Living in the suburbs of LA my whole life, I always had to make the hour (or two hours in traffic) trek to LA to see concerts. Now that I live in the heart of downtown LA, I am just a couple metro stops from the Staples Center, and a few more stops to the Pantages Theater or the Palladium or the Hollywood Bowl! I understand most people have no idea what any of those theaters are, but they are some of the most popular concert and play venues in LA. Having them so close makes me want to spend so much more money to go see all of my favorite bands, but in the end, for me, it’s totally worth it.
Only 3 metro stops away from USC, is the famous Staples Center, the home of the LA Lakers, LA Kings and concerts all year around. My favorite memory from the Staples Center was seeing Beyonce in concert for the first time for the Mrs. Carter World Tour. Many students come here to see the the Lakers or the Kings, but my main reason for going to the Staples Center will always be to see the concerts. The staples center features mainly the most popular performers such as Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and more!
Was this really just 6 hours ago…? #whyisitover#beyonceconcertpic.twitter.com/Pj2Y5KWhWo
— Betty Stearns (@StearnsBetty) July 2, 2013
This is a little farther away, and its home to the UCLA Bruins but, it’s another place in LA for popular performers such as Beyonce. I got to see her again this summer at the Rose Bowl where she sold out 90000 seats, twice!
Next time I’m at the rose bowl will be to see USC beat The bruins, but right now I’m here for queen Bey. pic.twitter.com/3vXlHfwkFh
— Betty Stearns (@StearnsBetty) August 3, 2014
Dancing in the rain on a summer night with beyonce. Couldn’t have asked for a better birthday present pic.twitter.com/QY8c0X86mg
— Betty Stearns (@StearnsBetty) August 3, 2014
3. The Pantages
For people that are more interested in plays and musicals, the Pantages is the perfect place for you! I loving coming here to see some of broadways greatest touring musicals. I’ve seen Book of Mormon, Lion King and Pippin at the Pantages and I just bought tickets to see Wicked! The Pantages theater features all of the popular tour broadways shows and for the most part, the cast is always the original cast!
Seeing the Lion King at the Pantages Theater!
A much smaller venue than the Staples Center, the Palladium features a lot more of the bands I like to listen to like Imagine Dragons, Passenger, 1975, the head and the heart and more! The Palladium is a lot cheaper venue than the Staples Center so I always look there first for concert tickets; however there is only standing room and its first come first serve, so it becomes an all day event when you have to stand in line.
Waiting in line to see Imagine Dragons at the Palladium!
My favorite concert venue in LA is the Hollywood Bowl! They have more popular bands that I love such as Mumford and Sons, Coldplay, and One Republic! They also feature classic music and symphonies and I highly recommend seeing some of those because the acoustics are amazing! Its a gorgeous outdoor venue, where you can see the concerts from newly refurbished (the old ones were very uncomfortable) benches or box seats and you can bring your own food in and have a pic nic! Their summer concert series always has an amazing line up and since there aren’t really seasons in LA, concerts go all the way until late fall!
Mumford and Sons as the Hollywood Bowl!
Over all LA has some really amazing concert venues (way more than I describe here) for any and all of your music needs. For people that grew up in small towns where you would have to drive really far to a big city to see any band, LA is a huge and overwhelming adjustment because almost every band or performer big or small will stop in some venue in LA you just have to keep track of it!
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