Tuning into Channel 24
Give a warm welcome to...
If you know me—and I really think most of you do—you know I’ve been lamenting the fact that a lot of amazing bands bypass Sacramento entirely and head straight to the Bay Area.
Now, I’m not against hitting up the Fox Theater in Oakland, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in SF, or the Greek Theatre in Berkeley. I love those places and have spent oodles of time there.
However… wouldn’t it be so nice—SO NICE!—to walk (or bike, or Uber/Lyft, or hop on light rail) down your street and end up at a beautiful, brand-spankin’-new venue where some of your favorite bands are playing?
That will soon be a reality—not just for me (though I will walk anywhere and make a city walkable by force)—but for the 500k+ people who live in Sacramento proper.
What is Channel 24?
Channel 24 is the brainchild of Another Planet Entertainment (APE), the leading independent concert promoter that brought you Outside Lands (the magical 3-day mega-festival in Golden Gate Park) and operates other legendary venues across California (some of them mentioned above).
This is APE’s first venue built entirely from the ground up. It features multiple bars, a balcony and an outdoor patio. In short: it’s exactly what Sacramento needs.
The inaugural show is on April 24th with Tucker Wetmore, followed by Tycho on April 25th (local band alert!) and Sierra Ferrell on April 27th. It’s a strong first week, with multiple genres represented: Wetmore’s genre-blending country, Tycho’s iconic chill-pop soundscape, and Sierra Ferrell’s unique blend of folk and Americana.
Other big acts already announced include:
Wallows, Denzel Curry, Hippo Campus, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Jack White, Death Cab for Cutie, and many more.
Channel 24 will hold about 2,150 people, and it’s accessible by foot, bike, light rail, and street parking.
Welcome to Sacramento, Channel 24—our newest entertainment venue.
“Channel 24 pays homage to the former building (an electric supply warehouse), highlights Sacramento and references music. ‘Channel’ is an electrical term and a river reference – Sacramento is a river city located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River. A 24-channel mixing board is a staple in music and our venue happens to land on 24th street. We had fun with it and love that it has so many hidden meanings.”
— Channel 24 website
I love the idea of a venue recognizing the connection between water and creativity—both take their time, are impossible to stifle, and are as essential as breathing.
Now I’ll be lucky enough to say I don’t need to take the 1.5–3 hour drive or train ride every time I want to see good music. I can just saunter down the street.
Behind the Scenes with Liz Liles-Brown of APE
I had the pleasure of sitting down with Liz Liles-Brown, a marketing director at APE and a born-and-raised Sacramentan, for a wine bar chat about what makes Channel 24 special. The following conversation has been slightly condensed and edited for clarity.
Z: Are there any fun surprises people should look out for in the space—design aspects, food/drink options, secret corners?
Liz: Something to look out for—though it unfortunately won’t be open right when we launch—is our VIP room, similar to the ones at the Fox Theater and the Bellwether. When you buy your ticket, you can choose to upgrade and get access to this upscale room with special seating, a private bar, and complimentary elevated snacks.
When you walk in, there’s a huge mural in the main lobby and another in the stairwell going up to the second level, all done by local artist Cheyenne Randall. He’s also painting the exterior mural that wraps from Rice Alley up onto the upstairs patio.
And yes—we have an open-air patio, which is a big deal in Sacramento.
Z: Oooh, huge deal. We love our patios. And murals.
Liz: Also, a lot of people don’t realize how the building is constructed. It’s a venue inside a shell. So when you’re in the lobby, that’s the outer building—but once you walk into the venue space, that’s an entirely separate structure. It’s for sound containment—no sound bleed for neighbors, and it’s much quieter in the lobby if you need a breather.
Z: Very thoughtful! Okay—dream scenario. If you could snap your fingers and book any band to play Channel 24 tomorrow, who would it be?
Liz: Deftones. Hands down.
Z: Hell yeah! Hometown legends.
Liz: They’re having this huge resurgence, and we’ve worked with them a lot. We had them at Golden Gate Park last year, and at Bill Graham Civic in 2022. It would be such a full-circle Sacramento moment.
Z: What’s been the most exciting part of bringing Channel 24 to life—and what’s been the most chaotic?
Liz: Most exciting? Seeing the local communities response. Yeah, as the person in the company that was born and raised in Sacramento, I thought I had an idea of how Sacramento would react. But, then at the same time, I was second guessing myself, but it has been like such positive feedback so far, and people are stoked. People are buying tickets to these shows.
The most chaotic part is the build-out. New construction always comes together last minute. We’re aiming for perfect photos and videos, but the space isn’t quite there yet. So I just can’t wait for people to finally see it.
Final Thoughts
As the interview shows, Liz and I couldn’t be more excited for Channel 24 to start wowing us.
This venue isn’t just another spot on the map—it’s a sign that Sacramento is ready for something bigger. Where artists don’t have to skip us for the Bay, and where we can finally build the kind of space this city deserves.
In a music industry where artists make fractions of pennies on streaming platforms, live shows matter more than ever. With Channel 24, Sacramento gets to be part of that equation again.
Let’s go. 💥