The best upcoming concerts in L.A.

Swing by Redondo Beach’s Fisherman’s Wharf on Thursday and Saturday evenings in the summer for a free series of concerts held on the west end of the pier. You can expect tribute shows on Thursdays (from Weezer to Oasis cover bands) and local contemporary acts on Saturdays.

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.

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.

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totally overhauled California Plaza stage in DTLA, where the shallow water separating the stage from the audience has been replaced by a proper event lawn.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.

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.

This annual jazz series at the Hammer Museum showcases “a cross-generational kaleidoscope of West Coast creative jazz.” The 19th season kicks off with San Francisco-based saxophonist Kasey Knudsen on August 6, followed by drummer, composer and educator Malachi Whitson on August 13 and prolific multi-instrumentalist Machado Mijiga on August 20. The free concerts are held in the outdoor courtyard; arrive early to check out the museum’s also-free exhibitions.

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. 

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.

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, whom he honors with his Bowl performance this year. He’ll be joined by Terence Blanchard, Ron Carter, Marcus Miller, Kenny Garrett, Christian McBride and conductor Vince Mendoza to perform music from throughout Davis’s career.

The aughts indie nostalgia shows no signs of stopping, so it’s no surprise that Just Like Heaven—a music fest that’s featured basically every beloved 2000s indie band—is coming back for its sixth edition. The fest will take over the golf course next to the Rose Bowl on August 22, 2026 with a lineup that’s partially pulled from your old iPod: the Strokes and LCD Soundsystem top the lineup, with additional sets from TV Girl, Chromeo, the Rapture, Feist, Twin Peaks, Matt and Kim, Whitney and more.