The best upcoming concerts in L.A.

Treat your ears to a vibrant concert on a spring or summer night by attending MUSE/IQUE’s annual program. This concert series, held at cultural venues across L.A., features a mix of performances inspired by music movements and public figures, including tributes to Quincy Jones, Joni Mitchell, the world of Oz, the Harlem Renaissance, the American Sound and more. You can make a $75 donation to the performing arts nonprofit for a single event, or become a MUSE/IQUE member if you’re interested in multiple programs. Up next is a look at the music of the American West at the Huntington and Skirball.

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. 

Whether he’s playing White Stripes songs or ripping through the raucous blues of his solo efforts, Jack White absolutely delivers in his live sets. After popping up as the surprise performer during the first weekend of Coachella, he announced a new fall tour. He’ll be returning to the Hollywood Palladium for two nights following a date at the Fox Theater Pomona.

It’s hard to imagine a lovelier setting than the Huntington’s rose garden in bloom. Add in live music provided by the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, and there’s no better place to spend a Monday afternoon. Wander among the blooms while solo and duo performers share their strings skills on violin, cello and guitar. Admission is included with your $29 Huntington ticket.

The Hollywood Bowl is getting a serious dose of South Central L.A. For emajendat, visual artist Lauren Halsey will turn the amphitheater into a technicolor fever dream, complete with a custom stage set and a lineup that’s basically a who’s who of adventurous music. Erykah Badu and the Alchemist headline, bringing their soulful R&B and dusty hip-hop production to the Bowl ahead of their forthcoming collaborative album, while Anderson .Paak spins as DJ Pee .Wee, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea joins in, and Charles Gaines Collective teams up with L.A. jazz outfit Black Nile and Devin Daniels. Catch the maximalist spectacle on September 29; talk about it for weeks afterward.

It’s been almost a decade since 24K Magic, but its foot-tapping facsimile of ’70s funk, ’80s disco-pop and ’90s R&B still hasn’t lost its sheen, and we’re betting that Mars’s party tunes will still have enough funk to get you uptown—or to SoFi Stadium, where Mars is stopping for four nights in October on his Romantic Tour. The outing marks the singer’s first global headline tour since his 24K Magic World Tour (though L.A. was treated to a couple of shows in summer 2024 when he christened Intuit Dome as its first performer). Opening the shows will be Raye and Mars’s Silk Sonic collaborator, Anderson .Paak, who’ll perform as DJ Pee .Wee. 

Coachella organizer Goldenvoice has made a couple of autumn returns to the Empire Polo Club for nostalgic, genre-focused fests—first with classic rock and more recently ’80s metal. Now it’s time for some dance greats to gather in the desert, though this two-day, single-stage event balances some fresh talent with its EDM vets. Saturday’s lineup includes Calvin Harris, Under Construction (the live collab between Fisher and Chris Lake), Peggy Gou back-to-back with Four Tet, and Seth Troxler back-to-back with Ben Sterling; Sunday features Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, Dom Dolla back-to-back with Kettama, the Blessed Madonna and DJ Harvey; and Floating Points will host a special sound installation all weekend long.

Pitched as a a small-scale experience with global-scale performers, this festival series sets up at a handful of waterfront locations, including Lake Tahoe, Napa and—closest to L.A.—Montecito (at least that’s how it’s billed, though it’s actually in Carpinteria), where you’ll find the Chainsmokers, Kygo, T-Pain, Zedd, the All-American Rejects and Loud Luxury at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club.

Whether they’re a psyop or not, Brooklyn rockers Geese—not to be confused with Connecticut rockers Goose—have never been hotter. Led by frontman Cameron Winter, the band has been around since 2016, but their most recent album, Getting Killed, was named the best album of 2025 by Stereogum and The New Yorker. Now they’re stopping in L.A. for two nights at Hollywood Forever Cemetery—one of the very best places in the city to see live music. 

Stones Throw Records turns 30 years young this year, and to celebrate the local label is hosting a three-day outdoor fest in Highland Park. Automatic, Los Retros, Mild High Club, DâM-FunK, Egyptian Lover, J Rocc, John Carroll Kirby and founder Peanut Butter Wolf top the lineup, with special guest appearances from Sudan Archives, Aloe Blacc, Eric Andre and Kyle Mooney.