Downtown Los Angeles boasts a vibrant music scene, and a key player in this scene is The Moroccan Lounge. Located on the border of Downtown LA and the Arts District at 901 E. 1st St., this live rock venue is a modern performance space reconfigured from a building erected in 1899 as a cocktail lounge.
The Moroccan Lounge formally opened its doors with a performance by Canadian punk-rockers PUP. Since then, it has hosted concerts by notable artists like Grizzly Bear, BØRNS, and Geographer, as well as album-release shows by local talents such as Kan Wakan and Warbly Jets.
History and Transformation
A lot of bars have passed through 901 E. 1st St., now home to the Moroccan Lounge at the edge of Little Tokyo and the Arts District. Old-guard downtown music fans will recall the rowdy Little Pedro’s, with sets from the beloved octogenarian blues singer Mickey Champion. Afterward came the crimson-hued Bordello, then One Eyed Gypsy, then the relatively swank restaurant Osso. Before all that, it was a Bukowski-ish cop bar with an allegedly tawdry brothel past.
The room is the brainchild of the owners of the Teragram Ballroom on 7th Street and the latest incarnation of the building at 901 E. 1st St. said to hold one of the oldest liquor licenses in L.A. Over the past two decades, the room has been known as Little Pedro’s, Little Pedro’s Blue Bongo, Bordello, One-Eyed Gypsy and Osso. The new owners have given the place a tasteful but not ostentatious makeover, retaining touches like the brick and swathes of vintage wallpaper.
Capacity and Design
The Moroccan Lounge has a 275-person capacity. The new indie music club, which opens this month, is the second L.A. outpost from the team behind the Teragram Ballroom, the popular midsize concert venue just over the 110 freeway in Westlake. The Moroccan Lounge is half the size of the Teragram - a 275-person capacity puts it just under the Echo.
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The most notable change was shortening the bar, and partitioning the lounge area from the music area. The venue’s previous L-shaped layout meant the sound from the stage bled into the bar area. The 250-person-capacity music room and lounge houses "unimpeded sight lines, exceptional acoustics, and a state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems" (translation: the ears of fans and performers will be equally delighted).
The Moorish features of the renovated building were subtle - delicate wrought iron windows, arched entrances and moody tile work.
Acoustics and Ambiance
While ambiance and sustenance are fine and everything, music fans are likely to talk most about the sound quality. The work of Jeff DelBello of db Sound Design and acoustical consultant Jim Falconer, the intimate room, with its acoustic padding and speakers surrounding the north and south walls, feel like a sound cocoon. The description “full-bodied” comes to mind.
Downtown has a new venue for enjoying KCRW regulars - and given the address' recent string of globally-inspired tenants (and the fact that the building claims to be one of LA's oldest liquor-licensed location), its interiors and menu pay homage to the location's bohemian spirit.
The Vision of Michael Swier
The cool club comes from influential club creator Michael Swier, whose first LA venture was the Teragram Ballroom, which opened in 2015. “It was always important to have a 300-cap venue where the newest of new bands could grow,” said Moroccan Lounge co-owner Michael Swier. (Swier also runs two popular New York venues, the Bowery Ballroom and the Mercury Lounge.)Swier, with partner Joe Baxley, had his eye on a second, smaller downtown venue for a year, as a complement to the Teragram. The goal was to find a space in which they could cultivate talent in a neighborhood-level setting. With the Moroccan Lounge, they might have found it.
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“It’s important to have that stepping stone, and I always liked to have relationships with bands where they can advance through rooms,” Swier said.
Swier’s venues were a major part of New York’s ’00s rock boom (as seen in the recent oral history “Meet Me In the Bathroom”). Downtown L.A. isn’t near that fever pitch of a scene, but a collection of well-curated, quality rooms for bands to grow could help keep music at the forefront as the neighborhood changes.
“I feel comfortable in L.A.,” Swier said, of his long-term goals for even more new spaces to cultivate the city’s local rock scene. “Though I’m focused on Moroccan and Teragram, it is possible” that more venues could come.
The Satellite, the Bootleg and the nearby Resident are beloved neighborhood venues (the Moroccan Lounge’s talent buyer, Duncan Smith, came over from the Resident). But now that Swier has multiple venues to nurture acts at different stages of their careers, it may be the start of a new scene entirely.
And perhaps at exactly the right time - Swier recently parted ways with his longtime New York promoters Bowery Presents after its acquisition by AEG, which upended New York’s indie promoter scene.
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While the Teragram is more of a big-occasion venue, the Moroccan Lounge was pitched for locals unwinding on a weeknight - the crowd looked the part of young TV writers, talent managers and downtowners trading war stories from older incarnations of the venue.
“I can think of so many instances where Local Natives has grown with people, and us and them helping each other out throughout the years,” Ayer said. “These guys have ties going back to the Bowery Ballroom, which Local Natives grew with.
Ayer came of age in L.A.’s local rock-residency culture, where band members cut their teeth with small Eastside promoters and developed over time into national acts. The Moroccan Lounge could be welcome ballast for that local scene, which has been largely dominated by one vertically integrated promoter (Spaceland Presents) for years.
The space also looks to be a popular underplay spot - upcoming headliners include experimental folk-rockers Grizzly Bear, electronic pop act Børns and blues-revivalists the Dead Ships (tickets for the former two are sold-out).
While the Arts District and downtown at large have gone through a thorough yupsterfication over the last decade, it’s heartening that neighborhood music venues have been able to lock in and find an audience in the crowded DTLA nightlife scene.
On its soft-opening night Sept. 12, local rock-scene luminaries filled the venue’s dual rooms to capacity.
Upcoming Events
The Moroccan Lounge continues to host a variety of events. Here's a glimpse of the upcoming schedule:
| Date | Artist | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6, 2025 | Entheos, Fallujah, The Zenith Passage, Tracheotomy | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Nov 11, 2025 | Layto | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Nov 12, 2025 | NESYAKØDE (NO) | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Nov 18, 2025 | TOLEDO, fanclubwallet | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Nov 20, 2025 | 24kGoldn, Wyatt Woodley, Seph | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Nov 28, 2025 | Chapis, St. Panther, Kira Lise | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Dec 3, 2025 | Ni/Co | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Dec 4, 2025 | ILUKA | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Feb 11, 2026 | COOL HEAT | The Moroccan Lounge |
| Feb 12, 2026 | Primer, Dark Fantasy | The Moroccan Lounge |
The Moroccan Lounge, located on the border of Downtown LA and the Arts District, is a live rock venue well-suited to the hosting of private events and film shoots. The building, erected in 1899 as a cocktail lounge, has been reconfigured as a modern performance space with dance floor, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, and advanced acoustical treatments.
Looking for a larger venue for your filming or private event? Teragram Ballroom EST. The Teragram Ballroom, located on the border of Downtown LA and the Westlake neighborhood, is a live rock venue well-suited to the hosting of private events and film shoots. The building, erected in 1913 as the Playhouse Theater, has been reconfigured as a modern performance space with ballroom dance floor, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems, unobstructed sight lines, and advanced acoustical treatments.
In addition to its welcoming lobby, the venue is equipped with a full-service café as well as a separate bar/lounge where guests may mingle and relax. A third bar is situated within the music hall itself. An ample backstage, three sizable dressing rooms, and an off-street loading dock cater to the comfort and convenience of the artists so that they have the best possible performance.
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