Top 10 Los Angeles Music Venues
Los Angeles is the music capital of the country, if not the world. Every band, artist, and DJ plays LA without fail on their tours, many of them record in music studios here, and a good chunk of them even live here. When it comes to all the concerts the city of angels is blessed with, there are an endless amount of venues for artists to play at, from tiny clubs to mid-sized theaters to arenas and stadiums. Some have been around for decades and are now iconic landmarks of music history, and others have popped up in recent years. Some have even sadly been torn down (RIP House of Blues Sunset Strip) but the fact remains: there are not many cities in the world more equipped for live music than Los Angeles. After 12 years of living in this city, I’ve compiled a list of my 10 favorites below.
10. Hollywood Bowl
The one and only Hollywood Bowl. There were many years it wouldn’t have even made my top 10, but I’ve partially come around on it. The venue itself is iconic and beautiful, there’s no doubt about it. The problem has always been the general attendees of a Bowl show.
Let me dive in a little deeper. For 80% of the shows there, the majority of the crowd sits for most of the concert. The way I was raised, you stand at a concert unless you’re physically unable to. I think the sitting happens at the Bowl due to some folks coming to have a “Bowl experience” of a little picnic at your seat while watching live music rather than being a fan of whichever artist is playing that night. I don’t mind if someone prefers to sit, so long as they’re well aware others will be standing around them. But the Bowl is the only venue I’ve ever been to where I’ve been bullied for standing up on multiple occasions.
I’ve had people yell at me to sit repeatedly, I’ve had things thrown at me, and I even once had a security guard tell my friend and I he would have to move us to a different area because so many people were complaining about us standing (at a rock concert!). The artist at that particular show applauded those who were on their feet by the way, noting that it makes any musician more energized to play when people stand up and dance at shows.
All that said, I’ve learned how to avoid the negatives of the Bowl: sit in the last row of any section so nobody can tell you to sit down unless it’s a show you KNOW everyone will stand up for, and don’t sit too far back as the sound gets really low in the last couple of sections. Artists find the Bowl special, and it’s a gorgeous venue, so it is worth going to for the right show.
Capacity: 17,500
9. Echoplex / Echo
Echoplex
Such an epic one-two punch. The upstairs Echo is a small 350-person general admission venue with a bar on one side, while the downstairs Echoplex is bigger and grungier, feeling like a proper basement venue while being able to fit 780 people in it. Think shots, beers, and mosh pits. I love it.
Capacity: 780 (Echoplex), 350 (Echo)
8. BMO Stadium
This has become a more recent staple for large artists to play when they come through town. It’s a soccer stadium right next to USC that is the home to LAFC (Los Angeles Football Club) and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Angel City. I love this stadium, as it’s big but not too big, the sound tends to be good, and they typically have a large GA floor while two levels of seats wrap around the field/floor. blink-182, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and others have played here in recent years, while this year will host shows from the Foo Fighters, ODESZA, Korn, and more.
Capacity: 22,000
7. Shrine Expo Hall / Shrine Auditorium
Shrine Expo Hall w/ Chris Lake and Fisher for “Under Construction” in 2019
On USC’s campus sits the two-in-one Shrine Auditorium and Shrine Expo Hall. The Auditorium is a traditional indoor seated venue while the Expo Hall boasts a narrow yet lengthy GA floor with a second floor balcony wrapping fully around the room. It’s a perfect spot to catch your favorite DJ play a set. I admittedly don’t love the Expo Hall for live bands as the sound isn’t always great, but it’s top tier from vibe to sound to dancing space when it comes to electronic shows and I much prefer it to the Auditorium as a venue.
Capacity: 5,000 (Shrine Expo Hall), 6,300 (Shrine Auditorium)
6. Los Angeles State Historic Park
One of LA’s more underrated venues in the sense of only a handful of shows happen here each year. It’s mostly used these days for electronic acts - in recent years RÜFÜS DU SOL, ODESZA, Lane 8, Zedd, and more have hosted concerts at this beautiful outdoor park located near Chinatown. You have a stunning view of the city skyline and there’s plenty of space and grass which makes this an ideal venue to catch a large general admission show.
Capacity: 15,000-19,000
5. Troubadour
Another legendary rock club, hosting countless bands and icons over the years, famously including Elton John’s first ever American show. It has a proper balcony hanging over the tiny GA floor, and the band enters the stage from a set of stairs leading down to the stage from the green room. There’s a bar room downstairs, a bar upstairs, and a bar at the back of the floor. Another LA classic.
Capacity: 500
4. The Greek Theatre
The best outdoor venue in LA. Yes, Hollywood Bowl, you heard right. The Greek is a more compact and intimate version of the Bowl with large trees and Griffith Park surrounding it. It also tends to boast much more of a traditional concert crowd (opposed to folks just going to the Bowl for the experience) and you’ll have a great view no matter where you’re seated. Bonus points if you’re able to snag pit tickets as it’s incredibly tiny yet never oversold so you’ll comfortably be 5-10 feet from the stage if you’re in it.
Capacity: 5,900
3. Hollywood Palladium
Everything you want out of a mid-sized indoor venue. Open GA floor, balconies on the sides, high ceilings, and every band under the sun has played here at some point in their career.
Capacity: 4,000
2. The Roxy Theatre
The legendary rock club on the Sunset Strip has hosted so many iconic performances since it opened in 1973 that I can’t even begin to name even a fraction of them. What I do know is that it still retains its small rock club charm all these years later - there’s nowhere I’d rather see a famous band play a secret show or catch an up and comer before they break big. It’s small, sweaty, and the layout is perfect with the floor in front of the stage, then a few steps up to the bar on one side and a few steps up to the VIP area on the other side with a small merch window off the right side of the stage. Long live The Roxy.
Capacity: 500
1. The Kia Forum
This is the gold standard when it comes to arenas and my favorite venue in Los Angeles. Not only is there no better arena to see a show in America (yes, I’m looking at you MSG), but The Forum feels intimate and grand at the same time. It’s one of the few arenas where I mean it when I say there’s not a bad seat in the house. You can be a few rows from the very top of the upper levels and your view still isn’t bad or too far away.. The sound is amazing throughout, and the concessions/merch/bathroom lines always move pretty quickly. They also never oversell the floor when it’s general admission, which makes for a very enjoyable experience compared to lots of other venues. Get to a show at the Forum as soon as you can!
Capacity: 17,505
Honorable Mentions: The Fonda Theatre (1,200), The United Theater on Broadway (1,600), The Hotel Cafe (200 - main stage, 85 - second stage), Ford Amphitheater (1,200), The Wiltern (2,300), Sound Nightclub (500-650), Viper Room (250)