Cannabis and live music go together like tender carne asada, smoky coals of mesquite, and an icy brew. But despite the long-established relationship between herb and tunes, there remain plenty of corporate-owned or managed concert venues where weed is unwelcome.
In 2025, in California, it’s always a shock to be told to stow your one-hitter away. Or worse, get your stash of single rolls swiped by security before you get inside.
That’s why L.A. TACO and the Southern California cannabis kings and queens of Don Perico put our heads together and compiled a list of independent and public-facing, 4/20-friendly concert venues that host mostly all-ages shows at affordable prices. Whether you’re into backyard hardcore punk bands, old-school rap, experimental jazz, or psychedelic rock, we’ve got you covered. Plus, we tend to think these are places where smoking is permitted.
If not officially, then at least with a wink and a smile.
Lodge Room ~ Highland Park
Housed in a more than 100-year-old building that was once a Masonic lodge in Highland Park, Lodge Room is one of L.A.’s last remaining small independent concert venues. As it’s not under the thumb of the likes of Live Nation, you’ll find a diverse range of artists performing here, from local synth-punk rocker N8NOFACE to the experimental jazz ensemble The Sun Ra Arkestra, underground rap stars such as Boldy James, and random one-night performances from seasoned vets like Jack White and Weezer. And a hardcore show every once in a while for good measure.
The historic charm of The Lodge Room’s interior—the wood-panelled walls, that towering five-point star lit up by five chandeliers in the middle of the ceiling, the ancient Anaglypta wallpaper art on stage—mixed with its state-of-the-art sound system, can make for a trippy concert-going experience. Bonus, Checker Hall, a Mediterranean-inspired bistro overlooking Figueroa Street, is next door, and Lodge Room is only a block away from the Metro L line (formerly the Gold line). Though they also have some great non-alcoholic beer options on deck.
104 N. Ave. 56 2nd floor Los Angeles, CA 90042
Hollywood Bowl ~ Hollywood
As the Hollywood Bowl is technically on County-owned property, you’re not actually allowed to smoke weed there. But laws have always stood in the way of stoners getting high, much as we’ve always found a way around them. At the Hollywood Bowl, it’s pretty easy to get around the official “no smoking weed” rule. Security tends to look the other way when it comes to us sparking up our Don Perico blue limonene sativa joints, but in general, the further away you are from the stage the easier we find will to blaze (blame those stuffy box seats folks).
It also depends on who’s performing. Weed smoking is more tolerated during a Wu-Tang show than, say, one of Dudamel’s Hollywood Bowl runs.
Being able to bring a cooler full of snacks, wine, and beer, AND light one up, adds to the party-like atmosphere that makes the Hollywood Bowl unique and one of the best places to watch a live performance in all of L.A.
2301 Highland Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90068
Teragram Ballroom ~ Westlake
Teragram Ballroom is another one of L.A.’s last remaining small independent music venues. The kind that feel much like the same small bars and clubs where local bands and artists first get their start, before the large corporations bought up most of the places to listen to live music around town. At this former early 20th-century silent theater, co-owned by Michael Swier—the legendary NYC club owner behind the Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge in the Lower East Side—you’ll find bands playing here that you might not otherwise be able to see in L.A., such as WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) and The Brian Jonestown Massacre.
There’s also a restaurant next door, serving a simple menu of cheeseburgers, fries, street tacos, and mozzarella sticks, in case you get the munchies mid-performance (the restaurant is open during shows). And you know what goes well with mozzarella sticks, right? Yeah, Don Perico’s Purple Push Pop pre-rolls. Good guess.
1234 W. 7th St. Los Angeles, CA 90017
1st Street Pool & Billiard
This Latino-owned dive bar-turned-DIY punk space must be protected at all costs. It's exactly what you envision when you think of what a punk venue would look like inside: painted all black and surprisingly spacious with that unique smell of walls that have absorbed decades of cigarette smoke and floors seeped with gallons of alcohol, except with a recently revamped backline for drums, new HVAC system, and an impressive taplist with both Negra Modelo and homebrew on the menu for as cheap as it could be sold in Los Angeles.
It's the kind of space where if you are low on herb or smoke through it too quickly, someone next to you will happily add you to the rotation without even you asking. If you've been to other run-down venues around the world that embrace punk rock, it has that same vibe. At least that's what all the punk, hardcore, power-pop, goth-punk, and any other kind of alternative type of bands that are now stopping here to play say. "It's just like the punk squat back home," said the frontman of Roma rock n' roll group, Giuda, at their show last weekend. - Javier Cabral
1906 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90033
Levitt Pavilion
Taking the B Line to meet up with a friend at MacArthur Park to catch a homegrown skacore band from South-Central is one of the greatest alternative stoner pastimes during the summer. The lineups every year have something for everyone, and while it is family friendly, the closer you are to the stage, the venue has plenty of corners in the distance to spark one up and brown-bag it. Of course, be mindful and courteous, but from our experience, the shows that we tend to go to have more mosh pits than small children.
2230 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90057
