Top 4 Venues to see Local Bands

As a local musician and avid concertgoer, I have been inside of nearly every music venue in San Francisco. I have seen everything from small dive bars where your feet stick to the ground all the way up to giant arena shows where you get a better view of the video screen above the stage than of the band. Still, I find that I always have the best time when I see local bands in smaller venues around town – it is always a thrill to see bands who are hungry to make a name for themselves throw it all on the line in front of a c rowd that they haven’t necessarily won over. 

This article is about those San Francisco venues that usually house smaller to mid-level local bands, though most have hosted more than their share of touring acts. I tried my best to pick from clubs that have more of a “local” flavor: while places like The Fillmore or The Warfield will pack people in by getting the biggest touring bands, these venues fill up based on word of mouth and a common belief that if you go there any given night, you’re going to hear quality music. I could have just as easily expanded this list to ten or fifteen venues, but I really do believe that these four have set themselves apart from the rest.