The UC Theatre

10/10 Concert!! Hubby and I came to watch Layla Hathaway a few months ago and the venue was lovely! Her music was superb and she brought a great guitarist called Jubu Smith!!! Great drinks and great performance! It's very close to the UC Berkeley campus and highly recommended!!

My first visit to The UC Theatre since I saw The Rocky Horror Picture Show years ago.What a magnificent space! I think the UC rivals the Fox Theater and The Paramount as an East Bay location to see music. Just a classically beautiful interior.An amazing show by Bonny Light Horseman - an American folk band who I first saw at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass a few years ago. If you have a chance go see this band. They rock!About the UC, everyone from security to the nice lady in the ticket both to the ushers to the awesome lady serving drinks to the audience were kind and obviously loved their jobs.The UC Theatre is a non-profit organization. Their Concert Career Pathways education program teaches young people the technical, creative and business aspects of concert and event promotion. Through hands-on workshops and paid internships they train the next generation of music industry professionals.A worthwhile cause. Matt says if you love music, go check out the UC Theatre. You will love the experience.

Went to see Oteil and Friends at the venue.The mosh pit was packed and we were constantly reminded to keep the back pathway clear.So if you end up in the pit, make sure to stand within the blue taped floor border or you will be asked to move along.There seem to be mixed reviews about the sound quality, but I found it pretty good!Been here once before for traditional Latino music and the sound was good, tooPerhaps the quality depends on the type of music being played.Just taking a glance, the poor reviews seem to be directed towards heavy metal type music.I don't know. Guess your milage may vary.BTW. Love the high ceilings. Gave the place a sense of spaciousness even though it was totally packed.

I came here to see Valley in concert. A cute small venue! Very minimal amount of seating, so expect to be standing for the entire concert. There's a little bar that conveniently placed near the stage, and they provide complimentary water. The sound quality was great and the stage is quite elevated. Lighting and visuals were fun, but VERY BRIGHT lights would shine into the crowd often.

As EVERYONE says...great for a small show. But they shoehorned Rise Against in last night (to a sold out show of course) so if you want to watch your band without standing or being in the pit...not a great venue. We literally stood in the back by the bar with tiny glimpses of the band from time to time. Almost walked out. I won't go back for anyone well known. Pluses include good sound, ample bars and staff, clean bathrooms etc. But if you want to occasionally sit and be able to enjoy the show at the same time...this ain't it.

First time at the UC Theatre... employees were friendly and the venue was cool. However, I felt like the venue was oversold. It creates a lot of confusion when there are reserved tables + general admission. I understand everyone is trying to cash in these days but it created a traffic jam at this concert. Be ready for the hot dog vendors that pull up outside the venue after the show.

Attended a reggae concert here this past Friday (J Boog, The Green, Mike Love) and had an interesting experience. I mainly came for The Green, but all of the bands and musicians put on an extraordinary performance. Sound and lighting were quite impressive, allowing audience members a pleasurable music-filled evening. The music hall had beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, which worked nicely with the lighting during the show. Even the lobby had great appeal, decorated with artwork, photos, and posters of past events held at the UC Theatre. The standing room for general admission was a bit awkward and confusing in the venue (with reserved seating also an option for a higher ticket price). Luckily, we didn't have a problem finding space for enjoying a good view of the show. There were three bars inside the theater, but the drinks they served were gross. We got standard cocktails, and they were pretty much undrinkable (we took a few sips and tossed them). The venue was remarkable in many ways... too bad their drinks suck big time! At least that was our experience this past weekend. If you manage to find good drinks here, then consider yourself lucky.

Awesome venue! Such a cool place. The times I've gone they just had general admission so you could go wherever you want to see the show. There are three levels depending how close you want to get to the stage. They have a bar at the 2nd and 3rd level. The people who work there are what you'd expect at a concert hall. Be ware of parking! The parking garage across the street implies you can park til 2am but it's a trick, they lock the gate at 10pm and you get a parking ticket. Bad parking, great venue, no food.

Love it when metal bands and artists choose The UC Theatre as their venue! Close to downtown Berkeley Bart, beautiful venue, small and intimate with beautiful architecture and acoustics, this is a perfect concert hall to come to!I've been here twice in 2023 to see Tarja Turunen's first USA tour (Berkeley was her last stop, what an honor to have her visit here!) and Dragonforce with Amaranthe, NanowaR of Steel, and Edge of Paradise opening. Both times I've come early enough to stand close to the front, and had an absolute blast rocking out and singing along and taking in the performers' presence! What makes me love small concert halls like UC Theatre is that you get the best of both worlds of small and big venues. You get the intimacy of a small venue, with the great acoustics and performances on par with bigger venues. The UC Theatre is a winner, and I hope to come back for many more concerts.

The best aspects of the UC Theatre for me are the proximity to where I live, easily BARTable or neighborhood parking, plenty of nearby restaurants and bars for food/drinks before and after, and easy in and out. Another bonus is that they have 2-3 bars (and free water to stay hydrated) inside the theatre so you can grab a drink without missing the show. All of these aspects combined make it an easy choice to see a show even on a weeknight. The building itself- the lobby is NARROW, but it's amazing how big the theatre is, especially considering what you can see from the outside. The bathrooms are super dated and also narrow. Overall it could use some upgrades but that didn't affect the show. The main deterrents for me were the warm-up DJ (I won't disparage her by name but I would plan to arrive late to avoid her if coming to a future show that she opened) and the smoke. I came fully aware of the prevalence or smoking at concerts- but it was like the old days. Just regular cigarette and joint smoking. I'm more accustomed to vaping these days. It was especially uncomfortable because I was getting over being sick so my sinuses and lungs were being tortured. There was zero effort to even request that people not smoke. Maybe just a me thing, but it was a lot. My clothes and hair were stinky. I'll go back, but maybe only if I'm fully healthy.