The best concerts in L.A. this June

The LA Phil celebrates Fluxus—an art movement in the 1960s and ’70s that stressed process—with a series of performances both within the Walt Disney Concert Hall and at off-site locations. Highlights include violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja at the Getty, Ragnar Kjartansson’s staging of a twelve-hour loop of the final scene of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro at REDCAT, and a trio of pieces at the Disney Hall that include a Yoko Ono survey, a piano recital, immersive theater and crowdsourced singing.

It’s another year of major top-of-the-chart artists headlining Wango Tango, with Jonas Brothers, Halsey, 5 Seconds of Summer, Zedd, Ally Brooke with special guest Tyga, Ava Max, Fletcher and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Essentially, your 405-gridlock moments blasting KIIS FM radio (likely singing solo karaoke) are kicking up a notch from stereo to the big stage—with Ryan Seacrest on hosting duty—at the Dignity Health Sports Park. Tickets go on sale Thursday, May 2 at 10am through the KIIS Club VIP pre-sale, with sale to the general public on Friday, May 3 at 10am.

Since moving to L.A., multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird has been known to pop up every few months for small, intimate shows. The shows aren’t too different from his “Gezelligheid” tours; the name translates to “extra, extra cozy” in Dutch, an atmosphere Bird encourages at the intimate performances where he uplifts listeners before entering the dark winter. Expect a reworking of his impressive back catalog with a heavy emphasis on violin pieces, an instrument he’s been playing since he was four—plus songs from his newest album, My Finest Work Yet.

Broken Social Scene hadn’t released an album together since 2010’s Forgiveness Rock Record. Save for a couple of festival appearances, the band had pretty much ceased to exist since then. But that changed with the Canadian collective’s return to the tour and club circuit to promote the release of their excellent Hug of Thunder (and again in 2019 with the new EP, Let’s Try The After - Vol 1). Many things may have changed since 2010, but Broken Social Scene’s cool-yet-moody indie rock anthems—both old and new—are still just as timeless as ever.

For the inaugural fest, Swedish singer-songwriter Lykke Li has assembled an all-female lineup of musicians that ranks among this summer’s best festival lineups. In addition to Lykke Li, Charli XCX, Courtney Love and the Chateau Band, Cat Power, CupcakKe, Megan Thee Stallion and Ambar Lucid have all been tapped to play the single-day fest at Los Angeles State Historic Park. Yola Fest, which goes down on June 8, takes its name from Yola Mezcal, a female-run venture from Yola Jimenez, Gina Correll Aglietti and Lykke Li. Food vendors and activation announcements are still to come, as well as more performers. Though pricing info isn’t available yet, tickets for the 21-plus event go on sale Friday, April 5 at 10am. A portion of proceeds will go to the Downtown Women’s Center.

In a world of constant flux, it’s nice to know that some things remain constant. The perennially on-tour Carlos Santana seems almost immortal now. So air-guitar like your life depends on it and enjoy this legend’s half-century discography. On this tour, with support from the Doobie Brothers, Santana celebrates the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, plus 20 years since the release of Supernatural.