Live Entertainment at the Hemlock Tavern

Seven days a week, the Hemlock Tavern features a bleeding-edge, non-mainstream mix of local, national and international bands and music acts, comedy, and deejays cutting across many genres, subgenres, scenes and microscenes.

It's always free to get into the main bar at the Hemlock. Once inside, a cover is typically charged to see shows in our live performance space, a room in the back physically separate from the main bar area.

Doors for weeknight shows usually open at 9:00pm. 9:30pm for Friday and Saturday shows.

The Hemlock features a daily roster of Happy Hour deejays who spin records from 6:00-8:30pm. We also host a monthly comedy series, Club Chuckles, and a variety of literary/spoken word events, storytelling nights, magazine release parties, film & video screenings, and even the occasional Saturday night puppet show. Almost anything goes except for Folder Rock™.

Booking Information

For booking shows and submitting unsolicited demo materials, etc.:

Don't send anything via US Mail or drop off any demos at the bar unless asked to do so. Instead, please send an email inquiry with the band/act name in the subject line to hemlocktavern [at] gmail.com

In the email, please include any pertinent website or interweb information where MP3's can be listened to along with some biographical information, band description, and any information that will help us figure out who you are, what's going on, and what range of dates you might be looking for. We'd really prefer to avoid Myspace if at all possible. It's fine if that's all you've got but there are better alternatives at this point.

If no website or online MP3s are available, no worries. Email some info anyway and if we're interested, we'll request a cd package by snail mail.

Admittedly, we've got a heavy repulsion/attraction thing going on with Folder Rock™. But even as we approach our ten year anniversary, Folder Rock™ is still NOT being booked. If you don't know what Folder Rock™ is, then you've probably already sent us some.

We are typically booking 2-3 months in advance. While the Hemlock Tavern Limited Liability Corporation values your participation in today's Sceneconomy™, the volume of unsolicited band submissions can sometimes make timely and individual responses difficult. In other words, we're swamped so please be patient.

Got a phoner? The booking dept. can be reached Monday thru Friday, 12pm-5pm, Pacific Time, at (415) 596-7777. But please don't call in regards to unsolicited demo inquiries. Unless we're already in discussions about a show, the phone is your least viable option for reaching the booking department.

Ludicra


Club Chuckles
Since 2003, CLUB CHUCKLES, the Hemlock's comedy showcase in residence, has presented a harrowing, dazzling array of stand-up, sketch, musical comedy in a rock club setting. A bated-breath mess of loving, loathing, orgasmic hilarity, painfully uncomfortable liminal moments, existential stuntwork, rank professionalism, seasonal amateurism, unannounced lafftracks, and a lot of other stuff you had no idea you'd ever sit still for until now. Past performers include Neil Hamburger, Todd Barry, Reggie Watts, Brent Weinbach, Moshe Kasher, Jasper Redd, Louis Katz, Mary Van Note, Hard & Phirm, Dragon Boy Suede, Ali Wong, Beth Lisick, Alex Koll, Rob Cantrell, Amy Schumer, and Sheng Wang.

“Club Chuckles opened the rock music doors to a bunch of jokers seven years ago, and the local comedy landscape is far better for it. They've shaken their metaphorical full moon at the two-drink minimum and high ticket prices of traditional comedy clubs, and instead offers a ten-drink maximum and lesser dollar tickets to those hungry for something other than the modern-day equivalent of 'Take my wife.' Club Chuckles has committed itself to relentlessly weird, reliably hilarious performers." - SF Weekly

"Club Chuckles: a swift kick in the rear end of the so-called alternative comedy scene." - SF Gate

"Club Chuckles has been a pivotal force in giving comedians opportunities to reach new audiences - people who regularly go to rock shows but rarely step into established comedy venues such as the Punch Line or Cobb's." - SF Chronicle

Club Silencio The Hemlock's secret show series at which Cat Power, Moris Tepper & PJ Harvey, Sun City Girls, Stereo Total, Gillian Welch, Devendra Banhart, and Smog have all performed. For acts wishing to connect/reconnect with their audience in a way that the confines of a stadium just can't deliver, Club Silencio offers the ultimate in discretion, comfort, and flexible financial arrangements. Bands and agents: operators are standing by.

Payola Pal™
The Hemlock Tavern's proprietary online bribery system, Payola Pal™, has been a smashing success. Many aspiring rock stars have sacked up and paid the piper, and, as a result, received preferential treatment and jaw droppingly amazing bills on which to play. Aks yourself, are you really doing everything you can to help your career?!