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1. Music Center - Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County
- Tour L.A.'s premier stages
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- Live Music
- Downtown/Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown
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2. John Anson Ford Theatre
- Summer night family events
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- Venues
- Hollywood/West Hollywood
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3. The Wiltern
- Movie Palace Turned Concert Venue
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- Theater
- Downtown/Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown
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4. El Rey Theatre
- Pop Music on the Miracle Mile
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- Theater
- Miracle Mile/Fairfax District
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5. Hollywood Palladium
- A Hollywood institution
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- Live Music
- Hollywood/West Hollywood
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6. Gibson Amphitheatre
- Big name concerts
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- Live Music
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7. The Kibitz Room
- A musicians' hangout
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- Live Music
- Miracle Mile/Fairfax District
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8. The Smell
- Famous underground rock locale
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- Live Music
- Downtown/Mid-Wilshire/Koreatown
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9. Babe's & Ricky's Inn
- It's a blues thing
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- Live Music
- LAX/Inglewood
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10. Hotel Cafe (The)
- Drinks and music
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- Live Music
- Hollywood/West Hollywood
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The Best of NileGuide
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Los Angeles is full of live music venues so take your pick! A special bonus here in the balmy Southland are the all the open concert halls. . . who needs stuffy interiors when its 72 degrees and sunny!
The line-up of open air venues includes some very historic spots. We start with the famous Hollywood Bowl, a lovely place that opened in 1922 in a natural amphitheater called Daisy Dell (it has been renovated a number of times in an effort to improve the sound and the increase the capacity). Other open-air venues include the Greek Theatre (opened in 1929, seats 5,700) and the John Anson Ford Theater (opened in 1920 for "The Pilgrimage Play," seats 1421). Both these latter amphitheaters are owned by the City of Los Angeles.
Another common type of live music venue found here in Los Angeles is the converted movie palace. The Wiltern is a great example; this lovely blue-green terra-cotta clad Art Deco movie theater opened in 1931; it is now a large music venue that can seat between 1850-2300 people. El Rey is another of these converted cinemas on much smaller scale (it seats 700); The Mayan is a downtown nightclub of similar ilk.
The downtown Music Center deserves special mention because this 11 acre site is such a cultural institution, home to the Ahmanson Theater, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Mark Taper Forum, and the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
As a major entertainment center (and a massively huge city!) Los Angeles holds many more live music options! Check out the Top 10: Nightclubs if that type of music venue is more your style.
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