We love going to concerts, listening to any type of live music anywhere. Last Sunday we went to the House of Blues in San Diego, CA to attend the Dean Lewis Concert. What a fun night. The music was spectacular! As always, I want to share my honest review of the venue and experience to help you if and when you visit 🙂

The venue is small, you can see really well from anywhere. About 5 bars. Large restaurant and gift shop. Shirts cost $28 each or 2 for $46. You also get free mason jars with the HOB logo and a cute canvas gift bag. Dean Lewis concert shirts are sold in the concert area $30-$50 each.

The entire venue has so much to look at, the walls have studs and beads all over. It's decorated very New Orleans, R&B vibes, blues feel, lots of unique art, controversial at times. This gigantic mixed medium art in the gift shop was created by Billie Holiday. So unique.

Lots of photo ops. Stage to take photos on (below), the VooDoo Lounge that features live music in the restaurant. Endless things to look at everywhere.

Tip: Wear comfortable shoes if you want to stand in front of the stage. Big crowd makes it hard to leave once you're in front of the stage. You can rent tables above the stage, but the best view is directly in front of the stage. Standing room only.

General Admission vs VIP vs Pass the Line: They offer a "Pass the Line" option if you eat dinner at the restaurant and spend $25 per person (this amount can be a combination of food, drinks, and shirts from the HOB gift shop). We had a light dinner and bought the kids a couple of shirts. $150. The food was not good, it was not healthy or clean. Very below average TGIF type of food. I would not eat there again, instead, I would eat elsewhere and then perhaps just have wine and shop to spend the $25 per person to Pass the Line. VIP is about $125 per person, they get in before the Pass the Line people, and have drink service. They stand in front of the stage and have the railing to lean on. They should have stools for the VIP.

The Pass the Line is worth it, the general admission line was really long. Being among the first dozen people to enter, we were right up next to the stage. There were 2 warm-up performers before Dean Lewis. Keep in mind to wear comfortable shoes if you want to stand near the stage, we stood from 6-10. Not comfy in my high heel snakeskin boots, but I did look cute! lol.

Kiana Jr. purchased the concert tickets to the Dean Lewis concert for Anelalani's 17th birthday. What a wonderful gift! Such fun!

Make sure to bring a charged phone to take lots of videos and photos! The are is very downtown, lots of homeless people. Parking expensive $30. Next time we visit, we will stay in a hotel near the venue and take a cab.

Highlights: Anelalan and Kiana Jr. knew every song. They smiled non-stop the entire show. At one point, Dean literally said hello to them during the concert and grabbed Anela's hand. The best part of the show was watching the smiles and joy on my daughters' faces. And I really like his music so much now.

Would I go back? Yes, but with the following tips:

Eat elsewhere, spend $25 per person for Pass the Line on wine, appetizers, shirts
Or buy the VIP tickets and ask for a barstool in front of the stage
Stay at hotel and take cab there and get dropped off right in front of the venue
Go early to take fun pictures
Have phones fully charged