Free things to do in Los Angeles this month

From mid-July through the end of August, Glendale’s beautiful Brand Park serves as the backdrop for free Friday night concerts. Bring chairs and a picnic (no alcohol allowed, though), and scope out a spot on the grassy hillside to hear an eclectic lineup of live music. Taking the stage on the lawn behind the library are the Secret Agents (retro jazz, July 17), Bella Brown & the Jealous Lovers (retro soul, July 24), Willow Stephens & the Robbery (pop, July 31), Raffi Joe Wartanian & the Sér Ensemble (Armenian folk, Aug 7), Orchestre Moto (Congolese rumba, Aug 14), Orquesta Ritmo Alegre (Cuban, Aug 21) and Carl Verheyen Band (rock, Aug 28).

Community meets nightlife at the Bungalow Santa Monica’s Palisades Night, a feel-good party with a purpose that’ll be taking place the first Thursday of each month, after the success of the first event. Expect music from Palisades native DJ Graham Funke, themed cocktails and merch. Entry is free, and proceeds from the night go toward LA Strong Sports and rebuilding the Pacific Palisades Park and Recreation Center. It’s a golden-hour-to-late-night hang that blends beachy vibes with real local impact. 

Wander through a 1929 Spanish-style villa at this dreamy indoor-outdoor market. The historic Toluca Lake home has been transformed into Villa Blanca Lifestyle, a venue that hosts biweekly Sunday-afternoon markets, among other events. The ground-floor rooms and courtyard are filled with local vendors selling everything from accessories to live poetry to candle flower bouquets. To eat, there’s sourdough pizza, cookies, cupcakes and coffee to enjoy as you wander.

Santa Monica has really been stepping it up lately in the community programming department. Case in point: Tongva Twilight, a brand-new summer series offering free live music and films on Saturday nights, produced by Rum & Humble. Expect a lineup of big band ska, salsa, yacht rock and New Orleans funk, as well as music-themed films and free popcorn on select nights. Pack a picnic and enjoy an evening of entertainment with an ocean backdrop.

This two-weekend event celebrates Japanese culture with displays of taiko drumming, tea ceremonies, calligraphy, dancing and more. Crowds of nisei—the word refers to the first generation of Japanese to be born in America—gather for festivities and a parade through Little Tokyo that culminates with the coronation of the Nisei Week Queen (Aug 16, 4pm). The following weekend, the Nisei Week Plaza Festival offers plenty of live entertainment, shopping, games, Japanese food and sake. Most events are free and centered around the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, with the exception of Crazy Talented Asians—a showcase of AAPI creativity at the David Henry Hwang Theater (Aug 21, 22, 7:30pm, $30). New this year is JX Matsuri, a community carnival event leading into the parade (Aug 16, 11am). Find the full calendar of events here.

Help foster a love of reading in your kids with this festival that promotes of literacy for little ones. The city’s largest free celebration of early childhood education, bilingualism and multiculturalism will take place for the fourth year running at West Hollywood Park, where you can find storytelling, live performances from kid-friendly favorites like Blippi and Meekah, and interactive educational fun, as well as food trucks, face painting, over 100 exhibitors, authors and illustrators, plus, to cap things off, a big foam party.

Frogtown Arts’ monthly riverfront event fills the neighborhood with food, arts and crafts, games and music. Start at Salazar and stroll past a dozen participating spots along the river, including Spoke Bicycle Cafe, Lingua Franca, Just What I Kneaded, Justine’s Wine Bar and Frogtown Brewery—about a 30-minute walk in all. Expect gallery exhibitions, music, family-friendly activities, pet adoptions and more. Parking in Frogtown is notoriously hard to come by, so ridesharing is encouraged.

The latest addition to the growing roster of free summer concert series is a heavy hitter. Twenty-seven parks will host 108 concerts all across L.A. county. The shows—held Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings throughout July and August—will reflect the culture and diversity of the communities where they’re held, from North to East to South L.A. County. You can find a full list of the parks here. As for the lineup, independent music festival NextFest L.A. is in charge of the programming, highlighting local artists from the city’s thriving music scene. You can find the schedule here—new lineups are announced at the start of each week.

Make your weekend a little bit country at Hollywood’s cowboy-chic rooftop bar. Its weekly Wild West pool party and trading post series continues every summer Sunday. Expect a cowboy cookout, cocktails and music from a country DJ, so bring your boots and party till the sun sets over the city. There’s no cover, but if you’re coming with a group and want to splash out for a cabana reservation, you can do that here.

On August 29, the Sunset Strip will return to its glory days when it was the epicenter of rock ‘n’ roll with this vinyl and music memorabilia market. Mix and mingle among over 80 booths from local record stores and vintage vendors while grooving to vinyl DJ sets. Tickets are free, but reservations are encouraged and can be made here (plus you’ll be entered in giveaways). After the success of last year’s event, the fair is moving from the Pink Dot parking lot to Sunset Plaza’s lower parking lot (8610 Sunset Blvd), where you’ll also find a vintage car show, food trucks, a beer garden and more. 

Just when you thought Shakespeare was sounding a little, well, dated, enter the Actors’ Gang. Each summer, the Culver City theater spins a different play from the Bard into a high-energy, family-friendly and free-to-attend production, often wrapped in an irreverent theme (think everything from Toy Story to Power Rangers). This time around, Two Gentlemen of Verona gets a sci-fi twist dubbed Two Gentlebots of Verona. You’ll find the play the first four weekends in August at Culver City’s Media Park, then at the Buena Vista Branch Library in Burbank the last weekend of August.

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.

A free, all-ages music and comedy festival that celebrates L.A.’s vibrant Eastside—what’s not to like? Now in its 16th year, Echo Park Rising is expanding to two days for the first time since the pandemic—all the better to fit in hundreds of performances from handpicked local up-and-coming bands and comedians, art installations, family-friendly activities and more. Spanning Echo Park venues including the Echo, Echoplex, Stories Books & Cafe, the Semi-Tropic, P.F. Candle Co. and Lowboy, this is always a neighborhood affair not to be missed. 

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.

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.

Catch free outdoor movies at Burton Chace Park. Bring a low-back chair to claim a first-come, first-served space. Tickets aren’t required, but RSVPs are appreciated to stay up to date on any changes.

Everyone’s favorite NPR member station has a hand in a slew of summer concert slates at public plazas and beloved museums, and this summer’s schedule is reliably packed. Familiar KCRW DJs will be providing free, open-air tunes on select nights from June through September at the Kidspace Children’s Museum, Hauser & Wirth, MOLAA, California Plaza, LACMA, Wende Museum, Union Station, downtown Long Beach, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, Bowers Museum, the Autry and the NoHo Arts District. The details slightly differ at each spot, but you can typically expect a bunch of food trucks, beer gardens and after-hours museum admission. Regardless of the location, you really can’t go wrong with any evening spent at Summer Nights.

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 29. Highlights this year include 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.

An evolution of the long-running Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk, the newly dubbed DTLA Artnight finds dozens of Downtown businesses opening their doors to art lovers on the first Thursday of every month, when over 25 galleries will debut new exhibitions. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of experience, but if you start at Emerging Gallery (125 E 4th St), you can pick up a map of all the participating spots. MOCA is even joining the fun as the cultural event expands from the Historic Core to Grand Avenue. Head to the museum for a free exhibition tour at 5pm.

See a free salsa concert on one Friday each month during this summer series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes El Presidente de la Salsa, La Verdad, Rush Hour Orquesta and Conjunto Oye—all featuring Super DJ Robby. Each night kicks off with a free salsa dance class at 6pm, courtesy of Dancing 101 with Roberto. Bring chairs, blankets and your dancing shoes.

Take a seat under the arch at the former Hollywood & Highland for this free series of movie screenings, held on the last Friday of the month from May through September. RSVP ahead of time, then pick up a cozy blanket from the Ovation Hollywood booth, as well as free popcorn and discounted treats from the TCL Chinese Theatre concessions stand.

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 wraps up with 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.

Catch free outdoor movies at the Dockweiler Youth Center. Bring a low-back chair to claim a first-come, first-served space. Tickets aren’t required, but RSVPs are appreciated to stay up to date on any changes.

Culver City’s E Line–adjacent mixed-use development presents this free series of screenings, held on the lawn right next to the Metro stop. This summer’s slate includes a dog-friendly screening of Legally Blonde, a romance book swap tied to Pride & Prejudice and a bike-friendly showing of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Tickets are free and include complimentary popcorn and two hours of parking validation.

Do you get a little thrill every time you go to the Beverly Hills Hotel? You have architect Paul R. Williams to thank, even if you might not know the name. This exhibition at the USC Fisher Museum of Art aims to fix that. “Paul R. Williams: An Architect Considered” specifically spotlights the visionary architect’s multifamily housing projects through original drawings, photographs and plans, juxtaposed with new commissions by contemporary artists and architects. The message is clear: Williams didn’t just shape Los Angeles; he imagined a more livable version of it, one gorgeous building at a time. Complementary Williams exhibitions at LACMA and the Getty Center will open later in the year.

The multisensory nature of art is explored in this exhibition, which looks at the intertwined relationship between contemporary art and living materials through large-scale installations, painting, mixed-media sculpture, video and sound. Over 20 artists from North, Central and South America have employed mediums like stones, avocado, cacao, achiote, cochineal and clay in their works, inviting visitors to engage their senses of touch, smell and hearing when interacting with the art. On Saturday, April 4, get an after-hours sneak peek of “Several Eternities,” plus three more new spring exhibitions, complemented by sets by Chulita Vinyl Club DJs in the courtyard, a photobooth and a cyanotype art-making activity—all free.

The California Science Center is inviting kids to get in the game with a new 17,000-square-foot exhibition about the power of play and the human body in motion. Besides teaching about the science behind sports, it also offers interactive challenges and video coaching from a team of Los Angeles-based mentor athletes including dancer Debbie Allen, the Dodgers’ World Series hero Freddie Freeman, Olympic medalist softball player Rachel Garcia and more. And for the first time ever, the center has commissioned public art—all by local artists—to complement the exhibition, including a Dodgers mural by Gustavo Zermeño Jr. The free exhibition will run at the Science Center through the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This show aims to give Black queer culture in California—particularly in Los Angeles—the credit it’s due as a part of the decades-long fight for LGBTQ+ rights and recognition. Through historical materials, photographs, film and vintage newspapers, the exhibition recovers a history that’s been largely excluded from the record, introducing visitors to sites, protagonists and allies who played a role in the fight for democracy and free expression. 

The reopened Getty Villa will descend into the underworld with this exhibition, which looks at the ritual spells and religious writings ancient Egyptians employed to garner favor with Re and Osiris in the afterlife. See the Getty’s collection of rare Book of the Dead rare hieroglyphics-adorned and illustrated manuscripts, dating back to around 1000 BCE, which were last displayed in 2023. The show should dovetail nicely with the museum’s “Sculpted Portraits From Ancient Egypt,” which runs through January 2027.

The inimitable artist, musician and activist—and John Lennon’s other half—is the subject of the Broad’s highly anticipated new show, Ono’s first-ever solo museum exhibition in Southern California. Organized in collaboration with the Tate Modern in London, “Music of the Mind” allows visitors to directly interact with works from the artist’s seven-decade long career. In conjunction with the show, the museum has transformed the olive trees on the outdoor East West Bank Plaza into Wish Trees for Los Angeles, where visitors can tie their own wishes on the branches. Many of the works invite audience engagement, in fact, all working toward a common goal of peace and connection. Tickets for the special exhibition are usually $21, but you can visit on Thursdays from 5 to 8pm for free.

The Skirball’s Jack Kirby exhibition may be over, but the museum has followed it up with this expansive look at how comics came to dominate pop culture. Many of the creators of the medium were immigrants and outsiders—including Jewish Americans—who poured their experiences with struggle, aspiration and reinvention into their work. On display, you’ll find original artwork and artifacts relating to beloved comic book characters, from Superman and Black Panther to Little Lulu and Archie. While admission to the Skirball is typically $20, admission is free to all on Thursdays.