The best upcoming concerts in L.A.

One of L.A.’s best free live-music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its three-decade run at the museum. Seating for the program is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass, too (you won’t really be able to see the show, but you’ll still hear it). You’ll find the series on Friday evenings in LACMA’s welcome plaza (just behind Urban Light) throughout the summer.

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 at cultural venues across L.A., features a mix of performances inspired by music movements and public figures, including tributes to Ray Charles, immigrant film composers, the Memphis sound, Etta James and more. The best way to attend is to become a MUSE/IQUE member; you could make a $75 donation to the performing arts nonprofit for a single event (with the exception of September’s free open house), but if you’re interested in more than just one, it’s cheaper per event to become a full-fledged member.

Everyone’s familiar with Leonard Bernstein’s star-crossed lovers musical, but did you know that the composer originally imagined it as an opera? LA Opera has taken his suggestion and ran with it with an elevated, maximalist and operatic take premiering at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion that incorporates the iconic original choreography and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics. 

Listen to classical and jazz in a dome more than a mile above L.A. during this mountaintop concert series. The Mount Wilson Observatory is hosting monthly concerts this summer inside the dome of its 100-inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world for much of the first half of the 20th century. Tickets cost $60 (that also includes access to the exhibit at the observatory) and it’s highly recommended that you buy them in advance since seating is limited. You’ll need to be able to climb 53 steps to reach the dome, and children under 12 aren’t permitted. 

Gustavo Dudamel’s final season with Los Angeles is underway at Walt Disney Concert Hall. And the program for this year’s gala, fittingly, is made up of some of the conductor’s favorite works featuring satisfying finales. Dudamel will lead the LA Phil through works by De Falla, Beethoven, Dvořák (joined by musicians from YOLA), Ravel and Revueltas. Ticket proceeds from the gala benefit the LA Phil and its learning and community programs.

The millennial nostalgia shows no signs of slowing: By now you’ve likely heard the news that Rilo Kiley is back together. Yep, L.A.’s own indie darlings, led by Jenny Lewis, are in the spotlight again after over a decade apart. Following shows in San Luis Obispo, Ojai and Pasadena’s Just Like Heaven fest, they’re embarking on a reunion tour they’re calling “Sometimes When You’re On You’re Really F**king On,” which wraps up right here in L.A. at the Greek Theatre, with Waxahatchee opening. Due to demand, another show has already been announced for Oct. 14, where SNL’s Kyle Mooney will join Waxahatchee as openers. Tickets for the shows go on sale Friday, May 16, at 10am here.

Brooklyn heroes TV on the Radio—for years indie rock’s brainiest “it” band—returned to touring last year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their excellent Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes. They’ve been on the festival circuit lately, but they’ll make a stop at the Greek Theatre for their last U.S. show for a while, with Wishy and diiv opening.

Panic! at the Disco and Blink-182 top the now-annual Las Vegas festival that features just about every emo-pop act from the early 2000s. Seriously, we’re not kidding: Weezer, Avril Lavigne, the Offspring, All Time Low, the Used, Knocked Loose, the Gaslight Anthem, Bad Religion, Yellowcard and more are all set to take over the Las Vegas Festival Grounds on October 18 and 19, 2025, with a special focus on each band’s most beloved album.

Kooky new wavers the B-52s are sure to get the party started at the Hollywood Bowl when they perform their nostalgic hits (“Rock Lobster,” anyone?). Now in their 60s and 70s but still proudly decked out in technicolor outfits and huge hair onstage, the “Love Shack” quartet will show their audience how to let their freak flags fly in the best way. Joining them as co-headliners are deadpan synth-pop heroes Devo. 

Murder ballads are always wickedly fun, and especially around Halloween. Cultural center 2220 Arts + Archives will again welcome a lineup of singer-songwriters—including Anna Ash, Bloody Death Skull, Eleni Mandell, Emily Rose, Jamie Drake, Jenny Greenteeth, Kaycie Satterfield, Laena Myers & Cole Berliner and more—to entertain us with their favorite tunes about wicked deeds, crimes of passion, ghosts and nightmares. The set list will span both centuries-old ballads and contemporary tunes, as well as originals by the bands.