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Why The Belly Up in San Diego Is a Magnet for Music Royalty — From The Rolling Stones to Snoop Dogg
The Belly Up, a 600-capacity venue in Solana Beach near San Diego, has become a favoured small-stage destination for major artists through decades of relationship-building and accommodating performers’ needs. Its status was highlighted in 2015, when The Rolling Stones played an unusually intimate private benefit shortly after appearing before more than 40,000 people at San Diego’s Petco Park.
The Stones’ May 27 show was hired by former Hewlett-Packard chairman Ralph Whitworth to support immunotherapy cancer research, with public ticket sales unavailable. To meet Mick Jagger’s request, the venue extended its stage by four feet, a change it retained; its artist-focused approach dates back to 1974 and has also brought blues figures including Etta James, Buddy Guy and John Lee Hooker to the room.
In short
- The Belly Up attracts major artists despite holding only 600 people.
- The Rolling Stones played a secret 2015 private benefit there.
- Long-term relationships and flexibility underpin the venue’s reputation.
Explained simply
The Belly Up is a small live music venue in Solana Beach, near San Diego, with room for about 600 people. Since opening in 1974, it has built relationships with performers and adapted its space to suit their needs, while hosting acts from blues musicians to major touring artists.
Large performers often play arenas or stadiums, so a small venue offers a very different setting. The Rolling Stones’ private benefit there in 2015, organised by former Hewlett-Packard chairman Ralph Whitworth to raise money for cancer research, showed how the room can bring famous acts close to a limited audience.