SOMA History
SOMA is an all ages concert hall in San Diego, California which has been one of the go to places in
the city to find the best live music since first opening its doors in the Nineties. The popular venue was originally located
in downtown San Diego before reopening in the Bay Park neighborhood in 1994 and then relocating once again to its current
home next inside a former movie theater next to the San Diego Sports Arena. At all of its locations SOMA has had a main stage
that attracts national touring acts along with the biggest local bands and a side stage, or dungeon as it was known at the
venue's first location, for up and coming acts who are granted a main stage opening slot if they can bring in enough fans.
SOMA Events
SOMA has seen all of the biggest punk rock and alternative bands in the world take its stage since
the early 1990's. Bands including Fugazi, the White Stripes, Weezer, Pavement, Hole, Foo Fighters, Green Day, Jon Spencer
Blues Explosion, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Archers of Loaf, the Muffs, and more have all played at the well known venue. Additionally
local San Diego bands who went on to make it big got their start at SOMA, including Blink-182, P.O.D., Unwritten Law, Buck-O-Nine,
and Sprung Monkey, among others.
San Diego, California
San Diego is a major tourist destination and a
trip to Southern California would simply be incomplete without a visit to America's Finest City. If it is baseball season
you can catch a ball game at Petco Park in downtown San Diego and then explore the Gaslamp District before or after the game.
Football season brings NFL games courtesy of the San Diego Chargers who call Qualcomm Stadium home if you are looking for
some gridiron action. A visit to the beaches in San Diego is of course a must, as is a trip to the world famous San Diego
Zoo. If architecture and museums are more your thing head over to Balboa Park which has a bevy of museums and Spanish influenced
architecture to explore. A trip to Old Town will give you the chance to eat some fantastic Mexican food and explore the remnants
of San Diego's past.
SOMA Seating Layout
The main stage at SOMA allows 2,700 guests while smaller side
stage shows allow 500. All shows are general admission meaning you should get their early if you want to be up front, but
the venue has great sound and some elevated places to stand if you want to look over the crowd.
Trivia
Pop-punk
heroes Blink-182 got their start at SOMA, playing in the Dungeon at the first location while the band mates were still in
high school and had only one self-released cassette and a split seven inch with their friends' band the Iconoclasts which
was released on another friend's tiny record label Big Weenie Records. They quickly were playing sold out shows at the venue
before all of the band members were even old enough to vote.