Los Angeles from Santa Ana Freeway; 2005

As well as being one of the most important cities in the world in the film industry,

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, is also one of the most important places in the world for the recorded music industry. Many landmarks in Los Angeles – such as

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...

, whose

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

resembles a stack of albums – are representative of this.

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

long occupied a studio off

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

built by

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

(who wrote the music for his own films). The

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

built a major recording business in addition to their film business.

History

20th century

1930s and 1940s

During the 1930s and 1940s Los Angeles had a vibrant

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

musical community even when it was relatively small: a numund Central Avenue, and the community produced a number of great talents, including

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

Buddy Collette William Marcel "Buddy" Collette (August 6, 1921 – September 19, 2010) was an American jazz flutist, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He was a founding member of the Chico Hamilton Quintet. Early life William Marcel Collette was born in L ...

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

, but in the 1950s it disappeared.

1950s

In the 1950s

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...

was a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

pioneer and a forefather of the

Chicano rock Chicano rock is rock music performed by Mexican American (Chicano) groups or music with themes derived from Chicano culture. Chicano Rock, to a great extent, does not refer to any single style or approach. Some of these groups do not sing in Span ...

movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died in a plane crash.

1960s

In the 1960s the

Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...

became a breeding ground for bands like

The Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield was a rock band formed in Los Angeles by Canadian musicians Neil Young, Bruce Palmer and Dewey Martin and American musicians Stephen Stills and Richie Furay. The group, widely known for the song "For What It's Worth", relea ...

Spirit (band) Spirit was an American rock band founded in 1967 and based in Los Angeles. Their most commercially successful single in the United States was "I Got a Line on You". They were also known for their albums, including their self-titled debut album ...

Love (band) Love is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by frontman and primary songwriter Arthur Lee, they were one of the first racially diverse American rock bands. Their sound incorporated an eclectic range of styles including gara ...

and

The Doors The Doors were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential ro ...

. The

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

were founded in nearby

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

1970s

In the 1970s, bands such as Toto were some of the most 'heard' bands on radio; as most of the musicians in the band were well known

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

s. There was a sizable punk rock movement in the 1970s which spawned the hardcore punk movement featuring bands like X, Black Flag and Wasted Youth. Los Angeles' original late 1970s punk scene received less press attention than their counterparts in New York or London, but it included cult bands

the Screamers The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary '' Punk: Attitude'' ( ...

, the Germs,

the Weirdos The Weirdos are an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California. They formed in 1975, split-up in 1981, re-grouped in 1986 and have remained semi-active ever since. Critic Mark Deming calls them "quite simply, one of the best and bright ...

the Dils The Dils were an American punk rock band formed 1976 and active until 1980, originally from Carlsbad, California, and fronted by the brothers Chip Kinman and Tony Kinman. They appeared as the second act in the "battle of the bands" sequence in ...

, the Bags,

45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler in ...

(founded by

Paul B. Cutler Paul B. Cutler is an American producer and guitarist, best known for his work with the Dream Syndicate and 45 Grave. Career Cutler's first band, the Consumers, were the first punk rock band from Phoenix, Arizona. In 1979, he founded the punk an ...

Nervous Gender Nervous Gender is an American punk rock electronic band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa. Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, along with The Scr ...

, and X. There was also an

East LA East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical pur ...

music scene that spawned bands like

Los Lobos Los Lobos (, Spanish for "the Wolves") are an American rock band from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, ...

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

The Plugz The Plugz (also known as "Los Plugz") were a Latino punk band from Los Angeles that formed in 1977 and disbanded in 1984. They and The Zeros were among the first Latino punk bands, although several garage rock bands, such as Thee Midniters an ...

, and

Los Illegals Los Illegals is an American Chicano punk band from Los Angeles. Formed in 1979 artist/muralist Willie Herrón (keyboards, vocals), civil rights activist Jesus "Xiuy" Velo (bass), drummer Bill Reyes, and guitarist brothers Manuel and Antonio "Tony ...

among many others.

1980s

In the 1980s, the

Paisley Underground Paisley Underground is a musical genre that originated in California. It was particularly popular in Los Angeles, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Paisley Underground bands incorporated psychedelia, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owin ...

movement was native to Los Angeles in

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. In

rap music Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, the seminal career of

N.W.A. N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

would later lead the development of

G-Funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

out of the combination of

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

and

gangsta rap Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappe ...

. Much internationally acclaimed

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

has come out of Los Angeles since the 1980s, including hard rockers

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. Credited with "restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene", Van Halen was known for its energetic live shows and for the virtuosity of its lead gu ...

from nearby

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

;

Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...

whose critically acclaimed debut

Appetite for Destruction ''Appetite for Destruction'' is the debut studio album by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It was released on July 21, 1987, by Geffen Records. The album was released to little mainstream attention in 1987. It was not until the following ...

is the best selling debut album in history;

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

/hair metal bands like

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...

and

Ratt Ratt is an American glam metal band formed in San Diego, California, in the 1970s, that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum, and multi-platinum by the RIAA. The group is bes ...

;

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

acts like

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and

Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...

. In the early '90s, many of the biggest

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...

bands such as

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

and

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea (musician), Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates element ...

hailed from the Los Angeles area.

1990s

In the mid-1990s, Los Angeles' contribution to

continued with acclaimed artists such as

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi music, lo-fi style, and became ...

NOFX NOFX () is an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1983. Vocalist/bassist Fat Mike, guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin are original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

Weezer Weezer is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1992. Since 2001, the band has consisted of Rivers Cuomo (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Scott Shriner (bass guitar, keyboards, backing v ...

and Sublime of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. At the end of the 1990s, the

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

was formed in

Agoura Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the ...

, and was named after Lincoln Park in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

, near their recording studio. In addition, the

and

G-funk G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the late 1980s. The genre is heavily influenced by 1970s psychedelic funk (P-funk) sound of artists such as Parliament-Funkadelic. Characte ...

of the solo careers of

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

Ice Cube An ice cube is a small piece of ice, which is typically rectangular as viewed from above and trapezoidal as viewed from the side. Ice cubes are products of mechanical refrigeration and are usually produced to cool beverages. They may be produc ...

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

, among related acts, flourished in this decade and reestablished Los Angeles (particularly the communities of

and

Compton Compton may refer to: Places Canada * Compton (electoral district), a former Quebec federal electoral district * Compton (provincial electoral district), a former Quebec provincial electoral district now part of Mégantic-Compton * Compton, Que ...

) as a center of African-American musical development and G-funk as one of hip-hop's major living styles. In the late 1990s,

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

artists such as

Eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

also rose to fame.

After 2000

In the new

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, the city retains its importance as a center of live rock music, rap, and of the music industry. After 2000, LA based

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

acts like Liars,

Health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and

No Age No Age is an American noise rock duo consisting of guitarist Randy Randall and drummer/vocalist Dean Allen Spunt. The band is based in Los Angeles, California, and was signed to Sub Pop records from 2008 to 2013. No Age's fourth studio album, ''S ...

became famous worldwide (mainly Europe and America) touring bands. The Game became one of the most prominent voices in modern hip-hop, rising to prominence internationally in part due to a

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

with

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

's famous rapper

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

. The

L.A. Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

indie scene currently rides the wave through neighborhoods like Hollywood, Koreatown, Los Feliz, Silverlake, and Echo Park, which have given rise to such bands as Weaving the Fate,

Moving Units Moving Units is an American dance-punk band from Los Angeles, California. History The band was formed in 2001 by Blake Miller (formerly of Spectacle) Johan Boegli and Chris Hathwell after Miller invited Boegli and Hathwell to jam songs from an ...

Rilo Kiley Rilo Kiley ( ) was an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1998, the band consisted of Jenny Lewis, Blake Sennett, Pierre de Reeder, and Dave Rock. The group released their debut album ''Take-Offs and Landings'' ...

, Earlimart,

Autolux Autolux is an American alternative rock band consisting of Eugene Goreshter (vocals, bass), Greg Edwards (vocals, guitar, piano) and Carla Azar (drums, vocals). The trio formed in 2001 and have released three full-length albums, ''Future Perfect' ...

Scarling. Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal. Name The band's name comes from a fictional word created by singer/fine artist Jessicka ...

Giant Drag Giant Drag is an American indie rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2003 by singer and guitarist Annie Hardy and drummer and keyboardist Micah Calabrese. After releasing their debut EP, '' Lemona'' in 2004, the band released their de ...

, Icebird,

Best Coast Best Coast is an American rock duo formed in Los Angeles, California in 2009. The band consists of songwriter, guitarist and vocalist Bethany Cosentino and guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno. Cosentino, a former child actress, began w ...

, and

Local Natives Local Natives is an American indie rock band based in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. The band consists of Taylor Rice (vocals, guitar), Kelcey Ayer (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Ryan Hahn (guitar, backing vocals), Matt Frazier (drums) and Nik Ewing (ba ...

. The venue

The Smell The Smell is an all-ages, alcohol and drug-free, punk rock and experimental music venue in Downtown Los Angeles, California. The Smell, notable for its DIY ethic, is home to many of the area's avant-garde performers and artists. The venue is m ...

became a prominent spot after 2000 where many new avant garde indie rock acts like

Abe Vigoda Abraham Charles Vigoda (February 24, 1921 – January 26, 2016) was an American actor known for his portrayals of Salvatore Tessio in ''The Godfather'' (1972) and Phil Fish in both ''Barney Miller'' (1975–1977, 1982) and ''Fish'' (1977–1978 ...

, Anavan,

Ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

BARR Barr may refer to: Places * Barr (placename element), element of place names meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier' * Barr, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Barr Building (Washington, DC), listed on the US National Register of Historic Places ...

Foot Village Foot Village is a tribal noise rock band based in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of members Brian Miller, Grace Lee, Gregory Witscher, and Josh Taylor. The band has been described as a "drum-n-shout assembly". In a review of their 200 ...

Carla Bozulich Carla Ragin Bozulich (born December 24, 1965) is an American musician based in Los Angeles, known as the lead singer, lyricist and founder of The Geraldine Fibbers and Evangelista as well as a founding member of Ethyl Meatplow and Scarnella. The ...

Captain Ahab Captain Ahab is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in Herman Melville's ''Moby-Dick'' (1851). He is the monomaniacal captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod''. On a previous voyage, the white whale Moby Dick bit off Ahab's leg, ...

David Scott Stone David Scott Stone (sometimes referred to as Sir DSS and Mr. David Ascott Stone) is an American musician who has recorded and toured with artists like The Melvins, Unwound, Fantômas, The Locust, Jello Biafra, Keiji Haino, Mike Patton, Adam Jones ...

, Laco$te,

Lavender Diamond Lavender Diamond is an American, Los Angeles-based band, fronted by singer Becky Stark. History While living in Providence, Rhode Island, Stark began performing as Lavender Diamond in a play that she and puppeteer Xander Marro wrote, created ...

The Mae Shi The Mae Shi was an experimental rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. History The band was formed by Tim Byron and Ezra Buchla, who had known each other for years, having spent time growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Cla ...

Mika Miko Mika Miko was an American band formed in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. In 2004, they gained local popularity for their frenetic live performances. Featuring Victor Fandgore (Jennifer Clavin), Jet Blanca (Jenna Thornhill), Michelle Suarez, Jes ...

Nite Jewel Ramona Gonzalez (known professionally as Nite Jewel) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Biography Ramona Gonzalez began as Nite Jewel in 2008 as the result of her juggling music with undergraduate studies.

Mellowdrone Mellowdrone is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1999. Biography Mellowdrone originated as Jonathan Bates' solo project, but expanded to a full band with Tony DeMatteo (guitar and keyboards), Scott Ellis (drums) and Greg Griffi ...

Silver Daggers Silver Daggers are an American electropunk/noise rock band formed in 2003. Known for combining intense, atonal music with post-apocalyptic political ideas, they form part of the circle of musicians in close affiliation with The Smell. Discography ...

Thrones A throne is a seat of state for a potentate or dignitary. Throne or Thrones may also mean: People * Throne (surname) Arts and entertainment *The Throne (group), collaboration pseudonym for rappers Jay Z and Kanye West (as on Drake's "Pop Style") * ...

, and

Upsilon Acrux Upsilon Acrux is an American progressive rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1998. History Upsilon Acrux first appeared on record on a 1998 compilation entitled ''Trummerflora 2''. Soon after they contributed a song to a compilation entitled '' ...

started their careers. The

rap-rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...

group

Hollywood Undead Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. All of the band members use pseudonyms and previously wore their own unique mask, most of which were based on the common hockey goaltender design. The ...

represents one of the most prominent acts of the so-called budding scene music subgenre developing in Los Angeles out of the

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

. The rave scene and

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

have become extremely popular in Los Angeles in the late 2000s and 2010s. Particularly house music, dubstep and drum and bass, which have all developed very strong scenes in Los Angeles. The Electric Daisy Carnival festival which is an electronic dance music festival and had an attendance of over 185,000 people over a two-day weekend. Making it the largest dance music festival in North America and one of the largest in the world. Other festivals such as Together As One, Monster Massive, Nocturnal and Hard Fest have had attendances of 50,000+ to 125,000+, Which undoubtedly makes Los Angeles the rave capital of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. In the 2010s,

Tyga Michael Ray Nguyen-StevensonMicheal Ray Stevenson ...

was popular.

DJ Mustard Dijon Isaiah McFarlane (born June 5, 1990), known professionally as Mustard (also known as DJ Mustard), is an American record producer and beatmaker. He is a frequent collaborator of fellow California-bred artists YG and Ty Dolla Sign; among var ...

, YG and

Ty Dolla Sign Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He first gained major recognition in 2010 for his feature on Ameri ...

also emerged in the 2010s. In 2010,

Echo Park Rising In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the lis ...

emerged as an impromptu street fair celebrating the artists, musicians and businesses of the Echo Park neighborhood, creating an open environment for the enjoyment of live music, independent art, and local business. The festival hosts multiple official stages and activities throughout the weekend located on the main routes of Sunset Blvd, Glendale Blvd, Alvarado Avenue, Echo Park Avenue, as well as informal shows at local venues and establishments. It has since been named Best Music Festival by

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

. Echo Park Rising is presented by the Echo Park Chamber of Commerce and programming is curated by

Spaceland Presents Spaceland was an alternative rock/indie rock nightclub in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, that existed between 1995 and 2011. The club was formerly a popular disco to young locals called Dreams of LA. Spaceland's owner a ...

Los Angeles Women's Music Festival

The Los Angeles Women's Music Festival was a summer

music festival A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...

that featured exclusively female solo artists and female-led bands. The official theme of the festival was ''Females on Fire''. The event took place on Saturday, August 25, 2007. Los Angeles based female musicians Gayle Day, Miria (singer),

Gilli Moon Gilli Moon, is an Italian-born, Australian-raised, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, record producer. She is the co-founder and president of Songsalive!, a song writing organisation, and one of the co-producers of the Los Angeles Women's M ...

and Toni Koch, in partnership with Warrior Girl Music, SheJay, and Adventure Art Entertainment, produced the first women's music festival in Los Angeles. Inspired by

Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 ...

and held at

Woodley Park Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Northwest, Washington, DC. It is bounded on the north by Woodley Road and Klingle Road, on the east by the National Zoo and Rock Creek Park, on the south by Calvert Street, on the southwest by Cleveland Avenue, a ...

, home of WorldFest (LA), Los Angeles' largest Earth Day festival, the Los Angeles Women's Music Festival was an eco-music-fest featuring over 65 bands on 5 solar-powered stages, offering vegan, vegetarian and organic refreshments, and featuring pet adoptions, and was attended by over 2500 people. The Los Angeles Women's Music Festival also donated a percentage of proceeds to Los Angeles animal rescue groups. The festival was started in 2007 as an annual festival but was on hiatus during 2008 and was scheduled to return in 2009, although the latter event never materialized. As of 2015, it is on indefinite hiatus due to financial challenges. Some of the performers at the festival included: * Sophie B. Hawkins *

BETTY (band) Betty (stylized as BETTY) is an alternative rock group from New York City. Biography The band was formed in Washington D.C. around the scene of the 9:30 club. In 1989, the band relocated to New York City. The name of their first album, ''Hello ...

Patrice Pike Patrice Pike (born August 4, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Sita KC Patrice grew up in Dallas, Texas, playing ukulele and violin. When she was 15, she began attending the Booker T. Washington High School for the Perfor ...

SONiA Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

Disappear Fear Disappear Fear (stylized as ''disappear fear'') is an American indie pop/indie folk/Americana music, Americana/world beat band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987. Biography Disappear Fear is a songwriter, a band, a visual artist named Sonia ...

Klymaxx Klymaxx is an American all-female pop/ R&B band from Los Angeles, California. The band's classic lineup consisted of Bernadette Cooper, Lorena Porter Shelby, Cheryl Cooley, Robbin Grider, Lynn Malsby, and Joyce "Fenderella" Irby. History Klyma ...

Janet Robin Janet Robin (born 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, film and television composer, and guitar coach. Robin was named on the ''Top 50 Acoustic Guitarists Bonus List'' in '' Guitar Player '' in 2017. Early life Robin grew up in N ...

Los Abandoned Los Abandoned were an American alternative rock band from the Los Angeles, California area. The band's lyrics were in Spanish and English, or a combination of the two known as Spanglish. Their biggest hits were "Panic-oh!," "Van Nuys (es Very N ...

* Gayle Day *

* Miria (singer) * Kristy Hanson

Historic music venues

Within the city proper

Los Angeles Music Center The Music Center (officially named the Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County) is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. Located in downtown Los Angeles, The Music Center is composed of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion ...

Los Angeles Music Center
Retrieved on September 9, 2008 *

The Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018. The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...

* The Greek Theater *

The Wiltern The Pellissier Building and adjoining Wiltern Theatre is a 12-story, Art Deco landmark at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center. Clad in a ...

Within the megacity

* The Majestic Ventura Theatre in Ventura, California

References

External links

Music Scene of LA
{{Los Angeles American music history

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

History

20th century

1930s and 1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

After 2000

Los Angeles Women's Music Festival

Historic music venues

Within the city proper

Within the megacity

See also

References

External links