When indie rock band Carpool Tunnel first took the stage at Bottom of the Hill years ago, they couldn’t have imagined they’d ever have to say goodbye. They just knew they’d fallen in love.
“Bottom of the Hill holds a super close place in our heart,” said Ben Koppenjan, Carpool Tunnel’s lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist.
The four-piece group formed in San Francisco in about 2017, and the Potrero Hill music venue — at the bottom of the hill on 17th Street — soon became a steady spot for them to play their songs and amass fans.
“When we were starting our band, playing at Bottom of the Hill was a big pinnacle for us,” he explained.
Carpool Tunnel returns to the Hill on Thursday, Feb. 26 to headline a show as part of the Noise Pop music festival. Joining them will be Small Crush, who they played with early on at venues like the Honey Hive Gallery in the Outer Sunset, along with indie/shoegaze band starbelliedbug.
As the band’s first-ever Noise Pop show was at Bottom of the Hill in 2022, their upcoming gig at the venue is fitting, but also bittersweet.
In early January, Bottom of the Hill owners Lynn Schwarz, Ramona Downey and Kathleen Owen announced on social media that the venue will close at the end of 2026. (Tim Benetti, their business partner, died in 2023.)
“We really, really want this last year to feel like a celebration and, even though we know it’s going to leave a hole in the ecosystem and it’s really sad, we refuse to think of it that way,” Schwarz said. “We would rather just say, ‘We had such a great run, and this year is going to be the best year that we’ve ever had.’”
“When I heard the news, I was absolutely heartbroken,” said Koppenjan. “We love Lynn — we love everyone that works at Bottom of the Hill.”
For Schwarz, the band’s professionalism, kindness and loyalty stand out as much as their musicianship.
“Even as I felt they were perhaps getting big enough to headline bigger venues, they always throw it back to the venues that mean a lot to them, and that definitely is the kind of band that we love the most,” said Schwarz.
Noise Pop dates back to 1993, when founder Kevin Arnold put together a show featuring five bands for five bucks at the Kennel Club, now the Independent. In partnership with Jordan Kurland, the festival has morphed into a multi-day event spanning multiple San Francisco venues and showcasing dozens of artists.
Bottom of the Hill, which opened in September 1991, has hosted Noise Pop shows for years.
“Like Hardly Strictly [Bluegrass Festival] is hardly strictly bluegrass, Noise Pop is hardly strictly pop or noise or noise pop, and it’s always felt very inclusive to me of different styles,” said Schwarz.
Schwarz recalled the first time Carpool Tunnel took the stage at Bottom of the Hill — and the impression the band left with its own melodic, SoCal-vibe sounds.
“I was just blown away by them,” she said. “It was one of those bands where everyone in the crowd was just so into it, and it really took me by surprise. And I go, ‘These kids are definitely going places.’”
For the upcoming show at Bottom of the Hill, Koppenjan and bandmates Michael “Junior” Reed (drums), Jenny Quay (lead guitarist) and Kalani Faith (bass guitarist) plan to pull from their albums “Don’t Let Them Pass You By” (2023) and “Bloom” (2021), along with newer songs.
Faith described Bottom of the Hill as iconic, and the city’s music scene as welcoming.
She and Koppenjan also like that some people might head to Bottom of the Hill on Feb. 26 simply to hear live music and be impressed by what they hear.
“Bottom of the Hill is one of those places where people just show up to see bands,” said Koppenjan. “I’ve had people be like, ‘I just came to the show tonight, and I was so surprised by your set. You guys are so cool.’”
Plus, the venue has a certain quirkiness, including interior decor that may be as old as the venue itself.
“I think we all love playing places that have character and history. You just feel presence in the room from all the experiences that have been had there. I think San Francisco still has a lot of that,” Koppenjan said.
In line with their affection for Bottom of the Hill, they asked Schwarz and her partners if they could film a music video for “Empty Faces,” a song from their album “Bloom,” inside the venue.
“They allowed us to reserve the space for an afternoon, and we invited a bunch of fans to come and be in the video,” said Koppenjan.
Bottom of the Hill is most prominently featured around the two-minute mark in the video, with Carpool Tunnel on its stage.
Bottom of the Hill’s other Noise Pop 2026 shows include the headliners Hudson Freeman (Feb. 20), Jeffrey Lewis & the Voltage (Feb. 21), J. Robbins (Feb. 22), Hot Flash Heat Wave (Feb. 25), Illuminati Hotties (Feb. 28), and San Francisco indie/math rock band P.E.E. and Nuzzle (March 1).
To honor the venue’s closing, Noise Pop 2026 will also feature a free photography exhibition, “A Tribute to Bottom of the Hill,” at Hi Hat in the Mission. It opened Feb. 12.
“We’re going to feel a big absence in this music community without a venue like theirs,” said Koppenjan. “I’m so thankful to also be playing a show there this month [and] to be supporting it.”
The band hopes to schedule one more show at Bottom of the Hill after returning from their UK tour in April, before the venue closes.
“Gosh, they better hurry,” said Schwarz, with a laugh. “It’s filling up fast.”
Will-call tickets to Carpool Tunnel’s all-ages show on Thursday, Feb. 26, are $22, plus a $5.51 online booking fee. Tickets are $25 at the door. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with music starting at 8:30 p.m.
I played in many bands at the B’o’H over the years since it arrived in the 90s, many who have gone on to be big stars. So many great memories there. B’o’H will be dearly missed.
It’s a changing of the guard in SF when it comes to the arts. Tech bros talking bottom line crap are everywhere, music choice is algorythms, CCA getting bought, AI billboards, fake culture. Different times. Best of luck, humans.