OPEN BARS (3)
Helgi's
🇬🇧London, United Kingdom
A self-described occult rock bar, considered a heavy metal bar by any other name. A true labour of love reflecting owners' tastes for 60s/70s heavy rock, psychedelia, and the occult & horror. Features vibrant psychedelic rock decorations, occult decor, good vibes, and heavy music. Known for its welcoming, diverse crowd. Described as "Hackney's heaviest late-night hotspot".
The Roundhouse
🇬🇧London, United Kingdom
Built in 1847 as a turntable engine shed for the London & North Western Railway, The Roundhouse is a masterpiece of Victorian industrial architecture. After falling into disuse, it was repurposed as an arts venue in 1964. Its circular structure and massive scale made it perfect for the immersive, experimental "happenings" of the 1960s counterculture.
Whisky a Go Go
🇺🇸Los Angeles, United States
The cornerstone of the Los Angeles rock scene and the first live music venue inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Founded by Elmer Valentine, Mario Maglieri, and Phil Tanzini on January 16, 1964, the club was modeled after the Parisian discotheque of the same name. Upon opening with Johnny Rivers as headliner, the club introduced a female DJ who played records from a suspended glass cage and began dancing—birthing the "go-go dancer" phenomenon that became a staple of 60s nightlife globally.
CLOSED BARS (7)
Avalon Ballroom
🇺🇸San Francisco, United States
Fillmore East
🇺🇸New York, United States
If CBGB was the gutter from which punk emerged, the Fillmore East was the cathedral where rock ascended to high art. Opened by promoter Bill Graham on March 8, 1968, at 105 Second Avenue in the East Village, the venue was the East Coast companion to Graham's San Francisco operations. The venue, formerly the Commodore Theater (a 1920s Yiddish theater), retained its ornate architecture, providing a dramatic proscenium setting for performances. Graham revolutionized the concert industry here, treating rock musicians as serious artists and introducing the famous "triple bill" format.
The Trauma
🇺🇸Philadelphia, United States
The Trauma was Philadelphia's original psychedelic rock club, hosting pioneers like The Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention, and local heroes Mandrake Memorial. Its legendary upstairs stage and early light shows made it a revolutionary spot in the city's music history.
Avalon Ballroom
🇺🇸San Francisco, United States
Central to the SF psychedelic rock scene in the 1960s. Hosted The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.
Grande Ballroom
🇺🇸Detroit, United States
The Grande Ballroom is a legendary rock 'n' roll mecca and birthplace of Detroit's hard rock and punk scenes. It became a hub for counterculture in the 1960s and was home to seminal bands like MC5 and The Stooges.
The Marquee Club
🇬🇧London, United Kingdom
The British equivalent of the Fillmore—a space that did not just host bands but defined entire eras of music. Originally opened in 1958 as a jazz club at 165 Oxford Street, its move to 90 Wardour Street in Soho in 1964 placed it at the physical and cultural center of "Swinging London." The Marquee is where British rock was forged, from the R&B boom through psychedelia to punk and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.
Fillmore West
🇺🇸San Francisco, United States
Bill Graham's West Coast flagship from 1968 to 1971. Originally the Carousel Ballroom, it was briefly operated by a collective of local bands—including the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane—as a "musical laboratory" and social experiment before Graham took over. This venue was the physical embodiment of the San Francisco Sound.