Take a seat and relax for a night or join the music-friendly and lively audience at Zoey’s Cafe and Music Venue located in historic downtown Ventura.

As you take your first steps into Zoey’s, expect to be greeted warmly by cafe owners Polly Hoganson and her husband Steve, ushering you into their new location.  Zoey’s prides itself on being a destination for the rich Ventura County music scene. Hoganson, without hesitation, said that the music is the driving force of Zoey’s and has continued to be for five years. They have developed friendships with a lot of the firm local musicians and musicians from Los Angeles alike.

“We are pretty much the only all-ages venue in the downtown area of Ventura and we offer a very warm and welcoming place where musicians feel at home… and the audiences who come to see them appreciate… our venue because it is not a bar, it is more like a concert hall,” said Hoganson.

According to Hoganson, for the price of going out to the movies, you can be treated to performances from local and internationally established acts. Hoganson said that Zoey’s hopes to give musicians in the local area a platform to be able to express themselves.

Lee Koch, one part of the American blues and soul band Lee Koch & The Grinders, has performed at Zoey’s almost a dozen times and said that Zoey’s may not influence how he writes but it definitely has influenced how he delivers his music. 

“It [Zoey’s] has a family feel because family is there,” said Koch. “Zoey’s has a warm and welcoming family atmosphere and they definitely have the best hosts that I have ever encountered at any venue across the country.”

Upon first look Zoey’s modest accommodations may seem too sparse for live acts, but the intimacy works favorably and offers an experience unlike one you’ll find at other venues in Ventura County.

“I feel so comfortable on that stage, just as if I were in my own living room just playing for family,” said Koch. “Zoey’s is this little bubble of comfort and an atmosphere that is soothing.”  Most of the shows at Zoey’s Cafe are ticketed shows. Prices for the tickets vary depending on what artist is playing on what night. On Friday and Saturday nights they usually have two separate shows, most beginning at 7 p.m. and ending at 12:30 a.m. The earlier shows are usually singer/songwriter or acoustic oriented and the second show is usually a full band show that is more rock/punk oriented.

Hayley Glazier, a Moorpark College film major and a regular attendee at Zoey’s Cafe and Music Venue, said the best part about of visiting Zoey’s is the fact that it has a really laid back atmosphere.  

“It is nice that the music is in a separate part from the bar and the patio, so if you wanted to listen to the music you could just go into the little room which has a really nice and intimate setting for the music and then outside it was much like an outdoor patio, so it is just like hanging at home with your friends,” said Glazier.

“It is all ages which meant that my under twenty-one-year-old friend could come in and we could listen to live music.”

For more information on Zoey’s, visit www.zoeyscafe.com.

(Photo by Lucas Hinojosa )