Luther Burbank Center for the Arts

They charge a 15% «internet/​telephone convenience fee». Why? Because it’s a not-​for-​profit organization and uses the extra funds to send kids on field trips, or so the girl at the ticket office informed me. She then went on to say that if I didn’t want to pay that fee, I was more than welcome to drive out to Santa Rosa and buy the tickets in person. However, it wouldn’t be guaranteed that the seats were still available by the time I got there. I suppose I could drive the two hours to the center just to avoid the (in)convenience charge, but I don’t have the time to do that. I guess in the end, all of the options available are inconvenient. I have never encountered any other organization that demands convenience fees for online services. The concert had better be worth the price I’m paying.

Great shows, rude ushers who talked through quiet music, apparently no parking lot security. Our neighbors got their car broken into, stuff of no value to a thief stolen.

If you are in town and have some free time, come in and snap some pictures. Very calming and tranquil garden. There was a big group of ppl taking prom (?) pictures when i came here. Great venue for snapping pictures/​portraits. Roses are in bloom.

Every show I have been to has been outstanding!!! I have seen everything from concerts and comedy to children’s theatre snd amazing puppet/​black light shows. They are intimate and very spacious at the same time! There are more good seats than bad and have a seating chart online, so you can pick exactly where you want to sit. :’) I will wrote more later. Don’t miss your favorite event! :) Check out their website, one of my favorite theatres with such diverse performances!

Stool seats. Don’t ask– just get em! Leg/​dance room– don’t share the secret.
David Cross

I LOVE this theater… it is close to home, great shows, HOWEVER… the last several years they have had the same company perform the Nutcracker Ballet. It is HORRIBLE. We attended about 4 years-​ago, tried again this year and it was at least as bad. Not worth the money. Apparently others feel the same way because the theater wasn’t full (with only two performances total). PLEASE WFCA, sign up someone new!!!

This has been the BEST concert venue I have had the luck to live so close to! I have seen at least 4 shows since moving here in March. Bigs names, Steely Dan, White Snake, CHRIS CORNELL! and the Valley Fire benefit featuring my all time fav guitarist Robby Kreiger! Holler!
Such a wonderful, intimate 1600 seat theatre, you actually see the performers and enjoy a rich sound. Easy in, easy out parking, INCLUDED! Adult sippy cups can be brought into the comfortable seated venue. Its an invaluable community asset!

I see what happened here. There are two almost identical listings for this business on Unilocal,and I didn’t check in to this more legit choice! The other one has two negative reviews. Sneaky sneaky. Oh well all is fixed now.
I was very impressed with this smallish theatre venue on my visit. My friend Emily C. and I completed our Who’s Line Is It Anyway? cast collection with this Who’s Live Anyway? performance featuring Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops. We’ve all been to see Colin and Brad in Napa and Wayne Brady at the Punchline here in Sac, where we also met and took a picture with him because he’s that cool to girls on their birthdays.
Seats are comfy, but kind of smallish. It’s not stadium seating on the floor, so I had tall dudes in front of me and couldn’t see too well. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the show. It was hilarious, as predicted, and we had an awesome time. There weren’t huge bathroom lines, and there was a good selection of wine and goodies available. Parking was kind of a mess, as there’s one way in and one way out. :-/​
Speaking as a part time usher myself, it’s cool that the ushers here take the time to actually show you to your seats. Few places actually do that these days.

I’m totally coming back for ‘who’s live’ show, it’s hilarious! I didn’t come last year because I was busy on that weekend, but def will come back. The theater is small, so any seats are great, I was in row J/​9 and it was in the middle. They do allow drinks, and they sell drinks too, just not really food. Would come back! Everyone is friendly! Bathroom rush is not too too bad.

I love that we have such an awesome venue in Sonoma County to see so many great performers. There is so much variety, that there is something for everyone. And you are close enough to the stage, from any seat, that you feel the intimacy of the performance. We are grateful members and will continue to support the center, so we can continue to have this in our backyard.
For those that complain about lights and sound, that is almost always due to the performers insisting on a certain setup. The house staff has these things dialed in. When it’s done right, you can’t beat it. Sure we’ve seen shows we’ve been disappointed in, but more often than not the performance has been worth the money we’ve spent to go.

Reposting a review that I posted on another Unilocal page for the Wells Fargo Center.
Just watched a fantastic Pat Benatar concert, so why only 1 star?
Because the concert was ruined for many of the audience with bad lighting. Sitting in the loge seats there were high powered spots pointed right at us, which fired off repeatedly during the concert. Just as our eyes got accustomed to the lower intensity stage lighting, FLASH, and were all blinded. This happened again, and again, and again … which idiot was working the lights???
I just hope someone from this venue reads the reviews and can maybe do something about this.

Great venue to see a show. Plenty of parking, great views, sells beer and wine.
They could use more bathrooms, but oh well.
I have seen Jim Gaffigan and John Oliver here and thoroughly enjoyed both!

15% surcharge to buy your tickets online or by phone? Really? It costs them more to staff the box office, this actually turned me off so much that I passed on the show. What a rip-​off!

Great place to see a show. I remember coming here as a kid when it was the Luther Burbank Center. Back then, we kind of regarded the venue as a place to catch has-​been musicians and B-​level entertainment. So I’m happy to report that time has been kind to this theater (now known as the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts). It’s finally all growns-​up and offering some quality acts for kids of all ages.
I came here recently to catch a stand-​up comedy show featuring Bill Burr (great comedian, BTW!). Parking was plentiful. Unlike bigger venues (I’m looking at you Shoreline, Oakland Coliseum, AT & T Park, etc.), there was no ridiculous flat parking fee. We picked up our tickets at will-​call in less than 2 minutes. And then we were whisked away in to the charming auditorium. The lobby is a lot more modern than I remember as a kid. They’ve definitely put in some money to make this place look good.
The theater is definitely a nice-​size, but not too crazy big where you need binoculars to see the performers. We took our seats on the center balcony and enjoyed terrific view of the stage. Seating was comfortable, and there was even a cup holder for our beverage.
All in all, the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts is doing a great job of serving its community with first-​rate entertainment. The North Bay is very lucky to attract such great performers at this fine venue.

This place has turned into such a rip off! Went to see my daughter perform for her schools annual Spring Festival. They sold tickets in advance with a limit of 4 for like the first week and then you could go back to buy more but what’s the chances of sitting together. We get our 4, 2 for family members and 2 for my boyfriend and I. We get there and are told that our 5 MONTH old daughter is required to have a ticket or cannot go in. So we are forced to spend money on a seat that will not be sat in, along with a lot of other parents. This a very poor way to run a business and must be a pretty desperate attempt to make a profit! Very disappointed. Most venues allow children to sit on laps for free… this one is just run by greedy thieves I guess!

I love this place– and they get some great talent in there! I’ve enjoyed three performances here in the last few months and each has been wonderful– great acoustics, tough to get a «bad» seat, nice concessions– all great.
The only thing– and it’s a pretty big thing– is the bathroom situation. Bathrooms are in very short supply and the one upstairs is really dated and small. Every intermission there is a huge line outside both ladies and mens rooms and it’s a struggle to get back to your seat in time. If they could fix this the place would be PERFECT! Going forward, I won’t be ordering any beverages during performances… because…well, you know.

This should really be a 2 stars rating for the lighting and sound. I can’t fathom why the lighting operator or stage management seems to think we in the audience need to have spotlights shined in our eyes and the sound needs to be loud enough to shake the building. Also what is with the lighting fixtures obstructing the upper 20% of the video screen?
I’ll go a solid 4.5 for the seating and views of the stage and the attendants are very nice.
In closing, really folks, stage lighting and sound volume !! The last two visits my wife and I have from seeing very talented performers but with mild head aches from the sound and spotlights shined in our eyes.
Again 2 stars for sound and lighting and 4.5 stars for entertainment and in house personel.
Sincerely,
Rick Reiner
Santa Rosa

Now that we’ve been to the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts a few times… I find myself looking for more shows that I’d like to see there.
The venue is great… its a nice size… with free easy parking… and helpful friendly staff (I believe they are all volunteers). There are no bad seats… and they even let you drink in the venue if you purchase one of their $ 3 sippy cups
The only negative for me is I find that many of the acts are not my personal taste… but when a show does come that interests me, I’ll purchase tickets every time.

Have been to quite a few shows here and I love the intimate feeling for each show I’ve seen. Can’t wait until my next show — John Legend on April 1^st!

This is a nice mid-​size venue that is clean with friendly staff/​volunteers working the events.
My advice: sit in the balcony! Instead of doing that, we sat fairly close to the stage but ever-​so-​slightly off to the right. It’s not exactly stadium seating so expect someone’s head to block part of your view. That was kind of a bummer for me.
They sell beverages and allow you to bring them (in addition to bottled water) into the theater with their «sippy-cup”-type lids. I thought this was kind of cool actually, better than prohibiting any and all drinks inside!
I was surprised to find that there’s only one women’s restroom — ladies, you feel my pain. Be prepared to wait in line during intermission. That said, the one restroom actually has a dozen or so stalls so the wait goes by fairly quickly.