Sevilla Nightclub in the basement of Cafe Sevilla on Fifth Avenue has run Latin nights in San Diego's Gaslamp since 1987, with salsa and bachata lessons before the dance floor opens.
Tip: Dance lessons start 21:00 most nights, the floor opens 22:00. Cover varies by night; Latin Saturdays sell out fast.
Address: 353 Fifth Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101
Bang SD on Fifth Avenue, formerly Bang Bang on Market, is the Gaslamp Quarter sushi-and-club hybrid in San Diego with a Ryan Gosling bathroom shrine and weekend DJ sets.
Tip: Kitchen runs late; the dance floor opens 22:00 Friday and Saturday. Reserve tables through the venue site for bottle service.
Bang SD on Fifth Avenue, formerly Bang Bang on Market, is the Gaslamp Quarter sushi-and-club hybrid in San Diego with a Ryan Gosling bathroom shrine and weekend DJ sets.
Tip: Kitchen runs late; the dance floor opens 22:00 Friday and Saturday. Reserve tables through the venue site for bottle service.
The Casbah on Kettner Boulevard, founded by Tim Mays in 1989, is the 200-capacity San Diego punk and indie room that booked Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and the Strokes on the way up.
Tip: Doors usually 20:30, some all-ages shows. Moved from the original 75-capacity room two blocks south in 1994; the current Kettner space holds 200.
Music Box on India Street in San Diego's Little Italy is the 13,000 square foot tri-level concert hall, opened 2015 in the former Anthology room, booking national touring acts.
Tip: Tickets through the venue site or Eventbrite. The mezzanine has the cleanest sight lines; floor general admission fills early on big shows.
Soda Bar on El Cajon Boulevard is the 200-capacity San Diego indie and rock room booking touring bands six nights a week along the City Heights and North Park border.
Tip: All shows are 21+, no exceptions. Doors typically 19:30; tickets through the venue site. Cash bar, kitchen at the back.
Belly Up Tavern on Cedros Avenue in Solana Beach has booked rock, reggae, jazz and indie in San Diego's North County since 1974, a 600-capacity room in a converted quonset hut.
Tip: All-ages most nights. Doors 19:00 or 20:00 depending on the bill. Half-hour drive from downtown; the Coaster commuter rail stops a block away.
The Observatory North Park on University Avenue is the restored 1929 North Park Theatre, a 1,100-capacity Live Nation room booking touring rock, hip-hop and indie in San Diego.
Tip: General admission floor, balcony reserved seating. Doors 19:00 most shows. West Coast Tavern on the corner is the pre-show kitchen.