the Sunset Strip with featured performances from Cheech & Chong, Jerry Lewis, the Temptations and Frank Zappa, just within its first year of opening its doors.
Over the years, artists like Bruce Springsteen, Eurythmics, Patti Smith and Genesis have all flocked to the petite crowded room, typically filled with sweaty bodies and flashing lights to record live albums. It is also where the British musical “The Rocky Horror Show” debuted its U.S. run and where comedian Paul Reubens started to introduce audiences to his character Pee-wee Herman.
With its rich history, the venue is still owned by Lou Adler and his son, Nic. Today their programming tends to shed the spotlight on rising acts. It’s one of the first venues, contemporary stars like Tyler, the Creator, Clairo and Fred Again.. played in their early careers.
Over the years, artists like Bruce Springsteen, Eurythmics, Patti Smith and Genesis have all flocked to the petite crowded room, typically filled with sweaty bodies and flashing lights to record live albums. It is also where the British musical “The Rocky Horror Show” debuted its U.S. run and where comedian Paul Reubens started to introduce audiences to his character Pee-wee Herman.
With its rich history, the venue is still owned by Lou Adler and his son, Nic. Today their programming tends to shed the spotlight on rising acts. It’s one of the first venues, contemporary stars like Tyler, the Creator, Clairo and Fred Again.. played in their early careers.
The Paramount
Boyle Heights Live Music Venue
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(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
With nearly 100 years of history, Boyle Heights’ Paramount is a venue that has lived many lives. The brick building, along Cesar Chavez Avenue, was first acquired in the 1920s by a Jewish co-op and provided a space for the Jewish Bakers’ union. During the Great Depression, it morphed into a soup kitchen and eventually developed into its final form as a concert venue in the late 1930s.
In the following decades, anything from jazz and salsa to rock and R&B graced the historic dance hall, including performances from artists like Benny Goodman, Stevie Wonder, Sonny & Cher, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. During the ‘60s and ‘70s, Chicano rock groups like Cannibal & the Headhunters and Thee Midniters commanded the stage and helped establish the venue as a space where subcultures could flourish. By the ‘80s, punk and new wave acts like Los Ilegales and Thee Undertakers had become essential to the scene as well, before the Paramount temporarily closed its doors.
In 2004, real estate developer Frank Acevedo acquired the building and began to restore the space. It reopened in 2022 and shares its ground floor with a pizza joint called Brooklyn Ave Pizza Co. The ballroom continues to emphasize its variety of genres and sounds by regularly hosting local punk bands, jazz quartets and cumbia groups.
In the following decades, anything from jazz and salsa to rock and R&B graced the historic dance hall, including performances from artists like Benny Goodman, Stevie Wonder, Sonny & Cher, Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. During the ‘60s and ‘70s, Chicano rock groups like Cannibal & the Headhunters and Thee Midniters commanded the stage and helped establish the venue as a space where subcultures could flourish. By the ‘80s, punk and new wave acts like Los Ilegales and Thee Undertakers had become essential to the scene as well, before the Paramount temporarily closed its doors.
In 2004, real estate developer Frank Acevedo acquired the building and began to restore the space. It reopened in 2022 and shares its ground floor with a pizza joint called Brooklyn Ave Pizza Co. The ballroom continues to emphasize its variety of genres and sounds by regularly hosting local punk bands, jazz quartets and cumbia groups.
Chateau Marmont
Hollywood Hills West Historic Hotel
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(Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
Chateau Marmont‘s reputation precedes itself. The French Gothic fortress, slightly hidden behind well-manicured shrubbery, has been the setting for decades worth of rock star crash outs, moments of awestruck inspiration and fabled parties. It’s the place where James Dean jumped through a window to audition for “Rebel Without a Cause,” where Led Zeppelin drove motorcycles into the lobby, where the Doors’ Jim Morrison dangled from his window and where Billy Idol stripped nude and trashed his room in want of more tequila. The list goes on and on.
Opened in 1929, the time capsule of old Hollywood glamour provides long-term and short-term residence in its hotel, including secluded bungalows and cottages. Spend a night in clandestine luxury just as the stars do and you may even run into a famous face or two (Sombr recently held his album release there and, like so many others before him, ended the night in the pool).
Opened in 1929, the time capsule of old Hollywood glamour provides long-term and short-term residence in its hotel, including secluded bungalows and cottages. Spend a night in clandestine luxury just as the stars do and you may even run into a famous face or two (Sombr recently held his album release there and, like so many others before him, ended the night in the pool).
Mariachi Plaza
Boyle Heights Cultural Center
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(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
Mariachi Plaza is a well-known gathering spot for all the city’s mariachi musicians. Often dressed in charro suits and carrying instruments like a guitarron, violin or trumpet, many of the musicians are waiting in the plaza for their next gig — whether it be a restaurant, family party or private event. This is a tradition that goes back to the 1930s, when many of the mariachis once lived in the historic Boyle Hotel and would hang around the area, awaiting work. Though the amount of mariachis in the plaza varies on a daily basis, there’s always at least someone either playing a tune or local skateboarders doing tricks.
Every November, the Santa Cecilia Mariachi Festival takes place at the plaza to celebrate the feast day of Santa Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. Local vendors, musicians and community members gather to hear the live music and celebrate.
Every November, the Santa Cecilia Mariachi Festival takes place at the plaza to celebrate the feast day of Santa Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians. Local vendors, musicians and community members gather to hear the live music and celebrate.
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Cemeteries and mausoleums
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(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Tucked between Santa Monica Boulevard and Paramount Studios lies Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where some of the industry’s most revered find their final resting place. Artists including Judy Garland, the Ramones’ Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone, Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, composer Nelson Riddle and Mel Blanc are all buried at the site, founded in 1899.
Its peaceful block of greenery, where peacocks roam freely and a breeze catches on the man-made lake, can be a relaxing oasis for tourists, dedicated fans and locals alike. Between simple headstones, elaborate monuments — some of which resemble pyramids and pantheons — and fan-made tributes, the cemetery is one of a kind. Depending on the season, there are also outdoor movie screenings, concerts and art installations featured on the grounds.
Its peaceful block of greenery, where peacocks roam freely and a breeze catches on the man-made lake, can be a relaxing oasis for tourists, dedicated fans and locals alike. Between simple headstones, elaborate monuments — some of which resemble pyramids and pantheons — and fan-made tributes, the cemetery is one of a kind. Depending on the season, there are also outdoor movie screenings, concerts and art installations featured on the grounds.
The Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall
University Park Live Music Venue
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(Kevin Winter / Getty Images )
L.A. has an abundance of well-preserved live venues, but the Shrine has a deeper history than even most of those. Recently refreshed to more modern production standards by promoter Goldenvoice for its 100th anniversary, the still-gorgeous pair of desert-themed venues has hosted the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys; live albums by Ray Charles and the Grateful Dead and scenes from two “A Star Is Born” films. The lobby has tons of artifacts from decades of Shriners’ history, but the venues are still very much fixtures of L.A. music life, with cutting-edge folk, rock, hip-hop and electronic shows every week.
The Rainbow Bar & Grill
West Hollywood Live Music Venue
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(Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times)
Dine as the Hollywood Vampires once did.
The Rainbow Bar & Grill was the hangout spot for all of L.A.’s rock stars in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Right out the gate, the restaurant opened its doors in 1972 with a party for Elton John. Regulars often included Alice Cooper, Keith Moon, Micky Dolenz, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Harry Nilsson (who became known as the Hollywood Vampires). One of its most frequent customers was Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, who is said to have considered the place his second home. When Kilmister died in 2015, the bar commemorated him with an honorary statue and renamed the patio after him.
Inside the bar today, it maintains its rock-star feel, with red leather booths and dim lighting. The walls are adorned with ‘80s metal memorabilia, and on occasion, a band will be playing on its second floor. Serving up mozzarella sticks and appletinis, the quintessential dive bar is in the ideal location to stop by before or after a gig.
The Rainbow Bar & Grill was the hangout spot for all of L.A.’s rock stars in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Right out the gate, the restaurant opened its doors in 1972 with a party for Elton John. Regulars often included Alice Cooper, Keith Moon, Micky Dolenz, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and Harry Nilsson (who became known as the Hollywood Vampires). One of its most frequent customers was Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, who is said to have considered the place his second home. When Kilmister died in 2015, the bar commemorated him with an honorary statue and renamed the patio after him.
Inside the bar today, it maintains its rock-star feel, with red leather booths and dim lighting. The walls are adorned with ‘80s metal memorabilia, and on occasion, a band will be playing on its second floor. Serving up mozzarella sticks and appletinis, the quintessential dive bar is in the ideal location to stop by before or after a gig.
Hollywood Bowl Museum
Hollywood Hills Museum
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(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
A jewel box museum that’s worth a visit before a show or on a languid summer day while doing a self-guided tour of the Bowl and listening to the L.A. Phil rehearse. The Bowl is the region’s most beloved outdoor theater for good reason, and generations of artists have played some of the most important sets of their lives here. They’re documented in these exhibits with some fun history of the structure itself and its role in L.A. civic life. The first floor is under renovations until June 2026, but the second floor is still open for visitors.
New Temple Missionary Baptist Church
Broadway-Manchester Church
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(Mario Tama / Getty Images)
The holiest church of gospel history in L.A. This former movie theater was extensively remodeled by renowned Los Angeles architect Paul Revere Williams, but it’s most famous for hosting Aretha Franklin to record her 1972 album “Amazing Grace,” the best-selling gospel album widely considered one of the finest live performances in music history. A long-buried documentary of the same name finally got a wide release in 2018 to showcase the set in all its trembling power, and the site became a City Historic-Cultural Monument in 2019.
Pizza Show
Hawthorne Italian Restaurant
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(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
It wouldn’t be a Los Angeles music list without some mention of the Hawthorne-born-and-bred Beach Boys, who defined West Coast pop and pioneered the surf rock genre. Back when brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson were in high school, they’d frequent Pizza Show, a kitschy Italian eatery that has remained largely untouched since its heyday in the ‘50s and ‘60s. After Brian’s death in June 2025, the restaurant paid tribute by looking back to when the boys played their first gigs there. “We remember them as young guys full of talent and California spirit, bringing their music to life in our little corner of LA,” it wrote. “We’ll never forget those nights — and we’ll never forget Brian.”
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