Lisa Lopez stands next to a ballot box outside the county elections office in Ventura, California, on Nov. 4.
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Claudia Boyd-Barrett
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KFF Health News
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Topline:
California’s gubernatorial election is a year away, and the field of primary candidates is still taking shape. But one persistent issue has already emerged as a leading concern: the cost of health care.
Why now: At a forum Nov. 7 in the Inland Empire, four Democratic candidates vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to push back against Republican cuts to health care programs and to improve people’s access to medical care, including mental health services. But while some floated taxes, candidates were light on details about how they would bring down health care costs.
Why it matters: The candidates’ assurances come amid recent shifts in state and federal policies that, together with a variety of forces, are driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for people to obtain and maintain coverage. In addition to providers raising prices, other inflationary pressures include an aging population, rising chronic conditions, medical advancements, and new technologies, according to analysts. That’s added to a sense of financial precarity for the millions of Californians struggling with the state’s high cost of living and recent inflation spike.
Read on... more about why health care is the top concern.
California’s gubernatorial election is a year away, and the field of primary candidates is still taking shape. But one persistent issue has already emerged as a leading concern: the cost of health care.
At a forum Nov. 7 in the Inland Empire, four Democratic candidates vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to push back against Republican cuts to health care programs and to improve people’s access to medical care, including mental health services. But while some floated taxes, candidates were light on details about how they would bring down health care costs.
Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra promised to be California’s next “health care governor,” echoing Newsom’s commitment to lower costs and broaden access when he first got into office. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond pledged to create a single-payer health care system in which everyone is pooled into one program. Former state Controller Betty Yee said she would “build back better” from federal cuts and create a health care system tailored to California’s diverse communities.
And former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa vowed to fight to preserve safety net health care pared by the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress, although he acknowledged the challenge given limited state resources.
“I’m not gonna sell you snake oil,” he said. “It is going to be tough to provide that care, but I’m absolutely committed to it.”
The candidates’ assurances come amid recent shifts in state and federal policies that, together with a variety of forces, are driving up the cost of health care and making it harder for people to obtain and maintain coverage. In addition to providers raising prices, other inflationary pressures include an aging population, rising chronic conditions, medical advancements, and new technologies, according to analysts. That’s added to a sense of financial precarity for the millions of Californians struggling with the state’s high cost of living and recent inflation spike.
Although the forum was open to up to six candidates, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter and entrepreneur Stephen Cloobeck declined to participate, citing scheduling or other factors, according to Jon Koriel, an event spokesperson.
Four Democratic candidates vying to be California governor appeared at a forum on health care on Nov. 7 in Riverside: (from left) former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and former state Controller Betty Yee.
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Leroy Hamilton
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Health care top concern
A statewide poll commissioned by the California Wellness Foundation ahead of the Health Matters forum found that nearly 80% of likely voters worry about the cost of health care and that 72% think the next governor should prioritize capping out-of-pocket expenses. Access to affordable mental health care and being able to care for aging family members or friends were also top concerns. Perhaps in an early signal, voters last week in Santa Clara County passed a sales tax to help backfill federal cuts to food and health care safety net programs.
California mirrors much of the nation. Exit polls from the Nov. 4 election show 81% of those who voted for Democrat Abigail Spanberger, winner of the Virginia governor’s race, cited health care as the most important issue facing the state. In a national Reuters/Ipsos poll, health care was cited as the top everyday expense Americans want Congress to prioritize. And 65% of voters said an annual health cost increase of $1,000 would have some impact on their 2026 vote, according to a recent KFF poll.
Some Californians interviewed on Nov. 4, the day of the state’s special election, expressed disappointment in Newsom’s unmet promises on health care. Newsom, a Democrat who is mulling a presidential run as he wraps up his second term in January 2027, had campaigned on single-payer health care.
During his tenure he’s steered billions of dollars and engineered rules to help the neediest Californians afford and access health care. The state also expanded state-funded Medicaid coverage, known as Medi-Cal, to all eligible residents, regardless of immigration status. Medicaid provides free or low-cost health insurance to low-income and disabled people.
But this year, facing rising costs and budget deficits, Newsom and the Democratic-controlled legislature walked back some of that expansion by freezing enrollment for adults without legal status starting in 2026 and implementing premiums. They also resurrected an asset test for older adults and people with disabilities. Meanwhile, health care costs and homelessness remain a huge problem, and many Californians struggle to get basic medical care. And there’s no sign of a single-payer health care system, which Sacramento lawmakers have repeatedly failed to advance amid concerns about cost, including one estimate in 2017 of $400 billion annually.
“I remember him coming and speaking to our members and telling them that he was going to fight with them for single payer,” Michael Cusack, a 30-year-old former health care union worker from Oakland, said as he cast his ballot last week. “And I never saw him deliver on that campaign.”
Michael Cusack, a registered Democrat working at a national research lab in Oakland, California, says health care costs are top of mind for him as he weighs his vote next year, both for Congress and the governor’s race.
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Christine Mai-Duc
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Christine Mai-Duc
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Paying for health care
Becerra, Thurmond, and Yee said they would be open to raising taxes to pay for health care programs. Villaraigosa sidestepped the tax question, saying his focus would be to “grow the pie” economically. Yee also suggested offering tax credits to help struggling families pay for health care and caregiving expenses.
During the forum’s lightning round, Becerra, Thurmond, and Yee also raised their hands when asked whether they supported single-payer care. Becerra said after the event that he doesn’t believe the state would receive support from the Trump administration for a single-payer system, but he said he would push for universal access to health care.
Indeed, all the candidates appeared mindful of Washington’s power over health care resources, even as they vowed to stand up to President Donald Trump, who has an especially adversarial relationship with Newsom.
“Let’s recognize that the federal government is our largest partner,” Becerra said. “We must work with them. We will not take a knee, but we must work with them.”
Currently, the biggest threats to health care costs and accessibility come from the federal government. Republicans in Congress have refused to give in to Democrats’ demand to extend premium tax subsidies for health insurance plans purchased on Affordable Care Act exchanges, the main issue that drove the government shutdown. Enrollees in Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, have received notices that their premiums will increase next year. On average, monthly premium payments for people receiving ACA subsidies areexpected to double across the nation.
Laura Jones, a small-business owner in Oakland, currently pays the minimum possible for her Covered California plan, but she worries she wouldn’t be able to afford a major medical emergency. She thinks about one of her friends who recently suffered a stroke.
“The hospital bills were just so egregious,” Jones said. “How would I pay for that?”
Meanwhile, an impending $900 billion in federal Medicaid spending reductions under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and tighter eligibility restrictions are expected to push as many as 3.4 million Californians out of the program. More than a third of Californians are currently enrolled in Medi-Cal.
Oseoba Airewele, 29, of Ventura, a registered Democrat who previously worked as a software engineer, said Medi-Cal became a lifeline after he lost insurance through his job and needed mental health and dental care.
“If I were to lose it, I would be very concerned,” he said. “I’d be in a bad place.”
Oseoba Airewele stands next to a ballot box in Ventura, California, where he cast his vote in the Nov. 4 special election. Airewele enrolled in Medi-Cal after being laid off from his job as a software engineer. He says that coverage has been critical.
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Claudia Boyd-Barrett
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KFF Health News
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People with employer-based health coverage also face steep price hikes. Family premiums for employer-based plans averaged almost $27,000 this year, up 6% from 2024, a new KFF report shows. Workers typically pay almost $7,000 of that, the report found. That doesn’t include other out-of-pocket expenses.
“Even though I have a job, it’s still really expensive to pay for the copays,” said Rheema Calloway, 35, a San Francisco independent.
Primary in June
Among the other Democratic candidates vying for governor in 2026, Porter has said she will make fighting federal cuts to Medicaid and Medicare a top priority, along with expanding and improving health care for all residents. Porter’s campaign suffered a blow after viral videos surfaced of her threatening to walk out of a CBS interview and berating a staff member. Former Assemblyman Ian Calderon has said he would protect access to Medi-Cal. And Cloobeck wants to fast-track housing construction.
Republican candidates include Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, a former Fox News contributor and policy adviser to David Cameron when he was Britain’s prime minister. Both have pledged to tackle affordability issues, especially housing costs.
Two other high-profile Democrats — former Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla — have said they won’t run. Rick Caruso, a Republican-turned-Democrat and wealthy Los Angeles businessman, has yet to decide whether to run.
The California primary will be held June 2 and the general election on Nov. 3.
KFF Health News correspondent Christine Mai-Duc and ethnic media editor Ngoc Nguyen contributed to this report.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
A detail of the illustrated mural inside Yi Cha, a Korean eatery on Figueroa Street in Highland Park, bursts with colorful hand-drawn characters, Korean text, and neighborhood references.
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Courtesy of Stan Lee
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Topline:
Best known for creating the eerie child’s painting in Bong Joon Ho’s masterpiece, visual artist ZiBeZi brings his vibrant, boundary-free style to Chef Debbie Lee’s Yi-Cha.
More details: If you’ve ever dined at Chef Debbie Lee’s restaurant Yi-Cha, you’ve likely noticed the colorful, cartoon-style mural at the entrance. The vibrant painting features food, animals, nature and bold Korean words such as “Awesome” and “Let’s Eat.” It also captures the lively spirit of Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles.
About ZiBeZi: His work has traveled farther beyond Highland Park. In Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” one of ZiBeZi’s abstract paintings appears as a prop — a child’s drawing that seems innocent but quietly signals something more unsettling. The placement introduced his work to a global audience, a moment that helped shift the trajectory of his career.
Read on... for more on how ZiBeZi brought his whimsical world to the Highland Park restaurant.
If you’ve ever dined at Chef Debbie Lee’s restaurant Yi-Cha, you’ve likely noticed the colorful, cartoon-style mural at the entrance. The vibrant painting features food, animals, nature and bold Korean words such as “Awesome” and “Let’s Eat.” It also captures the lively spirit of Highland Park in Northeast Los Angeles.
Last week, in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander History Month, Lee hosted a meet-and-greet with the mural’s artist, Korean visual artist ZiBeZi.
“This event [was] our way of saying thank you to him, and to our guests who have fallen in love with his work,” Chef Lee told The LA Local. She commissioned ZiBeZi to paint the mural last fall when she opened her restaurant.
ZiBeZi, whose given name is Jung Jae-hoon, did not begin as a visual artist. For more than a decade, he worked as a rapper, shaping stories through rhythm and lyrics. Painting came later, after what he describes as a difficult period in his life, when drawing became a form of recovery — a way, he said, “to breathe and heal.”
That origin still lingers beneath the surface of his work. His paintings, at first glance, lean whimsical: rounded forms, bright palettes, a sense of motion that feels almost childlike. But look longer and the compositions begin to open up into something more layered and introspective.
“I enjoy creating scenes where humans, nature, animals and the universe coexist without boundaries,” ZiBeZi told The LA Local. “On the surface, the work may feel playful or cartoon-like, but underneath, there are emotions, memories and questions about life.”
Artist ZiBeZi poses with acclaimed Parasite director Bong Joon-ho alongside ZiBeZi’s painting that was featured in the film.
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Couresty of ZiBeZi
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His work has traveled farther beyond Highland Park. In Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning film “Parasite,” one of ZiBeZi’s abstract paintings appears as a prop — a child’s drawing that seems innocent but quietly signals something more unsettling. The placement introduced his work to a global audience, a moment that helped shift the trajectory of his career.
By 2024, the Grammy Museum had commissioned him to create a mural for its K-pop exhibition, another sign of his growing visibility. Still, he describes these milestones less as turning points than as affirmations.
“Those experiences gave me confidence to continue creating,” he said, “while also reminding me to stay true to my own voice and artistic identity.”
At Yi-Cha, that voice takes on a distinctly local resonance. Lee said ZiBeZi approached the mural less as a commission and more as a process of immersion. “He didn’t just paint a mural he spent time in Highland Park, walked Figueroa, felt the neighborhood. That kind of intention shows in every inch of the wall.”
The result is a piece that bursts with joy. An alien figure hovers near the words “Highland Park,” rendered in Hangul, the Korean alphabet. There are subtle nods to Yi-Cha’s menu and broader references to Los Angeles, woven together in a way that resists a single interpretation.
It is, above all, a mural meant to be lived with and experienced over meals.
“Painting for a restaurant feels very different from exhibiting in a gallery,” ZiBeZi said. “Here, art becomes part of people’s everyday experience — it lives with their laughter, their meals and their memories.”
The mural wall at Yi Cha, a Korean restaurant on Figueroa Street in Highland Park, fills floor to ceiling with whimsical illustrations celebrating the neighborhood and Korean culture.
New TSA program looks to increase private security
By Bill Chappell | NPR
Published May 21, 2026 9:30 AM
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Scott Olson
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Under the Transportation Security Administration's new program called TSA Gold+, private companies would play a much larger role in airport security than they have in decades.
More details: The agency is billing the program as an update to the Screening Partnership Program, or SPP, in which 20 U.S. airports currently use private security screeners rather than federal workers.
Why now: The agency says airports that opt into the program would be able to tailor security systems for their facility — and avoid the TSA staffing shortages that became a very public headache at airports during the recent government shutdown over Homeland Security funding.
Read on... for more on the program.
Federal officers handle security screening at all but a small fraction of U.S. airports, but the Trump administration is hoping to change that. Under the Transportation Security Administration's new program called TSA Gold+, private companies would play a much larger role in airport security than they have in decades.
The TSA is set to host officials from airports and security contractors to an "industry day" at its Springfield, Va., headquarters on Thursday, as it looks to develop TSA Gold+, a public-private program that the agency calls "transformative."
The agency is billing the program as an update to the Screening Partnership Program, or SPP, in which 20 U.S. airports currently use private security screeners rather than federal workers.
"TSA Gold+ marks a significant evolution in the agency's approach to aviation security," a TSA spokesperson told NPR via an emailed statement.
The agency says airports that opt into the program would be able to tailor security systems for their facility — and avoid the TSA staffing shortages that became a very public headache at airports during the recent government shutdown over Homeland Security funding.
It also says the program would bring "the latest technology" such as AI tools to airport screening operations, to increase capacity and cut wait times, although the agency did not specify how those gains would be achieved. From the details shared so far, the equipment would be the contractors' responsibility — a departure from the current SPP system, in which TSA controls the equipment and oversees the security contract. The TSA says it would perform the oversight role it currently does.
"Industry partners can manage equipment and introduce innovations, while travelers enjoy a smooth, predictable, and bespoke experience," the TSA said as it unveiled TSA Gold+.
Airports currently using the private Screening Partnership Program range from San Francisco and Kansas City to Sarasota, Fla., and Atlantic City, N.J., along with smaller facilities in Montana, Wyoming and other states.
Calls for privatizing airport security screening have come from President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, echoing a recommendation in the conservatives' Project 2025 handbook for a second Trump term. But there are also signs of bipartisan interest in some level of private control over airport security, as seen in Atlanta, where city leaders recently voted to explore joining the Screening Partnership Program.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security, touted that bipartisan interest on Wednesday during a hearing on TSA Modernization. But Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees union, which represents TSA officers, said he opposes further privatization — including the TSA Gold+ program, warning that it would hamper accountability and transparency.
Under the new program, Kelley said, contract workers would earn less than TSA officers. He added that while many transportation security officers hold security clearances, under the new plan, the government "would be ceding direct operational control of the most sensitive technology in the aviation security enterprise to private vendors."
The White House budget released last month promises to save some $52 million by privatizing airport screeners and requiring small airports to enroll in the SPP.
But officials at the hearing urged lawmakers to preserve airports' ability to choose.
Chris McLaughlin, CEO of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, noted that the SPP has been in place since aviation security underwent drastic changes following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which led to the creation of the TSA and the SPP system.
"We've had federalized screening for 25 years, almost," McLaughlin said. "Large airports like San Francisco have had an SPP program for 25 years."
Both airports' arrangements work well for them, he told Garbarino.
"The system has been safe for 25 years," he said. "It's important that airports have options."
The new "Gold+" program echoes the Trump administration's promise to bring a "golden age of travel" to the American public. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy touted those plans earlier this week, as he unveiled $970 million in funding to improve passengers' experiences at airports, from adding family-friendly security screening lanes to improving restrooms and children's play areas.
The money for those projects comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a Biden-era law aiming to update airports' aging infrastructure.
Copyright 2026 NPR
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May gray skies return this morning for coasts and some valleys.
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Mel Melcon
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Cloudy beaches sunny elsewhere
Beaches: Mid-70s
Mountains: Mid-70s to 80s
Inland: 83 to 91 degrees
Warnings and advisories: None today
What to expect: A marine layer will cover SoCal coasts today, bringing some cooling to the region. Elsewhere expect mostly sunny skies and highs around the mid 80s.
Read on ... to learn more.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Partly cloudy then sunny
Beaches: lower 70s degrees
Mountains: Mid-70s to 80s
Inland: 83 to 91 degrees
Warnings and advisories: None today
A marine layer will cover mostly the coastal areas today, lowering temperatures a degree or two. Otherwise expect a sunny afternoon elsewhere across SoCal.
L.A. County beaches will see temperatures in the lower 70s today, whereas Orange County could reach up to 79 degrees along the coast.
More inland, the valleys will see highs in the mid 80s. The Inland Empire will see highs from 83 to 91 degrees. In Coachella Valley, temperatures are expected to reach up to 100 degrees.
Fleet Week, Exit the King at A Noise Within, the UCLA JazzReggae Festival, MAINopoly in Santa Monica and more of the best things to do this Memorial Day weekend.
Highlights:
Tour the U.S.S. Iowa and check out the three visiting battleships at San Pedro’s Pacific Battleship Center during L.A.’s annual Memorial Day weekend Fleet Weekon the waterfront. Plus, there are exhibits to walk through, food stands to try, and music for the whole family.
The name of this Eugène Ionesco classic alone — Exit the King— should give you some sense of where the always-on-point folks at A Noise Within were going when they chose it at this moment. The political satire borders on the absurd, with the L.A. Times likening the vibrant characters to “those in a deck of wild cards designed by Salvador Dalí.”
The nouveau bard of Kansas City, Kevin Morby, returns to his once-adopted hometown of Los Angeles on the heels of his newest release, Little Wide Open. Brooklyn-based Liam Kazar opens for him at The Wiltern.
Eat your way down Main Street in Santa Monica at MAINopoly, the annual Monopoly-themed food festival, which will allow drinks while you walk and eat thanks to a new city permit. The popular food-and-bar stretch near the beach is experiencing a little revival with the reopening of dive bar favorite Circle Bar, plus newish hot spots like Triple Beam Pizza and June Shine.
Happy long weekend! The Late Show with Stephen Colbert plays the funnyman’s swan song tonight, so my calendar is booked to stay up past my bedtime. Closer to home, the Yoko Ono exhibit (which comes to us straight from the Tate Modern in London) opens just in time for Memorial Day weekend, so watch this space for more on that.
There’s music for lovers of every genre this week, according to our friends at Licorice Pizza. On Friday, Yungblud and special guests Warning rock the Greek, and Dethklok plays the Palladium; jazz trumpeter Chris Botti begins his residency at the Blue Note.
Saturday, Bright Eyes performs I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn in their entirety at the Hollywood Bowl with openers the Moldy Peaches; American Football is at the Wiltern; Belgium’s Ultra Sunn plays the Belasco; Italy’s Mina is at the Echoplex; DJ KSHMR plays the Palladium; and then, for a different sort of “Kashmir,” Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Evening takes over the Greek.
On Sunday, brush your teeth with a bottle of Jack for the millennial dance party of the week at the Forum with Kesha, Chromeo and Sizzy Rocket. There’s also the big Day Trip afternoon concert at L.A. State Historic Park with Joseph Capriati, Toman and Cole Terrazas. For a more mellow Sunday, singer-songwriter Katelyn Tarver is at the Echoplex, R&B singer-songwriter Eric Bellinger plays the Novo, or classic crooner Paul Anka is doing it his way at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.
Through Monday, May 25 Pacific Battleship Center 250 S. Harbor Blvd., San Pedro COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy L.A. Fleet Week
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Tour the U.S.S. Iowa and check out the three visiting battleships at San Pedro’s Pacific Battleship Center during L.A.’s annual Memorial Day weekend Fleet Week on the waterfront. Plus, there are exhibits to walk through, food stands to try and music for the whole family. Not to mention those cute sailors in their whites.
Topanga Days
Saturday to Monday, May 23 to 25, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. 1440 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd., Topanga COST: ADULTS $31.80; MORE INFO
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Fadeout Media
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Topanga Days
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Topanga Days is the easiest way to time-travel back to a simpler time when folk musicians roamed the hills, winning a yodeling contest was the biggest bragging right and you spent all year coming up with your parade costume. Those days are here once a year at Topanga Days, headlined on Saturday by New Orleans icon Cyril Neville and peppered with cherry-seed-spitting and bubble-gum-blowing contests, tons of other music, food, and, of course, the parade.
Exit the King
Through Sunday, May 31 A Noise Within 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena COST: FROM $49.75; MORE INFO
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Craig Schwartz
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Lucy PR
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The name of this Eugène Ionesco classic alone — Exit the King — should give you some sense of where the always-on-point folks at A Noise Within were going when they chose it at this moment. The political satire borders on the absurd, with the L.A. Times likening the vibrant characters to “those in a deck of wild cards designed by Salvador Dalí.”
K-Expo
Saturday and Sunday, May 23 to 24 L.A. Live 1005 Chick Hearn Court, Downtown L.A. COST: FREE; MORE INFO
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Courtesy BLND PR
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K-Pop fans will flock to the K-Expo at L.A. Live, where you can see free exhibitions and events featuring 100 Korean brands and companies across content, beauty, food and technology all weekend long. Stick around Saturday night and grab a ticket (from $47) to the mega K-Pop concert at the Peacock Theater, featuring Jay Park and P1Harmony.
MAINopoly
Sunday, May 24, 1 p.m. Main Street, Santa Monica COST: FROM $28.01; MORE INFO
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Courtesy MAINopoly Santa Monica
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Eat your way down Main Street in Santa Monica at the annual Monopoly-themed food festival, which this year will allow drinks while you walk and eat thanks to a new city permit. The popular food-and-bar stretch near the beach is experiencing a little revival with the reopening of dive bar favorite Circle Bar, plus newish hot spots like Triple Beam Pizza and June Shine. I also heard a rumor that something new is finally coming into the old World Cafe space (!!).
Arroyo Secodelic Festival
Friday to Monday, May 22 to 25 Various locations, Highland Park COST: VARIES; MORE INFO
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Courtesy Arroyo Secodelic
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As LAist's Robert Garrova reports, a new four-day music festival takes over Figueroa Street in Highland Park this weekend. The Arroyo Secodelic Festival will feature 65 bands, with acts hailing from Los Angeles, Mexico and as far as France and Holland. Highlights include Flamin' Groovies, Fear and Adolescents.
Angel City Chorale Spring Concert
Sunday, May 24, 4 p.m. Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center 1935 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach COST: FROM $17; MORE INFO
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Mel Stave Photography
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Angel City Chorale
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Enjoy the healing sounds of Angel City Chorale as they perform a new show with the theme "The Red Thread" as “a tribute to the beloved age-old parable and celebration of the invisible threads that connect as humans, our hopes, joys, resilience in the face of adversity, connection to nature and a shared planet Earth.”
Kevin Morby
Friday, May 22, 8 p.m. The Wiltern 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown COST: $50-$60; MORE INFO
Kevin Morby plays the Wiltern on Friday.
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Jim Bennett
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Getty Images
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The nouveau bard of Kansas City returns to his once-adopted hometown of Los Angeles on the heels of his newest release, Little Wide Open. Morby's latest effort might be his most realized, fully embracing the Technicolor sweep of his indie-Americana sound — striking the sonic equivalent between a Terrence Malick film and Robert Frank's roadside photographs, seen through a passenger car window of a cross-country train. This time, Morby tapped Aaron Dessner of The National to serve as producer — who has most recently done the same for Taylor Swift, Gracie Abrams and Sharon Van Etten — alongside a constellation of collaborators, including Justin Vernon, Lucinda Williams, Katie Gavin, Mat Davidson and Meg Duffy. Brooklyn-based Liam Kazar opens. –Gab Chabrán
UCLA JazzReggae Festival
Monday, May 25, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. UCLA Wilson Plaza COST: $26.14; MORE INFO
Three little birds told me to get down to the UCLA JazzReggae Festival on Memorial Day. The yearly music fest draws students and neighbors alike for a full day of sunshine, food, music and jammin’. The fest is fully organized and run by student volunteers, and has been since its founding 40 years ago.
Forest Lawn Memorial Day remembrances
Monday, May 25 Various locations COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Forest Lawn in Glendale is one of several locations hosting Memorial Day events.
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David McNew
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Getty Images
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Honor veterans across Los Angeles as Forest Lawn hosts Memorial Day remembrances at each of its six Southern California locations: Cathedral City, Covina Hills, Cypress, Glendale, Hollywood Hills and Long Beach. The parkwide events will celebrate the lives of those who served, with patriotic music, wreath layings, presentations and retirings of the flag, keynote addresses, presidential proclamations, invocations, giveaways, coffee and sweet treats. All events will include American Sign Language interpreters.
