1960s The Troubadour played an important role in the careers of
Hoyt Axton,
Jackson Browne,
the Byrds,
Neil Diamond,
Elton John, the
Eagles,
Carole King,
Love,
Joni Mitchell,
Van Morrison,
Bonnie Raitt,
Linda Ronstadt,
JD Souther,
James Taylor,
Tom Waits, and other prominent and successful performers, who played performances there establishing their future fame. In October 1962, comedian
Lenny Bruce was arrested on
obscenity charges for using the word "
schmuck" on stage; one of the arresting officers was
Sherman Block, who would later become
Los Angeles County Sheriff.
Michael Nesmith sometimes worked as an
M.C. at the club in the 1960s, before the formation of the music group
the Monkees.
Buffalo Springfield debuted at the club in 1966, and
Randy Newman started out there as well. A popular tradition at the club in the early 1960s was the Monday night Hootenanny or "Hoot" as it was commonly called; an
open-mic show where many future notables got their start. Hosted by
Hearts and Flowers member
Larry Murray, the Hoot nights were described by Linda Ronstadt as "If you want to make yourself known, you'd go to the open-mic."
1970s On August 25, 1970,
Neil Diamond (who had just recorded his first live album at the Troubadour) introduced Elton John, who performed his first show in the United States at the Troubadour. Comics
Cheech & Chong and
Steve Martin were discovered there in the early 1970s. In 1972,
Peter Yarrow,
Lazarus played in April and
Carly Simon,
Harry Chapin,
Bill Withers,
Randy Newman, and Melanie played in May. In 1974,
John Lennon,
Harry Nilsson and
Ringo Starr were ejected from the club for drunkenly
heckling the
Smothers Brothers. The same year, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band performed third on the bill with ex-Byrd Roger McGuinn headlining, going on stage at 1:45 in the morning. In 1975, Elton John returned to do a series of special anniversary concerts. In November 2007,
James Taylor and
Carole King played a series of concerts commemorating the nightclub's 50th anniversary and reuniting the two from their 1970 performance. The Troubadour featured
new wave and
punk in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including
Bad Religion,
Flipper,
The Meat Puppets,
Napalm Death, and
Redd Kross. L.A. residents and proto-grunge band
Melvins have played the Troubador numerous times, including live tapings for
Carson Daly in 2012 and 2015. The club features in the 1972 film
Cisco Pike.
1980s/1990s In the 1980s the club became associated with
glam metal bands such as
Candy,
Cinderella,
Razor Fury,
Guns N' Roses,
L.A. Guns,
Mötley Crüe,
Poison,
Ratt,
Warrant and
W.A.S.P. Guns N' Roses played their first show at the Troubadour, and were also discovered by a
David Geffen A&R representative at the club. It continued to attract non-glam metal acts through this time and into the 1990s such as
Fiona Apple,
Steve Earle,
Mudhoney, the
Red Hot Chili Peppers,
Silverchair and
Radiohead.
Incubus would intercut live footage from their performance at the club on February 25, 1995, into the video for their single
Take Me to Your Leader in 1996.
21st century In the 21st century, the venue is well known for promoting artists as diverse as
Arctic Monkeys,
Bastille,
Billy Talent,
Jason Mraz,
Coldplay,
Franz Ferdinand,
Kina Grannis,
Ray LaMontagne,
Lawson,
the Libertines,
Melt Banana,
Metz,
Joanna Newsom, and
Orville Peck.
Rise Against filmed at the club five nights in a row for a DVD,
Generation Lost. On April 1, 2016, it saw the first show of Guns N' Roses since
Slash and
Duff McKagan had rejoined the band.
Busted's first show as a reformed band in America was performed at the Troubadour in June 2017. The first concert of
Grace VanderWaal's first national tour was held at the Troubadour on November 5, 2017.
Stone Temple Pilots' first live performance with their newest singer
Jeff Gutt was held in November 2017. Like many small businesses and music venues, the Troubadour struggled during the
COVID-19 pandemic; it launched a
GoFundMe page in May 2020, which raised $70,000. In August, Elton John celebrated his 50th anniversary of playing the venue, and expressed his concern about the survival of the nightclub. The comedian
Bill Burr hosted two of his Monday Morning Podcasts from the venue to raise money during the pandemic by selling limited edition signed posters. On August 19, 2025, the Canadian pop artist
Carly Rae Jepsen played a special show at the Troubadour to celebrate the tenth anniversary of her album
Emotion. ==References==