Golden State Theatre
417 Alvarado St., Monterey, (831) 649-1070, goldenstatetheatre.com
The historic jewel that is the Golden State Theatre on Alvarado Street has long been on the cusp of actualizing on its potential. It’s a beautiful space with 1,003 seats but has spent the last couple of decades as a sleepy, quaint, occasionally occupied piece of real estate. Enter a new owner and talent booking team and all of a sudden Monterey’s live music calendar is both world class and busy. Trombone Shorty, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Bad Religion, Lukas Nelson and Shakey Graves all played the historic venue in the summer of 2022. A live music lineup in one week this fall – as just a random, but spectacular example – would rival that of most cities. Tuesday: an historic show of British funk legends Cymande; Wednesday: spoken word from punk rock icon turned cultural philosopher Henry Rollins; Thursday: folk/Americana rising star Amos Lee; and Friday, the dreamy, heavy rock ‘n’ roll of Los Angeles-based Silversun Pickups. All that in four days.