Green Day. Oasis. The Strokes. These acclaimed bands, along with roughly 14,000 other musical acts, have placed Bottom of the Hill—located at the bottom of Potrero Hill—as one of San Francisco’s top live music venues. Since 1991, crowds of all demographics have been drawn in by a rotating lineup that has an act for virtually everyone. Although the San Francisco staple will close its doors on December 31, 2026, youth bands are coming together on March 15 to celebrate its legacy. The performance will feature eight musical groups, including one band composed of Lick-Wilmering High School sophomores.
For decades, Bottom of the Hill has held shows nearly every weekday and weekend—with a standard entry fee of $20—featuring both rising artists and renowned bands like The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The White Stripes.
Over the past few years, the music industry has seen a stark change: intimate venues, such as Bottom of the Hill, have been closing due to rising operating costs. At the end of 2025, comparable Anaheim venue Chain Reaction—an early stage for bands like My Chemical Romance and Paramore—closed its doors, citing permanent financial complications after Covid-19.
Similarly—among others—Amnesia on Valencia and Revolution Cafe on 22nd and Bartlett closed in 2020 and 2021, respectively. These closures suggest an evolution of the music industry toward larger venues with higher prices. Co-owner of Bottom of the Hill, Lynn Schwarz, shared her experience operating a local music performance venue. “Despite San Francisco remaining a bastion of the arts, [concert megacorporations] are attacking the industry,” she said.
“If I sound alarmist, I am not wrong to be so. Independent venues are struggling to survive,” Schwarz said.
Green Day, for example—despite having 3 top-ten albums in the USA in 1998—still played a show at Bottom of the Hill, with entry fee prices that every artist agreed to at the venue. Now, seeing Green Day usually means a trip to a stadium like Oracle Park, or even Levi’s Stadium for their brief opening of Super Bowl LX, and usually around $100 for the furthest nosebleed tickets.
But Schwarz still holds memories close to her heart surrounding the venue. She recalled standout moments with Bay Area rapper Andre Nickitina, or awkwardly handing her own CD to The White Stripes’ Jack White at the band’s show at the venue.
A booked March 15 show now features The Lickity Splits, a band of seven LWHS sophomores, in collaboration with Break the Noise San Francisco—an organization that seeks to give a platform to young musicians throughout the Bay Area. Frankie Lemieux ’28, sister of the founder of Break the Noise and a member of the Lickity Splits, said the inspiration for both the band and the organization came from a true love for music and desire to provide more performance opportunities.
The joy in playing music still exists even if there is great change within the industry. On playing music, Lemieux said, “If you make a mistake, who cares? The music, it’s there, and then it’s gone. You’re up there just to have fun.”
Sometimes, the music will just disappear. Schwarz mentioned a legendary performance from Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in 2003, yet videos of this performance are nearly nonexistent. Despite this, it wasn’t forgotten. Much like this performance, Bottom of the Hill will be remembered for its fostering of all types of musical acts, inspiring musicians and fans across the Bay Area.
View an exclusive video featuring the Lickity Splits here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kYOPtaFtIgebauLDymX2THbZxa3QGcV3/view?pli=1
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