Mark Peikert

Los Angeles added another crop of Michelin stars this year, and the results were, in many ways, entirely predictable. The guide once again showered love on lavish tasting menus and meticulously choreographed omakase counters, aka meals that can routinely run diners hundreds of dollars before wine pairings, service charges and tax. There's nothing inherently wrong with celebrating ambition or luxury. But Michelin's Los Angeles selections continue to reveal the guide's longstanding blind spot regarding a city whose culinary identity was built in strip malls, taco stands, family-run restaurants and immigrant communities.  Michelin's relationship with Los Angeles has always been complicated. After publishing Southern California guides from 2008 to 2009, the company abruptly withdrew from the market, citing economic reasons and leaving L.A. without Michelin coverage for nearly a decade. The guide didn't return until 2019 (then sitting out 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19). For many local diners and chefs, the long absence reinforced the notion that Michelin never quite knew what to make of a sprawling, immigrant-driven dining scene that has never fit neatly into traditional fine-dining conventions. And as this year's new stars demonstrate, Michelin still appears more comfortable rewarding a certain kind of luxury than capturing what actually makes eating in Los Angeles unlike anywhere else in the world. Kato ($325 a person) bumped up to two stars, while the guide added five new one-s

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. 

If your idea of a great Saturday includes martial arts legends, Asian cultural performances and cosplay, Dragonfest Expo is calling you to Glendale's Civic Auditorium. The 20th anniversary edition of this annual martial arts and cultural expo offers celebrity meet-and-greets, autograph sessions, masterclasses, Q&As and a marketplace packed with 100 vendors. It’s also a benefit for the Martial Arts History Museum, so your fandom is doing some actual good.

On August 8, Ocean Avenue will ban cars in favor of something considerably more pleasant: art, music and food, with a view of the Pacific. Art on Ocean will transform the stretch beside Santa Monica’s Palisades Park into a free, all-ages outdoor arts festival featuring more than 100 artists, paintings, photography, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry and other handmade work available to browse and buy. There’s also live music, a wine garden (plus a Paint & Sip for $35), food from local favorites and plenty of kid-friendly activities. Stick around after the festival for a free family-friendly outdoor screening of Jumanji, Welcome to the Jungle under the stars.

Synchronize your swimming (and drinking) plans: The Aqualillies are bringing their annual Summer Watershow to the rooftop pool at Level 8’s Golden Hour for an evening of aquatic spectacle, vintage Hollywood glamour and enough synchronized swimming to make you seriously consider the purchase of a sequined bathing cap. The one-night-only performance on August 9 honors the legacy of Esther Williams, whose MGM aquamusicals turned swimming into unlikely silver-screen spectacle in the ’40s and ’50s. Expect elaborate choreography, plus DJ sets, cocktails and poolside bites with gorgeous DTLA views. A portion of ticket proceeds benefits Diversity in Aquatics.

Los Feliz is getting a fresh coat of paint August 15, with an accompanying live soundtrack to go with it. The free, all-ages Los Feliz Art & Music Block Party + Mural Festival will bring live painting, performances, local artisan booths, original artwork, community displays and family-friendly activities to Hollywood Boulevard and Vermont Avenue for the ultimate afternoon of creativity. Artists Shepard Fairey, Nychos, Victor Ving, Eric “Zoueh” Skotnes, Angelica Navarro and Jason Filipow will be lending their talents to blank walls as part of the mural program curated by Ryan “Yanoe” Sarfati. Basically, it’s a chance to watch L.A. artists make the neighborhood more colorful in real time (which beats staring at another millennial gray wall), plus listen to live music and browse offerings from local artists at their booths.

Jazz is taking over Los Angeles this August with a massive festival that will transform the entire city into its stage. The inaugural Los Angeles Jazz Festival kicks off August 8 with a free afternoon of jazz at Edward Vincent Jr. Park in Inglewood, then rolls through L.A. with free concerts in parks, free live jazz at Harold & Belle’s (Aug 20) and more. But the big finale arrives August 22 and 23 at Dockweiler Beach, where John Legend, Janelle Monáe, Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton, Raphael Saadiq, Charlie Wilson, Ezra Collective, Nubya Garcia, Big Freedia and Original Koffee are among the weekend’s announced performers. Tickets for Jazz on the Beach start at just $54 for general admission. For a full rundown of the festival’s programming, check here.

Silent films are getting the glorious big-screen treatment they deserve at MoMA’s fourth annual Silent Movie Week, a seven-film showcase of newly restored classics from some of cinema’s most legendary directors. Running July 29 through August 4, the series includes landmark works by D. W. Griffith, Buster Keaton, Raoul Walsh, Ernst Lubitsch, Charlie Chaplin, John Ford and F. W. Murnau. Six of the seven films will feature live musical accompaniment, including a 10-piece orchestra performing a newly reconstructed score for Griffith’s Way Down East. Other highlights include Keaton’s The Navigator, Lubitsch’s The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg and Murnau’s Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. Several screenings mark the first presentations of MoMA restorations, making this a particularly good week to understand what Norma Desmond meant when she said, "We had faces then" in Sunset Boulevard.

GhanaFest-NY brings a big dose of Ghanaian culture to Crotona Park on Saturday, August 1 from 6pm–8pm, with rapper Edem headlining an afternoon of music and celebration. The artist, who broke out with 2009’s The Volta Regime, will be joined by Ghanaian DJ and radio host Andy Dosty, so expect the Bronx to get a serious summertime soundtrack. It’s all part of this annual celebration of Ghanaian heritage—and, best of all, the whole thing is free. 

Grab your lime wedges and a saltshaker, because Tequila Fest NYC takes over the Brooklyn Navy Yard August 1 for seven hours of drinking, dancing and generally embracing the idea that Sundays are for couch rotting. The 21-and-over party promises complimentary tequila punches while supplies last, free BBQ and jerk chicken, and DJs keeping things moving from 3pm to 10pm. Come dressed to dance, arrive early and, for the love of your liver, pace yourself.

Animation existed in movies long before Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse. This summer, MoMA is celebrating the whole wonderfully weird history with It’s Alive!, an exhibit that brings together more than 200 works spanning 1908 to 2020, from Gertie the Dinosaur to experimental artists, Sesame Street and those gloriously bizarre MTV-era music spots. With more than 35 artists represented, the exhibit also features a special focus on the genre's NYC roots. 

Forget the "tale as old as time," because CityDanceNY's spin on Beauty and the Beast is a whole other animal. The classic tale of enchanted castles, cursed princes and suspiciously attractive furniture comes to the stage through dance in a production filled with movement, romance and enough fairy-tale drama to satisfy anyone who likes their ballet with a little narrative oomph. It’s a chance to see New York’s young dancers tackle a story that has been haunting our collective imagination since long before CGI got involved. Catch the two performances at Theater at St. Jean (184 E. 76th St.).

Ballet is having a very good summer. Curated by ballet superstar Misty Copeland, The Joyce’s Ballet Festival brings two weeks of big-name dancers, boundary-pushing choreographers and enough elegant leaps to make your own daily commute to the subway feel appropriately pedestrian. The lineup pulls from American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Paris Opera Ballet and more, with works ranging from José Limón and Bob Fosse to brand-new choreography. Basically, ballet’s past, present and future, all in one expansive package.

It’s official: World Cup fever has taken over L.A. The global soccer tournament takes place only every four years, and this time around, it’s back in the U.S. for the first time in over three decades—and Los Angeles is hosting eight of the matches at SoFi Stadium. (The freeways are already warning of more traffic—advising people to “use transit” on June 12.) To celebrate, seemingly every local business is getting in on the action, hosting special promotions, soccer-themed activations and World Cup viewing parties. You can expect every sports bar and lots of restaurants to be tuned in—Clifton’s Republic is even temporarily reopening just for the occasion—but major museums, shopping centers and local attractions are also hosting their own events. It’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest, but to help you out, we’ve rounded up 20 ways to catch a match surrounded by a community of fellow football fans. In fact, even if you’re not a sports fan, some of these parties should still appeal to you. 1. FIFA World Cup 2026June 11–July 19 The first way to see a match is, well, to brave the traffic (or go Metro) and watch a match in person. L.A. is just one of 11 host cities in the U.S., but all of the local matches will take place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood (FIFA’s official schedule calls it “Los Angeles Stadium,” but that’s simply the un-branded name for SoFi). Things kick off June 12 with USA vs. Paraguay and lead up to a quarterfinal match on July 10. Photograph: Michael Juliano for Tim

Ariana Grande will finally tour again next year, and fans in Los Angeles are in for something special: She’s bringing the Eternal Sunshine Tour to L.A. for four nights of arena magic that promise to feel both intimate and gigantic. The announcement dropped like a bolt of pop lightning on August 26. This is her first tour since the 2019 Sweetener World Tour, and it’s in support of her seventh album, Eternal Sunshine, and its deluxe edition, Brighter Days Ahead. The tour kicks off June 6, 2026, in Oakland before Los Angeles gets a four-night residency that feels like a homecoming. Is it too early to call it the highlight of the summer? Grande teased the announcement with a casual “See you next year ♡ 🧸” on Instagram, but fans know this is a big deal. In the years since her last tour, she’s racked up an Oscar nomination for Wicked, joined the cast of the next Meet the Parents film and reassured fans that music will always be her “lifeline.” Consider the Eternal Sunshine Tour proof she’s not going anywhere. When is Ariana Grande playing in L.A.? The "Yes, And?" singer will perform two shows at the Crypto.com Arena June 13 and June 14, and two shows at the Kia Forum June 17 and June 19, 2026. When do tickets go on sale? General sale for the U.S. dates begins at 10am local time on Wednesday, September 10, on Ticketmaster. Presale details An artist presale opens at 10am on Tuesday, September 9. You’ll need to sign up by September 7 to gain access. Additional venue or credit-card-li

If you’re in New York City, you probably have a pretty strong (and likely complicated) relationship with adrenaline. But if you need an even bigger rush than trying to cross Eighth Avenue at rush hour, you’re in luck, because the Manhattan skyline is about to get a whole lot wilder.  In 2026, adrenaline junkies will get to experience the city from a heart-stopping new perspective: Plummeting 300 feet in transparent tubes. That’s courtesy of the 52-story, 1,067-foot-tall skyscraper called The Torch, at 740 Eighth Avenue, which just resumed construction a year after halting. Forget fancy observation decks or high-end, high-rise restaurants. The Torch wants to offer both panoramic views and the kind of free fall that usually ends with you jerking awake.  RECOMMENDED: The 100 best things to do in NYC for locals and tourists A combination of observation deck and theme park ride, the attraction will be housed inside a spire lit to resemble a literal torch, taking riders to the top before dropping them straight down at speeds approaching 60 mph. The experience will reportedly also include enveloping lighting and sound effects; in case you Need a side of immersive theater with your terror. But even those who don’t want to look down as the streets of NYC hurtle ever closer can enjoy the top of The Torch. There will also be a more traditional observation deck and a glass-bottomed elevator that promises to take visitors up all 1,000 or so feet in under 60 seconds.  The project was desig

There are outdoor screenings in NYC parks, on waterfronts, and even in cemeteries. But Long Island’s Long Beach may beat them all with an alfresco screening set right on the beach, under the stars, with the sound of waves as a soundtrack. The annual "Shorts on the Beach" series returns to the Allegria Hotel beachfront as part of the Long Beach International Film Festival. Tickets are free—you can reserve tickets here—and the screening will begin shortly after sunset, around 8:45pm on Saturday, July 26. It’s a rare chance to watch award-winning films in a completely relaxed setting, where flip-flops and beach blankets are encouraged. “Bring a blanket, a beach chair, and your crew—this is cinema like you’ve never experienced it before. From award-winning shorts to hidden indie gems, you’ll laugh, cry, and fall in love with film all over again,” the festival wrote in an Instagram post. No word yet on what shorts will be part of the program or who the filmmakers are, so perhaps pack that blanket but leave your expectations behind. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Long Beach Intl. Film Festival (@lbiffny) Originally founded in 2012, the 2025 Long Beach International Film Festival runs through July 26. In addition to Shorts on the Beach, the festival will also host another shorts-inspired event, "Chefs & Shorts: A Unique Pairing of Gastronomy, Wine and Short Films." Held at the Allegria Hotel at 6pm on Thursday, July 24, the evening will see five che

There she goes, boys! The Audra McDonald-led revival of Gypsy, directed by George C. Wolfe, abruptly announced that it will be ending its Broadway run sooner than expected. The musical will play its final performance at the Majestic Theatre on Sunday, August 17; tickets had been on sale through October 3. The run itself was open-ended, with no closing date announced. When the show closes, it will have played 28 previews and 269 performances. This marks the sixth Broadway show to announce a closing date since the Tony Awards. RECOMMENDED: The best shows on Broadway The fifth revival of the classic musical, with a book by Arthur Laurents and a score by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, opened at the Majestic on December 19, 2024, co-starring Danny Burstein as Herbie and Joy Woods as Louise. As previously announced, Tony winner Montego Glover will play Rose at Sunday matinees for the rest of the run.  McDonald’s turn as Rose (a role played by Broadway legends from Ethel Merman to Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone) earned her a record-setting 11th Tony Award nomination, making her the most-nominated performer in Tony Awards history. (With six wins, she is also the most awarded performer in Tony Awards history.) The show itself earned five Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, and one for Burstein, which made him the most-nominated male performer in Tony Award history. The significance of this Gypsy is not just in its record-setting nominations, however. As staged

We may never see Richard Linklater’s film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along—starring Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein and Paul Mescal, the movie, shot in real time to mirror the passing of 30 years in the story, isn’t set to finish shooting until 2039. But luckily, another, equally star-studded version of the classic musical is coming to theaters later this year. A live capture of the Tony-winning Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along will premiere in movie theaters on December 5, an early holiday gift for theater lovers and Sondheim fans courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics and Fathom Entertainment. Directed by Maria Friedman and starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, the production follows three best friends from the end of their decades-long friendship to its very beginnings, as they grapple with fame, success and thwarted romance. George Furth wrote the musical’s book, an adaptation of a Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman play. Merrily We Roll Along opened on Broadway on October 10, 2023, and closed July 7, 2024, after extending its run.   RECOMMENDED: The best Broadway shows to see right now “This is a show that makes demands of its audience, perhaps sometimes unreasonable ones,” Time Out New York’s Adam Feldman wrote in his five-star review. “But as Charley sings during a loving argument with his friends: “What’s the point of demands you can meet?” Friedman’s production meets the audience halfway, and a Broadway audience today

Five years after shutting down for the COVID-19 pandemic, East Williamsburg music venue Our Wicked Lady will close down permanently on Monday, July 21, almost 10 years to the day since it first opened. Located at 153 Morgan Avenue, Our Wicked Lady was the brainchild of co-owners Zach Glass and Keith Hamilton, who met as managers at Brooklyn Bowl. When they took over the space, it boasted a dirt floor, no staircase to the roof, and barely any plumbing. The duo transformed it into a neighborhood staple that played host to up-and-coming bands and indie faves alike.  RECOMMENDED: A massive dance music festival returns to NYC this fall, and it’s expanding to Brooklyn But like so many businesses, Our Wicked Lady struggled to bounce back after the pandemic in the face of rising costs and patrons who’d rather leave early or stay at home altogether. Glass and Hamilton went public with their struggles last winter, and a GoFundMe raised $42,000 amid a flood of community support. But their landlord nixed a last-minute purchase deal, leaving them no option but to shut down permanently.  “We were extremely close to locking in an ownership transfer for Our Wicked Lady when we were thrown a massive curve ball. Our landlord decided he does not want a music venue to continue on his property and refused a near sale,” Glass and Keith wrote in an Instagram caption. “This is heartbreaking news for us. After all our work and all the support from our community, we are devastated to share that OWL wi

New York City has a glorious history of offering high-quality art and culture for rock-bottom prices. “Rock bottom” may not be what it once was, but at least the culture remains at the same high standard. And this summer, you can confirm that for yourself when Lincoln Center hosts concerts for as little as $5 from Saturday, July 19 through Saturday, August 9. Or rather, $5 is the minimum amount for the “Choose-What-You-Pay” fee structure — perhaps a better name would be “Choose-what-You-Pay-Within-These-Parameters”. The concerts comprise the Festival Orchestra of Lincoln Center series, part of Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City. Highlighting musicians from across the world who routinely perform with Lincoln Center, you might better know the Festival Orchestra from its previous iteration as the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra.  RECOMMENDED: Check out renderings of Lincoln Center's new performance venue and community park Among those scheduled to perform this year are Lincoln Center’s Renée and Robert Belfer Music Director Jonathon Heyward (responsible for the series’ programming) conducting Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, Karen Kamensek conducting Bizet’s Symphony in C, Joana Carneiro conducting Ravel and Prokofiev, and Dame Jane Glover conducting Michael Abels's "More Seasons," Tchaikovsky, and Mozart. Even better, that low entrance fee also provides you access to the theaters in David Geffen Hall, where most of the concerts will be held. A concert and powerful AC for under

You know what they say about New York: Once you’ve made it here, you can make it in… Brooklyn? Or something like that. Maybe in the old days (you know, before the internet), Brooklyn was looked down upon in terms of cool factor, but it’s definitely the goal in the 21st century. And even internationally beloved dance music festival We Belong Here isn’t immune to the lure of the borough. A year after making its NYC debut in Central Park’s Wollman Rink, We Belong Here announced that not only will it bring its 360-degree stage back to Manhattan, but it will bring the carefully curated experience to the Greenpoint waterfront, as well. RECOMMENDED: NYC's best summer music festivals of 2025 “New York City holds a special place in our story,” We Belong Here co-founder Justin Dauman said in a statement. “The response to our first year at Central Park exceeded all expectations, with the majority of tickets selling out in the first 24 hours. Expanding to two festivals allows us to welcome more people to enjoy the experience, highlight more unique locations, and maintain the same level of intimacy.” Last year’s first-ever NYC event featured multiple superstar DJs making their Central Park debuts, including Fisher, Kaskade and Monolink. The weekend was the culmination of a series of summer-long We Belong Here NYC pop-ups on Governors Island and Pier 16. First opened in the 1950s, Wollman Rink was a perfect choice of venue for the festival’s official NYC debut, given its history of unconve

We’re only halfway through 2025, but the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is already looking ahead. Way ahead. NYBG announced that it will bloom with a very special exhibition in 2027: a full, 250-acre takeover by Brooklyn-based artist KAWS, debuting May 22, 2027. Known for his pop culture-inspired sculptures, KAWS (aka Brian Donnelly) will present an outdoor installation of enormous proportions, turning the iconic Bronx gardens into a collision of nature and contemporary art. RECOMMENDED: The best outdoor art in NYC this summer, including sculptures KAWS’ work seems especially suited for NYBG, with his sly, gigantic takes on figures like The Simpsons and Snoopy, plus his famous Companions series, inspired by Mickey Mouse (and a year spent as a Disney animator) and threaded throughout his career as both paintings and three-dimensional sculptures. The melancholy of the figures, with their gloved hands and X’d out eyes, will no doubt feel even more powerful against the idyllic natural backdrop. NYBG has long held a reputation for creating opportunities for artists to engage in dialogue with its landscape, including landmark exhibitions by Yayoi Kusama and Ebony G. Patterson. Now KAWS will continue this tradition, inviting visitors to consider how human-made objects inhabit, disrupt, or enhance their environment.  The Garden also announced a 2026 exhibit, Flower Power, opening May 23, 2026, and channeling the ‘60s with a celebration of the flowers as symbols of peace and love. T

Every generation gets the toy craze it deserves, and no toy craze is any weirder than the last. From Pet Rocks to Cabbage Patch dolls to Troll Dolls and Tamagotchis, our collective past is littered with “I gotta have it or I’ll die!” status symbols. And Labubus have definitely taken their place among them. Not only have the plush toys with unsettling wide grins revealing serrated knife-like teeth become an instant grid-worthy addition to Instagram accounts, but they’re now beginning to revitalize nightlife. At least at the Brooklyn Monarch in Williamsburg, where raves featuring Labubus as the headliners attract up to 800 people. RECOMMENDED: Out Late: What insiders and partygoers are predicting for NYC nightlife in 2025 Labubus have become unavoidable, both on social media and on the subways, where the weirdly adorable little creatures with big eyes, sharp teeth, and full-on gremlin energy seem to be everywhere, most often dangling from purses, keychains, and waistbands. Created by artist Kasing Lung, Labubus are part of the Pop Mart universe, which means mystery boxes, limited editions, and serious collector hype. People line up or endlessly refresh websites, hoping to score a rare one. (How big have Labubus become? A human-sized Labubu recently sold for more than $170,000.) For collectors, the toy is almost secondary to the thrill of the unboxing, the trade culture, and the bragging rights of scoring a super rare variant. At these late-night parties in East Williamsburg (o

Talk about a Time Warp: The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been part of the pop culture landscape for a full five decades now. Originally released in theaters September 25, 1975, the future cult classic made barely a splash during its initial theatrical run, despite the presence of pre-fame Barry Bostwick, Tim Curry, and Susan Sarandon. But in the years since, the musical took on a whole new life as a midnight movie sensation, potentially keeping fishnets on the market long past their natural expiration date. And to celebrate its big 50th anniversary this year, actors from the beloved film have been touring North America with a very special iteration of the beloved screening tradition, giving fans a chance to party with the stars. And the tour just announced a stop in New York City: On Monday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m., bring your rubber gloves and noisemakers to The Town Hall, where stars Bostwick (Brad), Nell Campbell (Columbia) and Patricia Quinn (Magenta) will be on hand for a very special screening.  RECOMMENDED: The Roundabout's next season will include Rocky Horror and Oedipus Each stop on the tour includes a costume contest and a screening of the film, with a “shadow cast” of locals performing scenes in front of the screen—which is to say, it’s a glitzier, starrier version of your classic midnight movie screening. Budget your props and costumes accordingly! “Rocky has changed lives, not just ours, and had a profound effect on how we accept our differences in this world,”