About the Davis Music Guide

Davis Music Guide is a calendar of live music and music events in Davis, California. We list live shows, DJ nights, open mics, record releases, karaoke, and dance events, along with news about local musicians and venues.

The site is for anyone who wants to know what’s playing in town, whether you’ve lived in Davis for years or just moved here for school.

Where Our Listings Come From

The calendar depends on submissions from musicians, venues, promoters, and anyone else hosting a show in Davis. If you have an event coming up, submit it and we’ll add it to the calendar. We also list shows from venue websites and public social media posts, usually with the flyer, but submitting your event is the surest way to get it listed. We try to keep listings accurate, but times, lineups, and prices change, and shows sometimes get canceled. Check with the venue or organizer before you go.

If something in a listing is wrong, or a flyer or photo of yours is on the site and you’d like it removed or credited, let us know through our contact page and we’ll fix it.

How We List Events

Listings are descriptive. They cover who’s playing, where and when, what it costs, and what kind of show it is. We don’t rank or review shows on the calendar, and a house show gets the same treatment as a ticketed concert. Longer writeups go in Davis Music News.

Submit an Event

If you’re playing a show or hosting an event in Davis, send it to us through our event form. Submitting is free. We review each submission before it goes on the calendar, and you can ask to keep a house show’s address private.

Advertising and Sponsorship

Local businesses and venues can advertise on Davis Music Guide through sidebar placements and featured event spots. Get in touch for details.

Get in Touch

Send questions, show tips, news, and corrections through our contact page, or find us on Instagram at @davismusicguide. You can also sign up for our newsletter in the sidebar.

Why I Started Davis Music Guide

I first came to Davis in 2002 with the Autumdivers, an East Coast band I managed while running a small record label. A DJ at KDVS had them in to do an interview and play a few songs before their show in Davis, and that night several people at the show said they’d heard about it on the radio. When my band, Needle, played here in 2004 and recorded a Live in Studio A session at KDVS, the same thing happened. I never forgot it.

Years later I moved to Davis and found plenty of music here, from the Davis Music Festival to local radio like KDRT, where Pieter Pastoor had me on Listening Lyrics in 2022. What was missing was an easy way to find out about it. Instagram helps, but sometimes you see the post the day after the show.

The idea came together when a new friend asked if she could stay in touch because I knew more about local music than she did. Around the same time, I read in Nobody Broke Your Heart, Jamie Fisher’s biography of Elliott Smith, that he finished a tour in Davis. I had never heard that. It made me wonder what else I’d missed.

That’s why I started Davis Music Guide: so people can find out about music in Davis before the show, not after.

Steve Beck