Music in North San Diego County

It used to be that we would go out for the nightlife only on Saturday nights. But starting about six months ago, we added Friday nights to the list. Typically, we go to a place like the Elephant Bar for dinner and drinks on Fridays. But we also like to go where there is live music if possible. We had thought that there were only three places with live music in North County (that is what San Diegans call the northern part of San Diego County): Coyote's, Jumping Turtle, and Carver's.

Coyote's is a very nice place, but the problem is getting a seat. Outdoors around the live band, seating is practically nonexistent. Indoors where there is a DJ, seating can be found around the great bar, but you had better not get up to dance or your seat is gone. Jumping Turtle catered toward heavy metal twenty-somethings, and it is VERY loud. We would sometimes go in there for a nightcap for about an hour before heading home. Yeah, we were the oldest people there, but no one seemed to mind and we enjoyed listening to the bands. This place got into a bit of legal trouble which they are still in the process of sorting out, we'll probably wait a few months before going back. Carver's has excellent live bands and a great cozy atmosphere. It is mainly a steakhouse but the bar area is great. So we typically rotate between those three places - down to 2 with Jumping Turtle in a state of flux.

I've tried searching for more places, but most websites are close to useless in searches for dancing and/or live music in North County. But yesterday, I tried the search in Yelp and was much more successful! I came up with about 15 places within 15 miles of our house! Some of them really aren't nightlife capable (like the center for the arts), a few are dive bars, and a few we already knew about but really aren't crazy about. But there are plenty we hadn't heard of that will be fun to slip into the mix now and then. And so I don't forget, I've added them to the right in the new "Music Venue" category. I'm betting we have a great time exploring these new places on weekends...