The Venues, Tickets and the Music Festival

The streets around the Sunset Strip are buzzing in anticipation for the third annual Sunset Strip Music Festival coming to West Hollywood the last weekend of August. The six venues involved: House of Blues, Viper Room, Cat Club, Whisky A Go-Go, Key Club and the Roxy Theatre, which have each hand-picked their lineups–from rock and heavy metal to electro, hip-hop and singer-songwriter acts, a patchwork of local musical culture.

"Consider it the 'open house' of the Sunset Strip," said Nic Adler, head organizer and Roxy Theatre owner.  "We're doing this to encourage attendees to walk the strip. We are really pushing for surrounding businesses to contribute to the overall experience as well. In the past, we have had everything from photo exhibits to in-store DJ sets and acoustic performances," he said.

The venues will open their doors each day of the festival at 1 p.m., with the first act going onstage around 1:10 p.m. Each indoor location will treat the Sunset Strip Music Festival as if it were a sold out show–fully staffed with two rotating shifts of staff and security. Drink and food specials will be available at each venue.

On the morning of the Aug. 28, the streets between San Vicente Boulevard to Doheny Drive will be closed for stage construction between the hours of 6 a.m. and noon. The two stages, measuring around 30 feet in diameter, will be hauled in on trucks overnight and constructed on-site. Street fest acts will perform alternately on the west end, set up by the Whisky A Go-Go, and the east end, set up just past the Key Club, allowing for maximum entertainment.

Alcohol is confined to the clubs, and beer distribution will have designated drinking areas. Last year, more than 4,000 fans lined club walls, while more than 10,000 attendees rocked out at the street festival.

 General admission tickets are $49.50 in advance, $65 for day-of tickets at the box office. Ticket includes entrance to shows at the Key Club, The Roxy Theatre, Cat Club and Whisky A Go-Go all day (depending on capacity). There are also VIP tickets available for $100 that include access to the VIP tented area, with views of the west stage, seating areas and no-host full bar.

A limited number of three-day VIP passes (which include entrance to Slash's tribute on Aug. 26, the clubs on all three nights and the VIP tent at street fest) are $250.

Event organizers warn that there will be no ins and outs for the street festival. The main entrance to the festival is located outside of the Whisky A Go-Go.

The SSMF is donating a portion of all tickets sold to the Los Angeles Youth Network (LAYN), whose mission is to end child homelessness.

For information about the Sunset Strip Music Festival, to view the entire lineup, or to purchase tickets, please click here.