Whisky a Go Go is a legendary rock club and live music venue on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California. Opened in January 1964, it became one of the most important clubs in American rock history and helped define the Sunset Strip as a centre for live music, nightlife and rock culture.
The venue played a major role in the Los Angeles rock scene during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The Doors were the house band at Whisky a Go Go in 1966, while the stage was also used by artists such as Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Van Halen, Mötley Crüe and Guns N’ Roses. In the early 1980s, the club became closely tied to the Sunset Strip glam metal era, with Mötley Crüe among the bands that built their early reputation there.
Whisky a Go Go also has an important place in Metallica history. In 1982, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich saw Cliff Burton perform there with Trauma, an encounter that led to Burton being recruited into Metallica. Mötley Crüe’s history at the club also continued beyond their early rise. Much of the “Kickstart My Heart” video was filmed during a 1989 Whisky a Go Go show, where the marquee read “Motley Crue Dr. Feelgood Tour Starts Here”. In the video, the band arrive outside the venue by limousine, with Nikki Sixx saying “This is it. Back home, sweet home”, before Vince Neil adds “This is where it all began”.
The venue has also been used for intimate and semi-secret shows under alternative names. Mötley Crüe played there in 1989 under the name The Foreskins before the “Dr. Feelgood” tour, while Bruce Dickinson played two Whisky shows in 2024 with his solo band billed as House Band of Hell. Green Day, Van Halen and Korn have also been associated with surprise or small-club appearances at the Whisky.
Across its history, Whisky a Go Go has hosted a long list of hard rock, punk and metal acts, including Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Guns N’ Roses, Mötley Crüe, Van Halen, W.A.S.P., Ratt, Poison, System of a Down and Avenged Sevenfold. Its small standing-room club format remains part of the appeal, placing new bands and major names on the same historic Sunset Strip stage.
ADDRESS:
8901 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069, USA
Back to West Hollywood.