Academy LA on Hollywood Boulevard is the Insomniac-affiliated EDM room with a Funktion-One rig, LED ceiling panels and two patios for the weekend dance crowd.
Tip: Open Friday and Saturday, sometimes Sunday afternoons in summer. General admission runs $20 to $50, holiday weekends climb past $100.
Address: 6021 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028
1720 in DTLA's Warehouse District is the 700-capacity former garment factory with an L'Acoustics rig running electronic, hip-hop and the LGBTQ Heav3n party monthly.
Tip: Tickets go through the venue site or Resident Advisor; Heav3n parties sell out fast, midweek bookings walk in.
Catch One on Pico, founded by Jewel Thais Williams in 1973, is the longest-running Black queer dance club in LA, now three dance floors over two stories.
Tip: Friday and Saturday cover varies by room. Designated LA Historic Cultural Monument 2024; check the calendar for legacy parties.
Break Room 86 hides behind a vending machine inside Koreatown's Line Hotel, with four karaoke suites, a dance floor and an 80s high school theme played straight.
Tip: Open Wednesday through Saturday 21:00 to 02:00. Reserve a karaoke suite for groups of 10 to 20 through Tock at least a week ahead.
Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood has booked rock in Los Angeles since 1964, when the Doors were the house band on Sunset.
Tip: Doors usually 19:30. All-ages most shows, standing-room floor. The corner of Sunset and Clark holds the line.
The Roxy Theatre on Sunset in West Hollywood has booked rock and indie since 1973 under Lou Adler and Elmer Valentine, a 500-capacity Los Angeles room.
Tip: All-ages, standing-room only mostly. Buy advance tickets through the venue site; door pickups can run a block.
Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood has run live music in Los Angeles since 1957; Elton John, Taylor and Waits all played early sets.
Tip: Two-room layout, balcony upstairs, floor downstairs. All-ages, doors at 20:00 most nights. Tickets through the venue site.