Must-see entertainment in California

  • Colourful neon signs outside the Castro Theater at night.

    Castro Theatre

    San Francisco

    Every night at the Castro, crowds roar as the mighty organ rises – and no, that's not a euphemism. Showtime at this 1922 art deco movie palace is heralded…

  • SFJAZZ Center

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    Jazz legends and singular talents from Argentina to Yemen are showcased at North America's newest, largest jazz center. Hear fresh takes on classic jazz…

  • Noise

    San Francisco

    The more San Francisco changes, the more this incredible indie record store, art gallery and performance space stays the same. Vinyl enthusiasts will want…

  • Booksmith

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    Throw a stone in SF and you'll probably hit a writer (ouch) or reader (ouch again) headed to/from Booksmith. Literary figures organize Booksmith book…

  • Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    The landmark 1932 New Mission cinema, now restored to its original Timothy Pfleuger–designed art deco glory, has a new mission: to upgrade dinner-and-a…

  • San Francisco Mime Troupe

    San Francisco

    Uproarious, original political satire since 1961, combining musical theater, Japanese kabuki, slapstick and Italian commedia dell'arte. Performances are…

  • Fox Theater

    Oakland

    A phoenix arisen from the urban ashes, this restored 1928 art deco stunner adds dazzle and neon lights to Telegraph Ave, where it's a cornerstone of the…

  • ODC Theater

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    For 45 years ODC has been redefining dance with risky, raw performances and the sheer joy of movement. ODC's season runs from September to December, but…

  • Independent

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    Bragging rights are earned with breakthrough shows at the small but mighty Independent, featuring indie dreamers (Magnetic Fields, Death Cab for Cutie),…

  • Brava Theater

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Brava's been producing women-run theater for 30-plus years, hosting acts from comedian Sandra Bernhard to V-day monologist Eve Ensler, and it's the nation…

  • Beach Blanket Babylon

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Snow White searches for Prince Charming in San Francisco: what could possibly go wrong? This Disney-spoof musical-comedy cabaret has been running since…

  • Swedish American Hall & Cafe du Nord

    San Francisco

    The Castro was once known as Little Scandinavia after the sailors who docked here – and the secret to their community spirit was the speakeasy running in…

  • Bottom of the Hill

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    The bottom of Potrero Hill tops the list for rocking with punk legends the Avengers, Pansy Division and Nerf Herder, and newcomers worth checking out for…

  • McCloud Dance Country

    Mt Shasta Region

    Dust it up on the 5000-sq-ft maple dance floor in the 1906 Broadway Ballroom. Square dancing, round dancing, ballroom dancing – they do it all. Multiday…

  • Gateway Arch, Gas lamp Quarter, San Diego, California. (Photo by: Education Images/Citizens of the Planet/UIG via Getty Images)

    Shout House

    San Diego

    Good, clean fun at this cavernous Gaslamp bar with dueling pianos. Talented players have an amazing repertoire, including classics, rock and more. We once…

  • The Belly Up Tavern is one of the most iconic live music venues in San Diego
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    Belly Up

    San Diego

    Live venue hosting a range of acts, local and international. Previous artists have included Ben Harper, BB King and Jimmy Cliff. Expect everything from…

  • Lost Church

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Enter the unmarked door on a quiet street and proceed upstairs to an intimate theater that has the distinct air of a vampire's parlor – albeit one with…

  • Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum

    Malibu & Pacific Palisades

    Actor Will Geer (TV’s Grandpa Walton) founded this beloved open-air theater as a refuge for blacklisted actors like himself during the McCarthy years. The…

  • Chapel

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Musical prayers are answered in a 1914 California arts-and-crafts landmark with heavenly acoustics. The 40ft roof is regularly raised by shows by New…

  • Roxie Cinema

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    This vintage 1909 cinema is a neighborhood nonprofit with an international reputation for distributing documentaries and showing controversial films…

  • Los Angeles Rams

    Los Angeles

    Professional football returns to LA after a 22-year hiatus. The Rams were the first NFL team in Southern California, starting in 1946, but unbelievably…

  • Plough & Stars

    San Francisco

    Bands who sell out shows from Ireland to Appalachia and headline SF's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival jam here on weeknights, taking breaks to clink…

  • Cobb's Comedy Club

    North Beach & Chinatown

    There's no room to be shy at Cobb's, where bumper-to-bumper shared tables make the audience cozy – and vulnerable. The venue is known for launching local…

  • Bimbo's 365 Club

    North Beach & Chinatown

    Get your kicks at this 1931 speakeasy with stiff drinks, bawdy vintage bar murals, parquet dance floors for high-stepping like Rita Hayworth (she was in…

  • Club Deluxe

    The Haight & Hayes Valley

    Blame it on the bossa nova or the ginned-up Deluxe Spa Collins – you'll be swinging before the night is through. Nightly jazz combos bring the zoot suits…

  • Marsh

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Choose your seat wisely: you may spend the evening on the edge of it. One-acts and monologues here involve the audience in the creative process, from…

  • Brick & Mortar

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Some bands are too outlandish for regular radio – to hear them, you need San Francisco's Brick & Mortar. The bill here has featured national acts from…

  • Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles

    Los Angeles

    If you're expecting a stand-and-sing concert, you've got another thing coming. The 275-member GMCLA puts on full-on shows with singing, dancing, costumes…

  • Magic Theatre

    The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers

    The Magic is known for taking risks and staging provocative plays by both up-and-coming and seasoned playwrights. If you're interested in seeing new…

  • DEL MAR, CA - July 16, 2006:  Horse gallops in front of the Del Mar Race Track grandstand. July 16, 2006 (Photo by Horsephotos /Getty Images)

    Del Mar Racetrack & Fairgrounds

    San Diego

    Del Mar’s biggest draw during summer months was founded in 1937 by a prestigious group which included Bing Crosby. It’s worth trying to brave the crowds…

  • APRIL 28, 2017: Exterior of the Old Globe Theatre at the Simon Edison Centre for the Performing Arts in Balboa Park.
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    Old Globe Theaters

    San Diego

    Balboa Park’s Old Globe Theater dates from the 1935 Exposition, and in the 1970s the main stage was rebuilt à la 17th-century Globe in England, where…

  • San Diego, California: Horizontal shot of the Balboa theatre façade and retro sign with some passers-by, 4th Ave, Gaslamp Quarter. .Balboa Theatre is a historic vaudeville/movie theatre built in downtown San Diego in 1924
San Diego, California: Horizontal shot of the Balboa theatre façade and retro sign with some passers-by, 4th Ave, Gaslamp Quarter. .Balboa Theatre is a historic vaudeville/movie theatre built in downtown San Diego in 1924
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    Balboa Theatre

    San Diego

    This elegant 1924 building began life as a vaudeville and movie theater, then presented Mexican films to a growing Latino audience in the 1930s before…

  • Yoshi's

    Oakland

    Yoshi’s has a solid jazz calendar, with talent from around the world passing through on a near-nightly basis. It’s also a Japanese restaurant, so if you…

  • San Diego, California: Horizontal view of a woman pushing a shopping cart while crosses the 5th Ave in front of the House of Blues, Downtown
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    House of Blues

    San Diego

    This Gaslamp venue presents an eclectic lineup of concerts (some free), a good-mood-inducing Sunday Gospel brunch, raucous party nights and other events…

  • San Francisco 49ers

    San Francisco

    The 49ers were the National Football League's dream team from 1981–94, claiming five Superbowl championships. But after decades of chilly, fumbled games…

  • Medieval Times

    Orange County

    Hear ye, hear ye! All those who have sired knights-to-be and future princesses, gather ye clans and proceed forthwith for an evening-long medieval feast…

  • Yosemite Theater

    Yosemite National Park

    Behind the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, this theater screens two films: Ken Burns’ Yosemite: A Gathering of Spirit, a celebration of the Yosemite Grant…

  • Berkeley Playhouse

    Berkeley

    This lively little theater runs plenty of musicals, including a fair number of shows (Pippin, The Wizard of Oz, and The Little Mermaid, for example) that…

  • Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center

    Los Angeles

    Grammy-nominated jazz singer and educator Barbara Morrison has sung with the likes of Ray Charles and Dizzy Gillespie and at jazz festivals worldwide, but…

  • Joe Goode Performance Group

    The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill

    Combining performance art and dance, maverick Joe Goode's troupe tours internationally – but it all begins in the Mission's Joe Goode Annex, where you can…

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