August 2019 events calendar for Los Angeles
Plan your month with our August 2019 events calendar of the best activities, including free things to do, festivals and our favorite summer concerts
August may signal summer’s home stretch, but that doesn’t mean the fun needs to end. Grab an ice cream cone or dive into a pool party while it’s still warm—ah, who are we kidding, it’s always perfectly pleasant in Los Angeles. Keep sipping those summer cocktails, head to one of the county’s best beaches and follow our August events calendar for the best festivals and activities in L.A. this month.
RECOMMENDED: Full events calendar for 2019
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US Open of Surfing
America’s largest pro surfing competition attracts the world’s elite, who compete for big money while wowing 200,000 beach boys and girls with their skill, grace and innovative board designs. Heating up the festivities are live bands, a sports expo and after-parties with the friendly locals.
Ty Segall
For this summer residency, Segall will play through a different album every Friday night at the Teragram Ballroom.
Hard Summer
Though locally born EDM juggernaut HARD Summer has hopped around Southern California in recent years, its dedication to bringing the biggest names in the hip-hop and electronic scene.
Weedmaps Museum of Weed
Falling somewhere between the “museum of” Insta-ready experiences and an actual museum, the Weedmaps Museum of Weed is setting up a series of educational exhibits about cannabis in Hollywood this summer.
The Sesame Street Road Trip
Can you tell me how to get to… a pop-up, kid-friendly festival that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street? Familiar Sesame Street faces will show up this August for a stage show, giant maze, treasure dig, photo ops and a cookies-and-milk snack station.
Blink-182 + Lil Wayne
Because why not? Pop-punk stalwarts Blink-182 (still minus UFO enthusiast Tom DeLonge) and hip-hop elder statesman Lil Wayne join forces for this summer tour, with support from Neck Deep. Expect plenty of head-scratching moments if the announcement mash-up of “What’s My Age Again?” and “A Milli” is any indication.
SPLASH HOUSE Palm Springs Pool + Music Weekend
Say goodbye to dusty thoroughfares and violent porta-potties: Splash House takes the music festival concept off of sweltering desert land and places it poolside.
Real Street Festival
This inaugural hip-hop fest from REAL 92.3 heads to the Honda Center grounds with headlining sets from Cardi B, A$AP Rocky, Future and Migos, plus support from Meek Mill, Big Sean, Miguel, Rae Sremmurd, 2 Chainz, A Boogie With Da Hoodie and more.
Death Cab for Cutie
A couple of lukewarm albums and a personnel shake-up don’t change the fact that Ben Gibbard and Co. still serve up some of the finest melancholy, emotional pop songs.
OC Fair
Mix fried food, carnival attractions and the occasional rodeo or demolition derby, and you've got the OC Fair. What started as a quaint fair in 1889 has since grown into a nearly monthlong fest.
Popular
Eat|See|Hear
Eat|See|Hear travels to different locales throughout the city each Saturday during the summer, showing cult flicks on an inflatable screen taller than your average Malibu mansion. Bring your own bites or sample snacks from the impressive roster of resident food trucks and show up early for a set from local L.A. bands. Parking is free at most of the venues, and tickets for screenings at the Autry even include admission to the museum. What’s more? If you want to skip the crowds and stroll in casually during the opening credits, spring for an exclusive “Fashionably Late” pass, which guarantees you a reserved seat in front. All of the events dog-friendly, and a portion of ticket sales benefit Best Friends Animal Society.
Cinespia Cemetery Screenings
It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel. The series typically releases its slate one month at a time, most recently for August: Point Break (Aug 3), Boyz n the Hood featuring a John Singleton tribute from Questlove and DJ Pooh (Aug 10) and Psycho (Aug 24). Of particular note: the 9th Annual Slumber Party on August 24, with a trio of sleepover staples including Never Been Kissed, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jawbreaker. Angelenos line up for hours to partake in the concept—and to enjoy DJ sets, dance parties, sleepovers and more magical mischief otherwise strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. It’s an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city. Just be sure to get your ticket early, arrive early (doors open at 6:45pm), pee early… it’s getting a bit overcrowded, to say the least.
Friday Night Wine Tastings
Now one of L.A.’s most treasured summer traditions, Barnsdall Park’s wine tastings regularly attract sell-out crowds. Perched atop Olive Hill on the west lawn of the historic Hollyhock House (which you can tour during the evening for an additional $15), the Barnsdall Friday fundraisers include fine selections of boutique wines provided by Silverlake Wine with a spectacular sunset and 360-degree views of the city. Bring along a blanket and a picnic basket, or just nosh on the variety of food trucks parked up there. Though there used to be lots of kids running around, the event lawn is now 21-and-up—perfect for a date night. Proceeds support the park’s art programs and historic renovations.
‘Jurassic Park’ in Concert
Just try not to well up during that majestic “Welcome to Jurassic Park” scene as the LA Phil performs John Williams’s sweeping score for the first (and best) entry in the dino franchise.
U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Victory Tour
Straight off their World Cup victory, the United States women’s national soccer team is hitting the Rose Bowl (the site of their 1999 finals victory) for a victory tour with this international friendly against Ireland.
Free
Smorgasburg LA
Indulge your inner foodie and shopaholic at this weekly food-focused market. The Brooklyn export has landed in the Arts District and become a hotbed of fantastic food and retail vendors, with some that are testing out their dishes before launching a full-blown brick-and-mortar in the city. Bonus: there is plentiful (and free, for two hours!) parking in the nearby parking garage.
KCRW's Night Market at The Bungalow
Summer's just heating up, but thanks to a new nightlife partnership it's set to be scorching: Santa Monica mainstay the Bungalow teamed up with beloved radio station KCRW to throw a night market every Thursday just a block from the beach. KCRW's no stranger to killer programming and putting on a great party (see also: Chinatown Summer Nights), and now, every week at the Bungalow you can expect KCRW DJ sets, plus to-be-announced live performances that take over the Fairmont Miramar scene. Once all that dancing's worked up an appetite, you can hit the food trucks and take a seat at one of the picnic tables spread throughout the space (or, you know, just camp out at a picnic table all night long—we wouldn't blame you if you're just here for the food). What's more, this event is family-friendly and free to enter for all ages. The fun runs every Thursday into fall, from 5 to 10pm.
KCRW Summer Nights
Everyone’s favorite NPR affiliate has a hand in over a half-dozen summer concert slates at locations like One Colorado, the Hammer Museum and KCRW’s new Santa Monica headquarters. But the party-till-midnight bashes at Chinatown Central Plaza have become a particular favorite. Familiar KCRW personalities like Garth Trinidad, Travis Holcombe, Anne Litt and Jason Bentley spin the tunes at these food truck-fueled block parties. Regardless of the location—including the oceanfront offshoot, Twilight on the Pier—you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights.
The Sesame Street Road Trip
Can you tell me how to get to… a pop-up, kid-friendly festival that celebrates the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street? Actually, not yet: This nationwide road trip has yet to announce its L.A. location. But familiar Sesame Street faces will show up this August for a stage show, giant maze, treasure dig, photo ops and a cookies-and-milk snack station.
Level 8 Drive-In
The parking garage at the Grove has some surprisingly spectacular city views from its top level, which makes it the perfect spot for this new pop-up drive-in movie theater. On the last Wednesday of the month all summer long, the shopping center is hosting free screenings with designated spaces for cars, as well as plush lounge seats if you decide to Uber over there instead. In addition to complimentary popcorn and soda, you’ll find a famous movie car at each event (think the “Greased Lightning” convertible for Grease and the DeLorean for Back to the Future) thanks to a partnership with the Petersen Automotive Museum and O’Gara Coach. Reservations are already all booked for the first screening, so be sure to step on it for the others.
Concerts
Pershing Square Downtown Stage
Downtown’s concrete square gets a bit livelier with feel-good Saturday-night sets from the Bangles, Best Coast, Ozomatli and Smash Mouth, plus Wednesday afternoon farmers’ market shows. Catch the free, open-air performances from July 13 through August 17.
Ty Segall
The prolific singer-songwriter finds room for lo-fi garage-rock riffs and acoustic strums at his shows, sometimes performed solo and at other times with the backing of his many associated bands. For this summer residency, Segall will play through a different album every Friday night at the Teragram Ballroom. Expect a noisy, fuzzed-out set during these Freedom Band-backed performances, which include playthroughs of Melted, Goodbye Bread, Emotional Mugger and Manipulator, as well as a to-be-announced slate each night (the first 500 people to purchase three or more tickets to different shows will received a limited 7” of new, unreleased music, so we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s tied to that). Tickets are available for individual shows ($28–$30) starting Friday, April 26 at 8am, or you can see all 10 for $200.
Hard Summer
Though locally born EDM juggernaut HARD Summer has hopped around Southern California in recent years, its dedication to bringing the biggest names in the hip-hop and electronic scene. Kid Cudi, Major Lazer, RL Grime, Dillon Francis, Alison Wonderland top the lineup, with a slew of high-profile back-to-back performances: Excision and Nghtmre, Flosstradamus and 4B, and Zhu and Tchami, among them.
MUSE/IQUE’s Summer Series
Treat your ears to a vibrant concert on a balmy summer night this year, by attending MUSE/IQUE's annual summer series. This monthly series of performances, held outdoors at San Marino’s Huntington Library, features a mix of movie-inspired musical performances: a vocal-and-cello tribute to iconic movie songs, a showcase of the train as musical muse, and a ballet-featuring deconstruction of the modern movie score. Show up early to mingle and dine before each performance.
Blink-182 + Lil Wayne
Because why not? Pop-punk stalwarts Blink-182 (still minus UFO enthusiast Tom DeLonge) and hip-hop elder statesman Lil Wayne join forces for this summer tour, with support from Neck Deep. Expect plenty of head-scratching moments if the announcement mash-up of “What’s My Age Again?” and “A Milli” is any indication.
Theater
‘Miss Saigon’
The Anglo-French 1980s megamusical comes to town with its special effects-filled story of a Vietnamese woman and an American G.I. just before the fall of Saigon.
‘Apollo 11: The Immersive Live Show’
A planetarium show meets a theatre-in-the-round production in this 50th anniversary celebration of the moon landing. Apollo 11 follows a fictional story of a retired NASA engineer detailing the real-life endeavors of getting man to the moon. As actors progress the story onstage, celestial projections cover the rest of the 40,000-square-foot dome.
Movies
Eat|See|Hear
Eat|See|Hear travels to different locales throughout the city each Saturday during the summer, showing cult flicks on an inflatable screen taller than your average Malibu mansion. Bring your own bites or sample snacks from the impressive roster of resident food trucks and show up early for a set from local L.A. bands. Parking is free at most of the venues, and tickets for screenings at the Autry even include admission to the museum. What’s more? If you want to skip the crowds and stroll in casually during the opening credits, spring for an exclusive “Fashionably Late” pass, which guarantees you a reserved seat in front. All of the events dog-friendly, and a portion of ticket sales benefit Best Friends Animal Society.
Cinespia Cemetery Screenings
It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. Each year, Cinespia brings classic cult favorites to the hallowed resting place of such Hollywood greats as Rudolph Valentino and Bugsy Siegel. The series typically releases its slate one month at a time, most recently for August: Point Break (Aug 3), Boyz n the Hood featuring a John Singleton tribute from Questlove and DJ Pooh (Aug 10) and Psycho (Aug 24). Of particular note: the 9th Annual Slumber Party on August 24, with a trio of sleepover staples including Never Been Kissed, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Jawbreaker. Angelenos line up for hours to partake in the concept—and to enjoy DJ sets, dance parties, sleepovers and more magical mischief otherwise strictly forbidden behind the cemetery gates. It’s an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city. Just be sure to get your ticket early, arrive early (doors open at 6:45pm), pee early… it’s getting a bit overcrowded, to say the least.
Level 8 Drive-In
The parking garage at the Grove has some surprisingly spectacular city views from its top level, which makes it the perfect spot for this new pop-up drive-in movie theater. On the last Wednesday of the month all summer long, the shopping center is hosting free screenings with designated spaces for cars, as well as plush lounge seats if you decide to Uber over there instead. In addition to complimentary popcorn and soda, you’ll find a famous movie car at each event (think the “Greased Lightning” convertible for Grease and the DeLorean for Back to the Future) thanks to a partnership with the Petersen Automotive Museum and O’Gara Coach. Reservations are already all booked for the first screening, so be sure to step on it for the others.
‘Jurassic Park’ in Concert
Just try not to well up during that majestic “Welcome to Jurassic Park” scene as the LA Phil performs John Williams’s sweeping score for the first (and best) entry in the dino franchise.
Moonlight Movies on the Beach
The best things in life really are free—love, happiness and an evening spent watching movies on a giant inflatable screen at the beach. On select dates from June until August, pack up your folding chairs, grab your kids and head to Long Beach for this unique outdoor screening. Thanks to Alfredo’s Beach Club, you can give your babysitter the night off while you and the fam enjoy a host of kid-friendly flicks. Bring your own picnic, or munch on eats from the nearby snack stand. You’ll find the event hitting Granada Beach, Cherry Beach and Shoreline Village.