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).

On select Sundays this summer, you can catch free, all-ages outdoor concerts at West Hollywood’s Plummer Park. On July 26, hear funk, soul and world music from Nikka Costa and DJ Anthony Valadez of KCRW and KROQ. And on August 16, the Soul Space curates a night of R&B with performances by Mark Evich and DJ Rosegawd. Bring a blanket—and low chairs if you have any—and get comfy on the grass. You can either pack a picnic or purchase from the on-site food truck. Parking is free in the park’s north and south parking lots.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Wind down the weekend with a five-hour late-afternoon dance party on Grand Park’s performance lawn during this summer tradition. On two Sundays this summer (July 19 and August 16), head on over to the segment of the park just north of Hill Street for live DJ sets celebrating the evolution and diverse history of house music. Bring your own picnic gear, or hit up the on-site food trucks. There’s also a local Maker’s Market, DIY arts and crafts, and a beer garden.

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.

The Skirball puts on its annual series of free summer concerts, highlighting artists from L.A. and beyond. Guests can arrive early and visit the museum’s galleries for free, grab a seat for the show in the beautiful central courtyard, and dine and dance under the stars. The concerts are free—no reservations are needed, but entry is first-come, first-served—and parking is $20.

This summer’s lineup celebrates America250 with a lineup dedicated to the uniquely American genre of jazz: Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles with Katalyst (July 16), Terrace Martin Plays Miles with Brandee Younger (July 23), Tortoise with Kassa Overall (July 30), and Annie and the Caldwells with the Campbell Brothers (Aug 6).

America’s largest pro surfing competition attracts the world’s elite, who compete for big money while wowing thousands of 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—though the concerts are ticketed. Matt Costa, G. Love & Special Sauce kick things off on July 25, Real Estate and the Allah-Las (whose surf-rock vibes should perfectly match the setting) play on July 31, and Arcy Drive and Local Natives share the stage August 1.

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 on Granada Beach.

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.

The Music Center offers a free, joyous mash-up of music and dancing all summer long at this series, with different themes (salsa, Bollywood, cumbia and disco among them) and free dance lessons, plus live DJ sets so you can show off your new moves. Head to the Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza and join in the fun—no dance experience required. This year’s season begins with a combination kickoff event and World Cup watch party on June 26. Catch the Spain vs. Uruguay game live on the plaza’s big screens, get creative with soccer-themed art activities, then dance to a global mix of melodies after the match.

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.

Each summer, Bard fanatics watch their favorite works come to life at the historic Old Zoo in Griffith Park. For 16 years running, Independent Shakespeare Co. has put on a series of lively productions each week, inviting audiences to take a seat on the grass (bring a picnic blanket) and enjoy performances like this season’s headliner, Shakespeare political thriller Coriolanus, which will be followed by the self-explanatory The Comedy of Errors. With construction of a permanent stage still in process on the main lawn, this summer’s shows will again be held in the dell at the top of the Old Zoo—meaning available space is smaller, and although performances are still free, reservations are required.

The birthplace of Los Angeles will now be home to the Queer Mercado, a first-of-its-kind queer Latino cultural celebration that will bring drag, DJs, live music, cocktails, taquitos and more to Olvera Street on the third Saturday of each month. The community-run marketplace will host cultural activations including live art, a fashion showcase and 40 curated vendors, from local painters to queer designers to ceramicists.

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 continues with LEENALCHI (July 11), Horse Lords (July 25) and 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 staircase-dominated plaza screens free, family-friendly flicks on Fridays during the summer. Complimentary popcorn will be provided while supplies last. Each screening starts at sunset.

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—and all day on Juneteenth—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.