By early evening the downtown blocks fill with people heading to dinner or a show, and the bars around the 19th Street and Eye Street intersection start to pick up. Later, the crowd spreads out toward the breweries on the edges of the city, where tables stay full well into the night.
Bakersfield's nightlife is modest in scale and centered on drinking, live music and scheduled shows rather than on a large club district. It suits visitors who want an easy, low-key evening built around a bar, a brewery or a performance, and who are happy to move between a few separate spots rather than stay on one strip. The city is the birthplace of the Bakersfield sound, so country and roots music carry some weight in what gets booked.
Where to go out in Bakersfield
1. Downtown around 19th Street and Eye Street
This is the core of the city's bar and club scene, with the concentration of venues sitting around the intersection of 19th Street and Eye Street. It suits a night that starts with a drink and stays walkable between stops.
Practical point: if you want the densest choice of bars and clubs in one place, this is the area to base your evening in.
2. The Fox Theater, 2001 H Street
The Fox Theater is a downtown venue that schedules standup comedy and musical guests. It suits an evening planned around a single ticketed performance rather than a wandering night out.
Practical point: the building dates from 1930, in Spanish Colonial and Art Deco styles, and was restored in the 1990s, so the room itself is part of the evening.
3. Dignity Health Arena, Theater and Convention Center, 1001 Truxtun Avenue
This complex hosts sporting events, concerts, circuses and other shows throughout the year. It suits a night when the main event is a large-format concert or arena show.
Practical point: programming varies across the year, so check what is on before you build an evening around it.
4. The brewery trail
Most of Bakersfield's microbreweries sit a bit further out from the downtown bar cluster, and there is a Brewery Trail with prizes after checking in at a few breweries. It suits a slower, daytime-into-evening route by car rather than a single-venue night.
Practical point: because the breweries are spread out, plan the order of stops rather than expecting to walk between them.
5. Lengthwise Brewing Company, 7700 District Boulevard
A microbrewery serving reasonably priced beer and pub-style food. It suits an early, food-led part of the evening.
Practical point: it is one of the stops on the brewery trail, so it can be combined with other breweries.
6. Temblor Brewing Co, 3200 Buck Owens Boulevard
A brewery with set opening hours and a happy hour, useful as a starting point before heading downtown. It suits a group wanting a table and a longer sit.
Practical point: it opens Sunday to Thursday 11AM to 9PM and Friday to Saturday 11AM to 11PM, with happy hour Tuesday to Thursday 2 to 6PM and all day Sunday and Monday.
7. CSUB jazz events
Jazz club workshops and coffee shop appearances connected to CSUB give the city a small, informal live-music strand. It suits a quieter evening built around a performance rather than a bar.
Practical point: these are occasional events rather than a fixed nightly schedule, so check what is running during your visit.
8. Bakersfield Speedway, 5001 North Chester Avenue Extension
A clay oval racetrack running a full ticket of races, and the oldest motor racetrack in California. It suits an evening out that is a spectator event rather than a drink-led night.
Practical point: it is a race-night destination, so time your visit around a scheduled meeting.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not set out a detailed evening timetable for Bakersfield. What they show is that the night splits between fixed-hour venues and later bar hours: the brewery Temblor closes at 9PM Sunday to Thursday and at 11PM Friday and Saturday, while the downtown bar and club cluster around 19th Street and Eye Street is where the later part of the evening happens. The Fox Theater and the Dignity Health arena and theater run to their own show times, so an evening built around a performance follows the door time rather than a general local rhythm.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- Ethnic food and culture festivals, including Scottish, Indian, Basque and Greek events, in spring and summer.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Bakersfield's bar and club scene concentrated?
It is primarily centered in the downtown area around the intersection of 19th Street and Eye Street.
Where are the breweries in relation to downtown?
Most microbreweries are a bit further out from the downtown bar cluster, and there is a Brewery Trail with prizes after checking in at a few breweries.
When do the culture festivals take place?
Ethnic food and culture festivals, including Scottish, Indian, Basque and Greek events, occur in the spring and summer.
What kind of entertainment can I book an evening around?
The Fox Theater schedules standup comedy and musical guests, and the Dignity Health Arena, Theater and Convention Center hosts sporting events, concerts, circuses and other shows throughout the year.
Decide whether your evening is a downtown bar night, a brewery route or a ticketed show, then plan the order of your stops around it.