The best upcoming concerts in L.A.

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totally overhauled California Plaza stage in DTLA, where the shallow water separating the stage from the audience has been replaced by a proper event lawn.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

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.

Jazz is taking over Los Angeles this August with a massive festival that will transform the entire city into its stage. The inaugural Los Angeles Jazz Festival kicks off August 8 with a free afternoon of jazz at Edward Vincent Jr. Park in Inglewood, then rolls through L.A. with free concerts in parks, free live jazz at Harold & Belle’s (Aug 20) and more. But the big finale arrives August 22 and 23 at Dockweiler Beach, where John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, Raphael Saadiq, Charlie Wilson, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Big Freedia and Original Koffee are among the weekend’s announced performers. Tickets for Jazz on the Beach start at just $54 for general admission. For a full rundown of the festival’s programming, check here.

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.

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.

Wind down the weekend with a five-hour late-afternoon dance party on Grand Park’s performance lawn during this summer tradition. On two Sundays this summer (July 19 and August 16), head on over to the segment of the park just north of Hill Street for live DJ sets celebrating the evolution and diverse history of house music. Bring your own picnic gear, or hit up the on-site food trucks. There’s also a local Maker’s Market, DIY arts and crafts, and a beer garden.

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. 

Other artists may come and go, but the prolific Ani DiFranco goes right on spinning her staccato, stream-of-consciousness songs. The feminist icon, social activist and fiercely independent songwriter is beloved for the songs that made her a cult star in the ’90s, but she continues to churn out excellent new material, like her more recent album, the politically minded Unprecedented Sh!t. Catch her during her return to the Ford, joined by special guest Valerie June.