The best concerts in L.A. this August

Treat your ears to a vibrant concert on a spring or summer night this year, by attending MUSE/IQUE’s annual program. This monthly series of performances, held venues (largely outdoors) across L.A., features a mix of performances inspired by landmark albums and public figures, including tributes to Ed Sullivan, Bob Dylan, Abraham Lincoln, Oklahoma! and more. In order to attend, you’ll need to become a MUSE/IQUE member; you could make a $75 donation for a single event, but if you’re interested in more than just one, it’s cheaper per event to become a full-fludged member.

R&B crooner and pianist John Legend tackles the genre with refreshingly classy, old-school charm. See him at the Greek for a pair of “evening with” shows, which pair songs and stories from his career.

Otto Tausk conducts the beloved annual tradition, featuring the iconic “1812 Overture” with the LA Phil, the USC Trojan Marching Band and the Bowl’s famous pyrotechnic display.

EDM juggernaut HARD Summer has hopped around Southern California in recent years, and last year returned to L.A. proper—and for 2024 now heads to the grounds of Hollywood Park, next to SoFi Stadium. No matter the location, its dedication to bringing the biggest names in the hip-hop and electronic scene has stayed the course. This year’s lineup includes Disclosure, FISHER + Chris Lake: Under Construction, Nelly Furtado, REZZMAU5, Major Lazer, Jamie xx, Subtronics, Zeds Dead and more.

Each summer the Hollywood Bowl hosts an evening dedicated to Jamaican music. For Reggae Night XXII, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Stephen Marley top the bill.

Gen Z superstar and recent Grammy winner Laufey is bringing her distinct style of jazz-inspired pop to the Hollywood Bowl, backed by the LA Phil.

Dave Grohl and co. play a pair of dates at the Banc of California Stadium. The show follows last year’s L.A. tribute to the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, and includes a not-quite-as-but-still-impressive slate of support acts: the Hives, Amyl and The Sniffers, Pretenders and Alex G.

I’m broke but I’m happy because Alanis Morissette is playing the Forum (and, let’s face it, we’ll be even more broke once we shell out for tickets). The singer-songwriter who we’ve all attempted to emulate during drunken karaoke is hitting the road, and she’ll be playing all the hits (and probably even more classic songs than you remember). Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Morgan Wade open the August 10 show at the Forum. And I’m here to remind you that tickets go on sale Friday, November 17 at 10am, with presales starting as early Tuesday, November 14.

A little bit piano ballad a little bit pop-punk, the “driver’s license” singer hits the road in support of GUTS, the follow-up to her smash album SOUR, with a few nights at the Forum.

Few jazz pianists have had as wide an impact on American popular culture as Herbie Hancock. He scored hits with songs such as “Watermelon Man” and “Chameleon” in the ’70s, blew up MTV with “Rockit” in the ’80s, and provided fodder for hip-hop heads to bite into with “Cantaloupe Island” and “Maiden Voyage”—and that’s not even taking into account his epochal playing with Miles Davis. You can typically catch him each summer at the Hollywood Bowl, where he serves as the creative chair of jazz (this time around, he’s reuniting his band from the landmark album Head Hunters).