Alex Isley’s Los Angeles Is Ever-Inspiring
Everyone has an LA story, but only a few can sing its soul. Alex Isley is one of them. In fact, the singer-songwriter is fluent in it. Raised in LA, Isley grew up with music as a primary love language. It’s one she learned from her father, Ernie Isley of the legendary Isley Brothers, and her grandmother, a former opera singer-turned-vocal coach. After developing her artistry at LACHSA and studying jazz at UCLA, the Grammy-nominated musician translated that language into her own voice. From her first EP The Love/Art Memoirs (2012) to her latest EP, When (2025), her sound — chill, heartfelt, and introspective — offers a window into how the city’s shaped her. Her most recent album with Terrace Martin, I Left My Heart in Ladera (2023), is a tribute to that connection.
Now, Isley invites you to experience her LA. This isn’t a sightseeing map, it’s a journey through memory, music, and meaning. From a restaurant where she realized her creative dreams to a hotel that inspires her storytelling, let’s explore Los Angeles with Alex Isley.
Amoeba Records
On a star map, Amoeba Records is an iconic record store. To locals, it’s a testament to the power of preserving history. For Alex Isley, that power lies in Amoeba being her place to explore and expand her art. She grew up visiting its original location on Sunset — established in 1990 — diving deep into the world of J Dilla, funk, and obscure records before streaming took over the mainstream. “Amoeba was just a place of discovery,” Isley recalls, “There’s always so much stuff to find and get into.”
When she comes to Amoeba’s new home in Hollywood now, she’s still guided by curiosity, combing through the rock, R&B, jazz, folk, and soundtrack sections, and finding treasures from artists like Carole King, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, and Henry Mancini. Pointing to her tattoo inspired by Mancini’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s closing score, “Moon River,” she says, “It’s about being romantic and just the eternal optimist when it comes to love, and I feel like that’s how I am.”
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To her, the beauty of Amoeba lies in the experience of the music — the tactile connection to history through liner notes and album art. “I think there’s always a place for physical media, and I think it’s important to preserve that however we can,” she says. As one of the last enduring places like it in LA, Amoeba isn’t just a must-visit Hollywood mainstay, it’s a place to hold memories in the present and find new power in the past.
Hotel Figueroa
No matter where you stay in the city, you’ll find no shortage of legendary hotels with timeless charm. For Alex Isley, one of her favorites is Hotel Figueroa. Founded in 1926, the hotel was primarily designed for professional women to gather and to lodge, a safe space they could call their own. Though now open to all genders, the space still honors its roots with annually rotating art exhibits that center women artists. This year, that’s Dame Moore with “Giving Grace.”
“I think the location where it is downtown is nostalgic for me,” Isley says, before sharing her own professional history with it. She points to a building towering over the hotel’s iconic pool. “One of the first admin jobs I had before I had music out was with the building right next door.”
To Isley, Hotel Figueroa feels connected to the city’s creative legacy yet stays refreshingly current. Here, she finds inspiration in imagining the stories of strangers who sit in the lobby and the old friends whom she catches up with at the bar. After all, the hotel is located just steps away from LA Live, where sport and pop culture history collide. This is the part of town where the Lakers play and the Grammys take place – with the Grammys Museum nearby. “First and foremost, this is home,” she says. “But it is cool to think about old Hollywood and who might’ve been around in these buildings on the scene back in the day.”
Simply Wholesome
Located in View Park-Windsor Hills where Alex grew up, Simply Wholesome simply hits different. “Simply Wholesome is a staple in the community that is part of my beginning,” she says. “It’s where I really first started to dream about my future and believed that it was possible for me to do what I wanted to do.”
Opened in 1984, the Black-owned restaurant and health food store has since become a beloved landmark. “Simply is a big part of Black LA and the Black community out here. You can feel the love and the intention,” says Isley, who can note her order without looking at the menu: a salmon burrito, brown rice, lettuce, and beans. “[A few days before he passed] I was waiting for my food, and I saw Nipsey come in. He grew up here. Everyone in this neighborhood knows what Simply is.”
“Being from LA, it’s all about being authentic and being yourself, but also being willing to collaborate and create. Simply’s a one-of-a-kind experience,” says store manager Ayanna Keeling, daughter of visionary founder Percell Keeling. “You meet people, you see people, and you want to just be friends and family.” To Mia Keeling, Ayanna’s sister and the store’s nutritionist, easy access to affordable nutrition is also key. “Accessibility is an ancestral dynamic,” Mia says. “So it’s really a great experience to be a part of people’s wellness and healing.”
Dockweiler Beach
Every LA local has a story about Dockweiler, the bonfire beach where you celebrate the everyday with your people. Around the bend from the busier Venice and Santa Monica, Dockweiler was a place where Alex’s core memories were made. As a kid, she and her mom would visit here often for the simplicity it gave. “It’s not a spot that tourists really come to, but I like it that way,” Isley says. She points to the long, almost empty bike path that traces the coast and recalls memories of biking and rollerblading. “It was a big part of my childhood, and has a sentimental tie [for me].”
Beyond her early stories, she comes back for the solace. “A place like this is serene,” she says, as she looks out at the Pacific Ocean. “It’s quiet… definitely a spot to enjoy my solitude and find inspiration in that.” Some of her upcoming music, she hints, is even shaped by some beachside reflections.
As a plane takes off at the nearby LAX, Isley marvels at the wonder of people who come and go, while she stands planted in the sand. “It doesn’t get any more scenic than this, honestly,” she says. To her, Dockweiler isn’t just a reminder of where she comes from, but a peaceful place to dream about where she’s headed.
Take it from Alex Isley: no matter if you’re from here or finding yourself here, there’s always something to discover in this soulful city under the sun. It’s a place that invites you to not just experience your own story, but to tell it, to write it, to sing it. Whether you start with Isley’s favorite spots or map out your own adventure, inspiration can be found on every corner, and it’s here waiting for you. So check it out HERE and come see why Los Angeles was deemed one of Rolling Stone’s best music cities of 2025.
