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 35-year 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. We’re betting it’ll be even more popular than usual this year, with the new David Geffen Galleries in the background.

Listen to classical and jazz in a dome more than a mile above L.A. during this mountaintop concert series curated by artistic director Cécilia Tsan. The Mount Wilson Observatory is once again 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 $65 (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. Note: You’ll need to be able to climb 53 steps to reach the dome, and children under 12 aren’t permitted. 

Hilltop sunset views and rising bands join forces to make this Getty tradition a worthy destination for Angelenos on both sides of the 405. This year’s lineup of free Saturday-night shows includes aja monet (May 30), Hunx and His Punx (June 13), LEENALCHI (July 11), Horse Lords (July 25) and Laurel Halo (Aug 22). Tip: Avoid the traffic and the crowds and arrive early, preferably after 3pm when the parking price drops to $15 (though it’s actually free if you wait until the show starts, after 6pm). You’ll get to visit the exhibits, which stay open until 9pm on Saturdays, and beat the dinner rush.

The Original Farmers Market is host to a plethora of fun, family-friendly outdoor events, and its Thursday-night concerts during its Summer Music Series are some of its best. Take a load off near the end of the work week and stop by the Market Plaza from 7 to 9pm to hear a genre-spanning mix of live music, from Hawaiian radio to Sinatra–style swing to Texas blues.

The Thursday-night jazz scene in L.A. is competitive, but Hollywood nightlife darling the Spotlight has found a way to make it feel sexy again. The club’s weekly sets trade stiff supper-club vibes for something looser and more flirtatious: cocktails, low lighting and young jazz musicians improvising while the room buzzes around them. The lineups rotate weekly, which gives the series an appealing drop-in quality. Even if you don’t know the players, the atmosphere alone makes this worth penciling into your Thursday plans.

See a free salsa concert on one Friday each month during this summer series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes El Presidente de la Salsa, La Verdad, Rush Hour Orquesta and Conjunto Oye—all featuring Super DJ Robby. Each night kicks off with a free salsa dance class at 6pm, courtesy of Dancing 101 with Roberto. Bring chairs, blankets and your dancing shoes.

This epic (and free) outdoor concert series—now in its 40th season—features live performances by artists from around the world at the totally overhauled California Plaza stage in DTLA, where the shallow water separating the stage from the audience has been replaced by a proper event lawn. Don’t miss a diverse and highly intriguing mix of bands, DJ sets and dance parties on Saturday nights (and a few Friday Nights) from June 6 through August 22. Highlights this year include a season kickoff with Grupo Soñador and Wachiwara, tributes to Stevie Wonder, Ritchie Valens and Roy Ayers, and an edition of KCRW Summer Nights headlined by Mariachi El Bronx and the Tijuana Panthers. Just be sure to RSVP ahead of time to reserve a spot.

The genius of NPR’s Tiny Desk empire is that it makes intimacy feel like a badge of coolness, and this touring version captures that same magic. The DTLA stop of Tiny Desk Contest on the Road pairs the 2026 contest winner with local up-and-comers, creating the rare showcase where it feels like the unknown names on the performers list might actually, indeed, turn out to be a new fave. Expect earnest songs, deeply committed music nerds and the kind of crowd that still believes live music can change somebody’s life. 

Take a leisurely walk through Descanso Gardens as the day starts to cool, then stick around for live music and dance before closing time at these Thursday-night shows on the amphitheater and in the rose garden. This year’s series celebrates America’s 250th anniversary with a lineup inspired by “America as rhythm, migration, and reinvention.” First up, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and the Tony Guerrero Quintet perform on June 11, followed by Las Colibrí and the Wimberly Bluegrass Band on July 9, and finally Lernazang and Suara Southeast Asian Choir on August 13. The performances are included with admission to the gardens. 

Keen to see jazz greats past and present? Get ready for mellow harmonies and earthy grooves at the annual Blue Note Jazz Festival this summer (formerly the Playboy and then the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival). This year’s two-day concert includes performances from Patti LaBelle, Wyclef Jean, Gregory Porter, Samara Joy and more. And remember, it’s at the Hollywood Bowl, so why not share a bottle of wine with some friends and groove along?