Sure, the Coachella lineup announcement always stirs up plenty of conversation, but there’s one L.A. concert reveal that consistently astounds us more than any other: the Hollywood Bowl’s seasonal schedule.
Father John Misty, Beck, Rodrigo y Gabriela (backed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic), Randy Newman (backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra), Grizzly Bear and TV on the Radio are all set to perform during this summer’s stellar lineup of concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. You can grab tickets now if you subscribe to an entire concert series (i.e., KCRW’s standout World Festival series of shows), otherwise you’ll have to wait until April 29 at 10am to pick up single tickets as well as for seats at non-subscription events.
Some other concert highlights this summer include Flying Lotus and Little Dragon, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah and Common, a collaboration between Bon Iver and contemporary dance company TU Dance, Seal and Corinne Bailey Rae, Diana Ross, Keb’ Mo’ and Taj Mahal, and a totally yacht rock evening with Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins and Christopher Cross with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
The Bowl continues to up its film programming as this summer the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra will perform live scores during screenings of Jaws and The Pink Panther while the LA Phil will tackle Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars: A New Hope and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Speaking of John Williams scores, the prolific composer will once again return to conduct the LA Phil as part of a 40th anniversary celebration of Williams’s debut at the Bowl.
The venue will host Annie for this year’s live musical, with a star-studded cast to-be-announced. And L.A. Phil director Gustavo Dudamel will share the spotlight on a couple of notable programs, including a centennial celebration of Leonard Bernstein with Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Brian Stokes Mitchell, as well as a mid-summer staging of The Nutcracker.
You can find the full schedule of over 50 shows on the Hollywood Bowl’s website, but we’ve listed some of the essentials below.
15 highlights of the Hollywood Bowl’s 2018 season
June
Flying Lotus + Little Dragon
Sun June 17 at 7pm (KCRW’s World Festival)
Father John Misty + Gillian Welch
Sun June 24 at 7pm (KCRW’s World Festival)
July
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in Concert
Justin Freer conducts the LA Phil
Thu July 5 at 8pm
Bernstein 100 Celebration with Dudamel
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil, with Kristin Chenoweth and Brian Stokes Mitchell
Tue July 10 at 8pm (Tuesday Classics)
Michael McDonald + Kenny Loggins + Christopher Cross
Thomas Wilkins conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Fri July 13 and Sat July 14 at 8pm (Weekend Spectaculars)
Jaws in Concert
David Newman conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Fri July 20 and Sat July 21 at 8pm (Weekend Spectaculars)
August
Bon Iver and TU Dance
Sun Aug 5 at 7pm (KCRW’s World Festival)
Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert
David Newman conducts the LA Phil
Tue Aug 7 at 8pm (Tuesday Classics)
Fri Aug 10 at 8pm (Weekend Spectaculars)
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert
David Newman conducts the LA Phil
Thu Aug 9 at 8pm (Thursday Classics)
Sat Aug 11 at 8pm (Weekend Spectaculars)
Randy Newman
David Newman conducts the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Sun Aug 12 at 7:30pm (Sunday Sunset Concerts)
Rodrigo y Gabriela with Dudamel
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the LA Phil
Fri Aug 17 and Sat Aug 18 at 8pm (Weekend Spectaculars)
Queen Latifah + Common
Wed Aug 22 at 8pm (Jazz at the Bowl)
September
John Williams: Maestro of the Movies
John Williams conducts the LA Phil
Fri Aug 31 and Sat Sep 1 at 8pm (Weekend Spectaculars)
Sun Sep 2 at 7:30pm (Non-Subscription Event)
Grizzly Bear + TV on the Radio + Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith
Sun Sep 23 at 7pm (KCRW’s World Festival)
Beck
Fri Sep 28 at 8pm (Non-Subscription Event)
For you Hollywood Bowl newcomers, all of the shows above are for LA Phil-produced performances (i.e. concerts with bench seats as low as $1 and a BYOB-friendly policy). Lease events (which don’t allow outside alcohol) have their own ticketing policies and on-sale dates; some already announced performers include LCD Soundsystem + Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Paul Simon and Ozzy Osbourne.