The festival's origins trace back to a December 1989 concert that was called the KROQ Xmas Bash. The festival started off as a one-day event, and every year between 1992 and 2019 (with the exception of 1999, which was a one-day event), it was held as a two-day festival. Since its return in 2022 after a three-year hiatus, the Almost Acoustic Christmas has been held as a one-day event. From 1989 through 2012 the show took place at the
Universal Amphitheatre in
Universal City, except for 1998 where it was held at the
Shrine Auditorium in
Los Angeles, and in 1999 where it was held at the
Arrowhead Pond in
Anaheim. After the
Universal Amphitheatre closed in September 2013, the show performed again at the
Shrine Auditorium in December 2013. In 2014 the event was moved to
Kia Forum (then-The Forum) in
Inglewood. In 2019, the show took place at the
Honda Center in Anaheim. Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas did not take place in 2020 and 2021. The show returned to the Kia Forum on December 10, 2022 and has taken place every year since. KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas concerts benefit Para Los Ninos and the Al Wooten Jr Heritage Center. In 1999, a compilation of live recordings, ''The Best of KROQ's Almost Acoustic Christmas'', was released. On December 18, 2009, KROQ-FM released a compilation called
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas 2009, a benefit album with proceeds benefiting Para Los Ninos and the Al Wooten Heritage Center. ==Line-ups==