Despite fears, Sacramento’s Channel 24 brought music — not mayhem — to Midtown | Opinion
A few times in my 20s, back when I was living in Boston, I went to a concert venue that has remained in my memory as the epitome of live music experiences.
The floorboards were soaked with countless years of spilled beer, and there was a dimly-lit, horseshoe-shaped balcony around the perimeter — perfect for sneaking a hit from a friend’s joint or dancing with abandon and without judgment from strangers.
With that ideal firmly in mind, I was pleasantly surprised from the moment I first stepped into Sacramento’s Channel 24: the new concert venue that opened about five months ago near the corner of R and 24th streets in Midtown Sacramento. It is exactly what a music hall should be: great sound, great lighting, plenty of bar lines, and a fantastic lineup of acts that Sacramentans can get excited about.
“Since opening in April, patrons and artists have praised our programming, sound system, sightlines, security and staff,” said Liz Liles-Brown with Another Planet Entertainment. “We are thrilled with the positive feedback and look forward to continuing to make improvements on our new building such as our upcoming VIP room opening soon.”
In March, before the venue officially opened, I was speaking to a friend who lived very near Channel 24; he was concerned because he’d just received a notice from the city informing neighbors of a change to the city’s street permitted parking plan. The modification imposed a new, one-hour parking limitation from 8 a.m. to midnight, every day of the week, except with a permit, in a large grid between 20th and 28th streets, and N St. through V St.
Residents were worried that the change in permitting would complicate their ability to host family and friends at their home, or that it could make access to homes and businesses difficult for disabled residents.
“Since the venue opened, the feedback from residents has been positive and we’re not hearing concerns from residents in the area related to parking access on event nights. The early, cautious approach has served the community well,” wrote Gabby Miller, a communications specialist with the Office of the City Manager, in an email.
As a prospective client of the venue, I admit I was also concerned: Parking is hard enough in Midtown without further extending the myriad of laws that regulate it. Tickets from the city are no joke either, around $70 a pop.
The city and venue’s answer was to heavily tout the Regional Transit station just steps away from the front door, but just how many people have actually taken advantage of that option in the past few months?
Jessica Gonzalez, a spokesperson for SacRT, said they really haven’t seen a major surge in ridership at the 23rd Street Station since the concert venue opened, but “we have noticed a small uptick of about 15-20 riders on some concert nights.”
So if the music hall’s clientele isn’t taking public transportation, then they’re either driving or taking a taxi to the shows, a solid assumption borne out by reports from neighbors who say they see huge numbers of people walking by on show nights.
“You know the nights they have something going on because there’s a hundred people walking back and forth,” said Kameron Lewis, who lives on Q Street between 23rd and 24th. Lewis said he’s received at least five parking tickets since Channel 24 opened, leading him to try and establish a friendly relationship with the parking enforcement officers.
“It’s great to have something nice and close and local, but the parking people aren’t cool if you don’t have that permit,” he said. “And I have two vehicles. You gotta stay on your toes and get the right permits and pay attention to the signs.”
Still, Lewis said, he’s happy to have a music venue so nearby, and believes Channel 24 has created overall good for the neighborhood.
While interviewing Lewis, I ran into some friends who live so near Channel 24 that they can see their front lawn from the box office window. Vince and Jacklin Garcia have lived at the corner of 24th and Q streets for almost a decade, and said they truly love living so nearby.
“It’s almost surreal how convenient it is,” Jacklin said.
The Garcias are lucky to have a garage on their property, so street parking hasn’t been an issue like it has been for Lewis and other neighbors. Initially, they were concerned about concert-goers blocking their driveway — a fear they say hasn’t really panned out, thankfully. The only downside has been a bit more trash showing up in their yard, but that’s a tradeoff they say they’ve willingly made for living in Midtown.
“The new parking restrictions have made it a little harder, though,” Jacklin said, “whenever we have a babysitter or a guest over for dinner, if they stay longer than an hour, we have to remember to give them a pass.”
“We definitely see people park here, start to walk, and then see the signs and go back,” Vince added.
Both the Garcias and their nearby neighbor, Lewis, said they’d like to see a stoplight or more streetlights installed at the now-busy intersection. Apparently, drivers blow through the stop sign all the time, and they’re concerned about the safety of the increased number of pedestrians — a terrible accident waiting to happen. The Garcias said it’s common to hear brakes screeching on concert nights.
(Unfortunately, the city of Sacramento doesn’t have the greatest track record of keeping people safe from reckless drivers: There’s been at least 14 traffic-related pedestrian deaths in the city just this year, plus two more involving bicyclists. The corner of Q and 24th streets seems like a perfect opportunity for the city to get ahead of yet another tragic accident.)
As a regular Channel 24 concert-goer myself, I’ll admit that I’ve never had an issue finding parking, as long as I was willing to walk a few blocks. My friends and I usually hit up a nearby restaurant (shoutout to Journey to Dumpling, across the street from the old Bee building on 21st and Q) and we walk to the show from there. Twice now, I’ve managed to get a spot in the parking lot just across the SacRT tracks, right next to the venue.
Channel 24, I’m sincerely happy to report, seems to have neatly sidestepped many of the issues that the neighborhood rightfully feared before its opening. Real kudos are due to Another Planet Entertainment, who have brought an excellent music venue to Sacramento and created a beautiful space for the community to be proud of.
This story was originally published September 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
