Legendary Venue Bottom of the Hill to Close Its Doors

Legendary San Francisco venue Bottom of the Hill will close at the end of 2026.

Why it matters:

• The 360-capacity room is a mainstay of the independent venue landscape in North America.

• As per Pollstar, it is one of San Francisco’s last small venues not to be operated by a major promoter.

• Since opening in 1991 it’s hosted tens of thousands of artists, including early shows by Green Day, Oasis, Alanis Morissette, The Strokes, the White Stripes and more.

• The venue has also served as a community space, hosting benefits, weddings, memorials and more.

Last hurrah:

• In a joint statement on social media, owners Ramona Downey, Kathleen Owen and Lynn Schwarz acknowledged the recent passing of co-founder Tim Benetti, and stated that they are “three women in different phases of our lives.”

• They confirmed the venue will operate through 2026, with its final show on New Year’s Eve.

What they said:

• Ramona Downey, Kathleen Owen and Lynn Schwarz, in a joint statement: “We will curate one more year of great shows, enticing bands that make up our history to come back for one final play on our stage. Let’s celebrate, for one more spin, how far we came, how many bands we hosted, how many amazing people we worked with. We want to thank the bands, their agents, managers, and roadies for always bringing the most exciting shows to our intimate room, with the analog board at the helm. And most especially, we wish to thank our loyal customers who kept us in business for this long and told us, in so many ways, that we were doing things right.”