Looking west along the legendary Sunset Strip, the road stretches out like a journey into infinite possibilities, passing the storied sites where landmarks like Tower Records Sunset, SST Records, and Duke’s Diner once shaped the boulevard’s iconic legacy. Today, the Rainbow Bar and Grill and the iconic Whisky A Go-Go, thankfully, keep the heavy metal flame burning bright.
Three quick facts about the Rainbow…
Iconic bands Dokken and Guns N’ Roses both prominently featured the Rainbow in their iconic music videos.
The Sunset Strip haunt is so legendary that Richie Blackmore named his band Rainbow after the restaurant, which opened in 1972.
Joe DiMaggio took Marilyn Monroe out for their first date to Villa Nova, which stood where the Rainbow does today.
Faster Pussycat, Michael Monroe to help welcome in spring at Rainbow’s 53rd annual ‘Parking Lot’ party.
On April 13, the Sunset Strip will reverberate with an intensity unmatched by any other night when the iconic Rainbow Bar and Grill kicks off its 53rd Annual Party in the Parking Lot. A mainstay of Southern California’s rock ‘n’ roll culture, this legendary event is a haven for diehard metal enthusiasts who crave their music blistering and their beers ice-cold.
The party will once again feature an all-star roster of Sunset Strip stalwarts, with the notorious Faster Pussycat leading the charge. HanoiRocks frontman Michael Monroe will also take the stage after kicking off his first tour in nine years on April 2. The glam-rock icon shares the bill at the 53rd Annual Party in the Parking Lot with powerhouse support acts such as enduring Hollywood hard rockersOdin, legendary Southern rock band Black Oak Arkansas, which is on a special West Coast mini-tour, and red-hot L.A. rockersBlaze Francisco.
The excitement begins early, as throngs of metalheads, clad in vintage band tees and studded leather, begin to gather before the first note is struck. Expect a line stretching down the Sunset Strip, from the Rainbow all the way to the Whisky A Go-Go, long before the event officially kicks off at 1 p.m. But trust us, it’s worth the wait. Inside the event, which spills into the Rainbow and Roxy’s back parking lots, you’ll be transported back to 1985, when big hair and denim ruled the day. Amid the haze of ever-present smoke, expect to see rockers rocking their tightest Poison t-shirts, looking as if they’d just walked off the set of The Decline of Western Civilization, and others whose leather-clad looks scream Shout at the Devil-era Motley Crue.
The event is a veritable who’s who of both local rockers and rock legends, alongside the ever-present faces you’ve seen at Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood or packed into the Whisky’s raucous crowds. It’s a celebration not only of music but of community, a gathering of like-minded souls united by a love for the loud, the fast, and the unapologetically rebellious.
The atmosphere at Rainbow’s Party in the Parking Lot is always electric — yet remarkably welcoming. It’s a chance to revel in the camaraderie of the metal community, to relive the glory days of ’80s rock, even if just for a single afternoon. No need for a hot tub time machine to experience it; all you need is the right attitude and a thirst for chaos.
Admission to the event is free, but guests must prepay for two drinks upon entry. Trust us, the party’s about to get LOUD!
WeHo prepares to give the Roxy and Rainbow Bar & Grill the iconic status these rock institutions deserve.
The City of West Hollywood’s Historic Preservation Commission will recommend that the City Council approve a Mills Act Contract for two of the city’s most rockin’ cultural icons: the Roxy Theatre and the Rainbow Bar & Grill, both located on the world-famous Sunset Strip’s “Rock Row,” at 9009 and 9015 Sunset Boulevard, respectively.
The Historic Preservation Commission is dedicated to preserving historic structures that represent WeHo’s unique cultural and social heritage. “Protecting these landmarks helps deepen public understanding of the city’s past and ensures that future generations can appreciate its rich history,” says the Commission on its website.
Rock Venues Land a Mills Act Contract
A Mills Act Contract is a legal agreement between the owner of a historic property and the municipality. It allows for lower property tax rates in exchange for the owner’s commitment to undertake specific rehabilitation, restoration, and maintenance work. To qualify, a property must be listed in a historic national, state, county, or city register, be privately owned, and not be tax-exempt.
The Roxy Theatre and the Rainbow Bar & Grill meet these criteria, being listed in West Hollywood’s Register of Cultural Resources and privately owned.
We’ve got your go-to list for the hottest spring and summer shows – it’s time to rock, L.A.!
Get ready for a scorching summer of rock and roll with our “Hot Groove Summer” 2024 concert guide for the Greater Los Angeles area. From No Doubt to Cinderella, L.A. Guns to Pat Benatar, the world’s greatest rock and heavy metal legends are taking over L.A. County’s hottest venues in the coming months. So, shake off the recent rains and get ready to pump your fists all summer long. We’ve got your go-to list for the hottest spring and summer shows – it’s time to rock, Southern California!
Experience an electrifying night of hard rock hits when Tom Keifer, the powerhouse behind Cinderella, brings his gritty bluesy sound and solo hits to the 90210, showcasing his diverse talent from acoustic tracks to hard rock. Joining the bill are the legendary L.A. Guns, veterans of the Sunset Strip. From “Ballad Of Jayne” to “Never Enough” and “Sex Action,” L.A. Guns always deliver a high-octane performance.
The O.C.’s favorite sons (and daughter), No Doubt, will no doubt captivate the SoCal audience at the band’s reunion shows in Indio. Groove to the beats of “Don’t Speak” and “Just a Girl” as you relish in the hit-making band’s pop-ska classics .
Rainbow’s ’Party in the Parking Lot’ reveals full lineup for April 14 concert headlined by Sebastian Bach.
Sunset and Clarkbroke the news about the Rainbow Bar and Grill‘s much-anticipated free spring show featuring Sebastian Bach, and now, the iconic Sunset Strip venue unveils the full lineup for its 52nd annual “Party in the Parking Lot” on April 14.
The all-day rock festival happens in the Rainbow’s back parking lot, behind the Roxy, and boasts a stellar roster, including Sunset Strip legends and international heavy metal icons Faster Pussycat along with Powerman 5000, Shark Island, Donnie Vie, Melody Mortal, Villa Nova, and Black Star Sinners.
INSIDER TIP: This semi-annual live music event, which takes place at the Rainbow each April and September, has started to get super-packed very early these last couple of years. The previous two events saw long lines forming long before the gates opened. So, get there early, get in, get stamped, and enjoy the in and out privileges.
Rainbow is located at 9050 Sunset Boulevard in the heart of WeHo. Gate opens at 1 p.m. The event is free, but guests are required to prepay for two drinks (around $20). Plus, early arrivals usually get an exclusive event shirt!
The Sunset Strip scene is becoming unrecognizable. But it’s nothing a shot of Whisky can’t cure.
Lately, the ever-evolving Sunset Strip scene seems to be changing as rapidly as Machine Gun Kelly shifts musical genres. The iconic Tower Records Sunset building, though closed since 2006, recently underwent a controversial exterior alteration that affected the look of the structure, but at least Tower’s famous front facade was preserved as a testament to the magical musical palace it once housed.
Across the street, the Tower Records Videoand Classical Music Annex was the go-to spot for concert tickets, where fans lined up on Sunset and Larrabee, sometimes stretching east all the way past Book Soup for events like Ozzfest. Those were the golden days, spanning from the ’80s through the 2000s. The space eventually housed a longstanding Chase Bank, which recently closed its doors, leaving the building vacant.
Rockin’ new Guns N’ Roses mural overlooks legendary Hollywood band’s old haunt on the Sunset Strip.
Use Your Illusion I and II, the Nineties-era hard rock masterpieces by Sunset Strip-launched legends Guns n’ Roses, have resurfaced on Rock Row in the guise of some rockin’ huge posters plastered on random construction site walls located between the Whisky and the Rainbow.
So, what gives with the rockin’ retro rewind?
Turns out, the GN’R posters are hyping the release of a new deluxe box set of the two albums that somehow expanded to eight discs of related material in a set that costs over $200.
Coinciding with the launch of the box set is the unveiling of a new Use Your Illusion II mural located on the Roxy‘s sidewall and overlooking the Rainbow’s outdoor patio.
Guns n’ Roses diehards will recognize the location of the mural as the area where Axl Rose stared down Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1991 video for Use Your Illusion II‘s smash hit “You Could Be Mine.”
Mark Kostabi‘s iconic cover artwork–a manipulation of part of Rafael‘s “School of Athens” mural–takes up a large section of the wall and is a welcome dose of rock and roll spirit that has been missing from the Sunset Strip for a while now. Let’s hope the new GN’R mural is a permanent part of the Strip.
Sunset Strip rock landmarks Rainbow and Whisky set to pay tribute to metal legend Ronnie James Dio, July 7 and July 19.
The immortal Ronnie James Dio would have hit the big 8-0 on July 10, and to celebrate, the Rainbow Bar and Grill is celebrating with a rockin’ party dedicated to the late, great singer-songwriter, who once famously fronted a band named after this very restaurant.
On July 7, the Rainbow is hosting “Dio at the Rainbow in the Dark,” a record release celebration in honor of Rhino Records’ 40th anniversary remixed and remastered edition of Dio’s spectacular 1983 solo debut, Holy Diver. The classic rock masterpiece is being released on three formats: digital, vinyl, and as a two- and four-disc CD set.
Ubiquitous Sunset Strip headbanger and radio personality Eddie Trunk is emceeing the event, which is happening from 7-9 p.m. in the upstairs bar, where the evening is sure to be dominated by the glorious sounds of Dio’s timeless classics rockin’ the roof off of the Rainbow.
The Rainbow Bar and Grill is located at 9015 Sunset Boulevard. The “Dio at the Rainbow in the Dark” event is free.
One week after the Rainbow’s Dio celebration, the Whisky A Go-Go is hosting a night honoring the heavy metal legend on July 19, with the club’s biweekly Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood event set to crank out career-defining classics spanning Ronnie James Dio’s career, from Holy Diver to 2004’s Masters of the Moon as well as scorchers like “Man On the Silver Mountain,” “Gambler, Gambler,” and “Rock ‘n Roll Children” from his time in Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Elf, and Heaven and Hell.
The Whisky is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street in West Hollywood. Ultimate Jam NightHollywood’s Dio tribute will kick off at 10 p.m. and is free to those 21 and over, and $10 for those under.
Def Leppard’s Diamond Star Halos shines on the Sunset Strip on eve of band’s invite-only Whisky show.
On the eve of their hotly-anticipated show at the Whisky A Go-Go on May 26, Def Leppard left their mark on the Sunset Strip earlier today to announce the release of their new album, Diamond Star Halos.
Sunset Boulevard welcomes rockin’ resurgence thanks to Rainbow’s ‘Party in the Parking Lot’ and Whisky’s tireless championing of live rock n’ roll.
For almost two long, agonizing years, the world-famous Sunset Strip’s “Rock Row” seemed like a ghost town because of the pandemic and it’s stranglehold on the fears of the general public.
But once the mask debates subsided and the world got back to semi-normal, the sounds of authentic rock and roll began once again filling the Sunset Strip with a buzz that has kept the scene alive since then, courtesy of some of the coolest concerts to ever hit WeHo post-pandemic.
Cherie Currie delivering timeless classics by The Runaways at “Ultimate Jam Night Hollywood.”
The Whisky A Go-Go and RainbowBar and Grill should be commended for keeping the flame of rock n’ roll alive through some challenging times by hosting recent free shows at the Whisky, with Tuesday’s Jam Night, and at the Rainbow with April’s “Party in the Parking Lot” with Ratt‘s Stephen Pearcy, Steel Panther, and Hollywood legends Pretty Boy Floyd.
Return of Rainbow’s ‘Backyard Bash’ brought classic metal back home to the Sunset Strip.
It’s been a hell of a wait but on Sept. 5, the Rainbow Bar and Grill welcomed back all the heavy metal you could handle with the triumphant return of its annual “Backyard Bash,” an all-day live concert event featuring national and local bands cranking out heavy metal hits in the parking lot behind the Roxy and Rainbow.
After having its spring events canceled twice and their fall event once, the Sept. 5 event marked the first time the Rainbow hosted a rock n’ roll party of this magnitude. And it did not disappoint.
STEPHEN PEARCY BRINGS RATT’S HEAVY METAL HITS BACK TO SUNSET APRIL 12 TO ROCK RAINBOW’S ‘PARKING LOT’ PARTY
Few things can trump watching Pasadena-launched hard rock legends Van Halen shake the foundation of Hollywood Boulevard earlier this week for Jimmy Kimmel Live. However, there is another awesome artifact from the Eighties that will soon be crawling out of the cellar and right into the heart of West Hollywood!
On April 12, the Rainbow Bar & Grill will be welcoming back to Sunset Ratt rocker Stephen Pearcy, who is set to headline the hot spot’s annual Party in the Parking Lot with some of the greatest songs to ever put metal on the pop culture map.
From 2 to 10 p.m. next Sunday, the Rainbow (9015 Sunset) will once again be pulling out all the stops to rock WeHo in celebration of the L.A. landmark’s 43rd anniversary with a free concert by Pearcy along with former Guns N’ Roses and Slash’s Snakepit guitarist Gilby Clarke; L.A.’s Little Caesar, who scored a hit with a cool cover of “Chain of Fools” in 1990; Sunset Strip mainstays Barb Wire Dolls and more string-breaking, ball-busting bands.
The party is happening behind the Rainbow and Roxy, which will be gloriously transformed into one huge heavy metal parking lot!
Gazzarri’s and Whisky refugee Pearcy is headlining the concert event armed with an arsenal of timeless metal hits that spanned the Eighties, including: the 1984 smashes “Round and Round,” “Wanted Man, “Back for More”” and “Lack of Communication”; 1985’s “You’re in Love” and “Lay it Down”; 1986’s “Body Talk” and “Dance”; 1987’s “Slip of the Lip”; 1988’s “Way Cool Jr.”; the 1989 hits “Loving You’s a Dirty Job” and “I Want a Woman”; right through to 1990’s “Shame, Shame, Shame.” Plus, recent tracks like “Best of Me” from 2010’s Infestation prove that Pearcy still reigns as one of metal’s greatest frontmen.
The Rainbow party offers a rare chance to experience the best of Ratt live from the voice and songwriter behind the hits, because, as Pearcy confirmed earlier this year on the Eddie Trunk Podcast, he and the remaining members of the Sunset Strip-launched band won’t be reuniting anytime soon.
“If people wanna hear the band, they can hear Ratt music with me, singing my songs, but I doubt there will ever be another Ratt record, no” Pearcy told Trunk last February.
The 58-year-old singer, who ditched his rocky tenure in Ratt once again last year, is sure to shake up his Rainbow set with some of the guitar-heavy, hooks-packed songs from his scorching, hard-hitting 2011 solo album, Suckerpunch.
All things considered, one thing is certain: Rainbow’s Party in the Parking Lot is gonna take you back to the glorious metal years of the Eighties — and you won’t even need a hot tub time machine.
BULLETBOYS TO ROCK RAINBOW’S PARKING LOT, APRIL 13
One of L.A.’s hardest rocking Sunset Strip bands of the late ’80s/early ’90s, BulletBoys is heading back to Rock Row on April 13 to shake the amps at iconic hot spot Rainbow Bar & Grill‘s Party in the Parking Lot.
Mark Torein is still fronting the mic for the local metal monsters that hit the mainstream with a bang in 1988 courtesy of BulletBoys’ badass, guitar-heavy scorcher “Smooth up in Ya,” from the band’s self-titled debut. The timeless track rocks just as hard today and is sure to be a highlight of Rainbow’s free event, which also includes sets by Hollywood-launched hard rock hit-makers Great White, Sunset Strip legend Tracii Guns (pictured right), Metal Blade stalwarts Bitch and more metal monsters that will turn back the clock to the awesome Eighties and keep the hard rock hits echoing throughout the heart of Rock Row all day and night on Sunday.
Rainbow is located at 9015 Sunset Boulevard. Party in the Parking Lot is free and kicks off at 2 p.m. in the back parking lot behind the Rainbow and Roxy. See you at the show!
HERE’S A GREAT REASON TO CRANK UP SOME GN’R TODAY…
Guns N’ Roses‘Appetite for Destruction celebrates its 25th anniversary today! The band’s classic debut album was released on July 21, 1987 and has since gone platinum 30 times — and counting. The Sunset Strip rock refugees are immortalized on the wall of the Rainbow Bar & Grill, the band’s old haunt and setting of some of their best music videos, including “Don’t Cry,” “November Rain” and “You Could Be Mine.”
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