Sweetwater Music Hall

A hallowed iconic venue, available for private parties too!

Awesome place to see live music! Some of my favorite concert experiences took place here.

My husband and I spent $90. apiece, $180. total for “V.I.P.” seating on Sun. which also happened to be St. Patrick’s Day. We were absolutely shocked to discover that a large crowd of those who spent far less to stand or sit on uncomfortable bar stools arranged haphazardly around the perimeter of the hall, and an equally large influx of last minute arrivals all rushed forward when the show began effectively and completely blocking any view of the performers on the stage! Many of these people also got quite sloppy with their over priced beers and were completely oblivious when spilling and splashing occurred what with the bumping and pushing that inevitably took place. We have been attendees of musical events at numbers of venues over the past 23 yrs. and never have we paid such exorbitant prices to not be able to actually see the performers. That this venue operates with a “mosh pit” mentality as far as their lack of decent seating is concerned is absolutely unacceptable. We came to hear and SEE Jason D. Williams perform. We heard him but only caught a partial glimpse of him playing a couple of times throughout his set. A gigantic disappointment, since the pyrotechnics and physical antics of Jason D’s playing are half the show. To add insult to injury; I thought that it might be nice to have an Irish Coffee from the bar to honor St. Pat’s Day and as we waited for the concert to begin. The bar tender had no clue what an Irish Coffee was, let alone how to make one! She asked my husband if there was coffee in the drink! He said thanks, but never mind! We had a pre performance dinner at the restaurant that Sweetwater now runs. More exorbitant prices for incredibly mediocre food. I ordered a so-so Caesar Salad with the most bland tasteless dressing I have ever eaten. The Clam Chowder was at best interesting and did have whole clams in it, but it arrived tepid and got stone cold quite quickly since we were sitting in the outdoor dining area. And $16. dollars for Pinot Noir would be more or less standard if served in an actual wine glass not in what appeared to be a very small juice glass. The times have changed for sure and Sweetwater has expanded, but in my opinion not for the better. Mill Valley has several very good alternative eateries. I recommend that you check them out. As to attending concerts at the Sweetwater Music Hall, if you enjoy rubbing elbows with a mob and drinking overpriced alcoholic beverages, and don’t mind standing up the entire concert and crowding the stage to catch a look at the performers, then this is the place for you. As far as we are concerned, Sweetwater is a venue and restaurant that we won’t bother visiting again.

The cafe serves fair food. The fries are bland and served free of any seasoning, a good thing since you are given so few of them. To enjoy this place you need a prodigious need for near continuous alcohol infusion and a desire to stand in front of the stage, obliterating view of the show for everyone behind you. We purchased the$90 “vip” seats for March 17 and we foolishly thought that at that price you would be able to see the stage, but no, your $90 only gets you a soft seat and totally obliterated views of the stage and artists. You can easily reproduce the experience you will get by buying tickets by dropping in during the show and buying cd’s since that’s all you will experience unless you are sufficiently intoxicated and rude that you can push others aside and stand in a place obliterating others view of the stage. Other venues offer seats, a unique concept that allows near universal sight of the stage unless you find yourself behind a resurrected Hedda Hopper, and I doubt that will happen. Overall, if in Mill Valley, there are many excellent food sources nearby and if you want to see the artists appearing that night, look up their itinerary and buy tickets at the next venue on the tour that hopefully cares about line of site for all their paying customers, not just the rude intoxicated ones.

Great place to see a show

Awesome place to see a show. It’s a small room so even if you’re in the back it’s all good. Enthusiastic staff and you can tell they enjoy working here. Jackie Greene rules!!! Don’t miss him when he does his 3-night run every winter.