The

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley (), sometimes referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, with the city of Los Angeles directly bordering it to the west and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern ...

encompasses a large part in the Northeast region of the

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...

area. This region played a major role in the music of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and California. The San Gabriel Valley remains home to several influential performing groups, such as,

Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...

and the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra.

Genres of Music

Rock

Compared to other parts of Los Angeles, like Silver Lake (where frequent alternative Indie bands play) and

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

(where many successful rap, punk, ska and reggae groups originated from), rock music from the San Gabriel Valley included genres of

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

, like,

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal music, heavy metal that features pop music, pop-influenced Hook (music), hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat arena rock, rock anthems, and slow Sentimental ballad#Powe ...

, heavy metal and

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...

were especially popular between the 1970s and 1990s.

Notable Local Live Music Performance Groups

* Pasadena Symphony Orchestra * Rio Hondo Symphony * La Mirada Symphony Orchestra

Notable Musicians and Entertainers

* Abe Perez - acclaimed drummer from popular 1970's band Yankee Rose, percussionist and endorsed artist. *

Alex Van Halen Alexander Arthur Van Halen ( , ; born May 8, 1953) is an American musician who was the drummer and a co-founder of the rock band Van Halen, which was formed in 1972 by Van Halen and his younger brother Eddie Van Halen, Eddie under the name "Ma ...

- a Dutch-born American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen. Anna Nalick - an American singer-songwriter. *

Donny Simmons Donny Simmons is an American guitarist. He is mostly known for being the guitarist of both bands Stormer and Yankee Rose, bands that were popular in Los Angeles, sharing the stage with Ratt, Quiet Riot, Mötley Crüe, Metallica and Van Halen. Si ...

- guitarist from popular bands from the 1970s and 1980s Yankee Rose and Stormer, who opened for Van Halen. * Joe Marks - bass player from Covina, played with Mötley Crüe's

Vince Neil Vincent Neil Wharton (born February 8, 1961) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist of heavy metal music, heavy metal band Mötley Crüe, which he fronted from their 1981 formation until his departure in 1992. Neil reunited with the ...

in a previous band named Rockandi. Also played with Posh-Boy recording artists The Wigglers, then replaced Tim Gaines in the popular L.A. Band Stormer. Also played with Charlotte in 1986. *

Eddie Van Halen Edward Lodewijk Van Halen ( , ; January 26, 1955 – October 6, 2020) was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex V ...

- a Dutch-American musician, songwriter and producer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, occasional keyboardist and co-founder of the hard rock band

. * Fergie - an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer, television host, and actress. She is the female vocalist for the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, with whom she has achieved chart success worldwide. *

Greg Camp Gregory Dean Camp (born April 2, 1967) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band Smash Mouth and served as a guitarist and songwriter across several stints (1994–2008, 2009–201 ...

- an American Grammy Award-nominated songwriter, guitarist and vocalist. He is best known as the founding guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Smash Mouth. *

Harry Fox Harry Fox (born Arthur Carringford; May 25, 1882 – July 20, 1959) was an American vaudeville dancer, actor, and comedian. Biography Fox is most notably famous for being related as name-source to the Fox Trot dance in New York. In "Dance Mad" ...

- a vaudeville dancer, actor, and comedian. * Jeremy Masana - bassist from popular band Stormer and the Tracy G Group. * Jim Fuller - a guitarist and co-songwriter of 1960s rock band

The Surfaris The Surfaris are an American surf music band formed in Glendora, California, in 1962. They are best known for two songs that hit the record chart, charts in the Los Angeles area, and nationally by May 1963: "Surfer Joe" and "Wipe Out (instrume ...

. *

Mr. Capone-E Fahd Azam (born April 27, 1976), known professionally as Mr. Capone-E, is an American rapper. He is the owner of the record label Hi-Power Entertainment. Early life Fahd Azam was born in the Peshawar district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provin ...

- a rapper and owner of Hi-Power Entertainment. He was also signed with Thump Records, where he released his 2003 album ''Dedicated 2 the Oldies'' in which he interpolated songs like " Angel Baby" by Rosie & the Originals . * Steve Hall - drummer from 1980's popular band Stormer * Steve Hall, Jr. - drummer of popular punk rock band se7en4, endorsed artist and son of popular Stormer drummer Steve Hall. *

Tim Gaines Tim Gaines (born Timothy Hagelganz; December 15, 1962) is an American bass guitarist best-known as the long-time bassist for the Christian metal band Stryper until his departure in 2017. Biography Early life Gaines was born in Portland, Ore ...

- an American bass guitarist. He is most known for being the bassist of the Christian metal band Stryper. *

Tracy G Tracy Grijalva (born January 3, 1959), known as Tracy G, is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his time with Dio from 1993 to 1999. Early life Tracy's first band experience was in band called the Grijalva Brothers with his ...

- former lead guitarist of Dio and main member of the Tracy G Group * Jon Williams - Former lead singer and principal songwriter of The Lost Cause and Band X (with Joe Marks), also fronted Monkey Stu, Vertical Slot and JonKen KindWill - currently Rock Historian at irocku.com * ILYFR - artist and film director also known as Derrick Oliver from Baldwin Park, CA

Notable Venues

Fairplex The Fairplex has been the home of the L.A. County Fair since 1922. Known prior to 1984 as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, it is located in the city of Pomona, California. The L.A. County Fair is held during the month of May since 2022, but th ...

in Pomona * San Gabriel Mission Playhouse * San Gabriel Valley Music Theatre * Fox Theater in Pomona * Glasshouse in Pomona

References

{{Reflist

San Gabriel Valley