Best things to do this week in Los Angeles and Southern California: July 28-31

One of the most clever things I’ve seen to support public media is Adopt-a-Station, which encourages donations to your local station (hey, that’s us!) while also helping smaller, more rural stations that are the hardest hit by federal cuts. We’re reporting on some of the California stations in some of our favorite places in the state that are feeling the crunch, like beautiful Mendocino.

Closer to home, I’ll just be here this week, counting down the minutes to Cynthia Erivo and Adam Lambert headlining Jesus Christ Superstar at the Bowl next weekend and jamming out to this newly released preview from the show. In the meantime, I’m still recovering from an incredible night of Diana Ross at the Bowl on Saturday.

For the Little Monsters, we’ve got three nights of Lady Gaga coming up at the Forum, plus Licorice Pizza has more music highlights like Noah Cyrus at the Grammy Museum on Wednesday and hometown favorite Beck with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra at Pacific Amphitheater on Thursday.

More from LAist: learn about the minor league baseball team coming to Long Beach (maybe John Oliver will name them?), reporter Yusra Farzan finding the best breakfast burrito at a hospital cafeteria in Torrance, and get ready to take your shoes off and have a cocktail as Duke’s gets ready to reopen post-fires.

Events

Thursday, July 31, 6 to 8 p.m.
Dream Like Taylor
O.C. Parks Summer Concert Series
1 Irvine Park Rd., Orange
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

We’re going to be waiting awhile before Taylor Swift launches whatever her follow-up to the epic Eras Tour will be, so bring your favorite Swifties to this free tribute show from musician Cassie B at the O.C. Parks Summer Concert Series. The free shows from other bands, like No Doubt tribute No Duh, continue on Thursdays through August.

Thursday, July 31, 6 to 7:30 p.m.
One Up: The Musical 
Let Live @ The Actors Company
916 Formosa Ave., Hollywood
COST: $17.11; MORE INFO 

"One Up: The Musical" cast.

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Courtesy The Actor’s Company

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Regular readers know I can’t resist a quirky new musical. Hollywood Fringe winner One Up: The Musical is the brainchild of co-writer and producer Mary Bonney and songwriter Matt Dahan, creator of Pulp Musicals and music director of the local theater company Team Starkid. Plus, it has real video game cred from advisor Dona Bailey, co-creator of the iconic arcade game Centipede. The show celebrates favorite video and arcade games of years past. Set to a synth-pop soundtrack, it is on for two nights — Thursday and Sunday — in Hollywood as part of the L.A. Comedy Festival

Through Sunday, August 17
Upstairs, Downstairs tours 
Gamble House 
4 Westmoreland Pl., Pasadena 
COST: $25; MORE INFO

You don’t have to go to Regency England to learn about the relationship between stately homes and their staff. You just have to head to Pasadena for the Gamble House’s special peek at the staff quarters in the architectural museum’s beloved “Upstairs, Downstairs” tours. Visitors will get to see the other side of the historic home in a tour that “interweaves the lives and spaces of the Gamble family with those of the people who worked in service at the house: maids, cooks, housekeepers, seamstresses, laundresses, gardeners, chauffeurs and more.” And of course, all you Back to the Future fans can take all the outside photos you want.

Thursday, July 31, 6:30 p.m.
Very Be Careful with Healing Gems and DJ Eléanora
Hammer Museum 
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Westwood 
COST: FREE, PARKING $8; MORE INFO

I checked out this biweekly summer event at the Hammer last Thursday, and I can’t recommend it enough. In addition to great tunes, the galleries are open late and the museum provides space for free crafting sessions and more. This week, enjoy music from the Caribbean-California mashup Very Be Careful and the six-piece jazz ensemble Healing Gems.

Through Sunday, August 17
BUTTER Fine Art Fair 
Context Projects Gallery
4435 ½ W. Slauson Ave., View Park 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

The Midwest often gets overlooked in the art world, but there’s a small-but-mighty scene in Indianapolis centered at the Black-led art fair, BUTTER, and now they are coming to L.A. at the View Park gallery, Context Projects. The show features Indiana-based artists including Ashley Nora, FITZ, Gary Gee and Samuel Levi Jones, as well as local L.A. creators like April Bey, Autumn Breon, Cortney Herron and Doug Hickman, Jr. If you buy a piece, you’re supporting a unique model that allows artists to retain 100% of all sales — a rarity in the gallery world!

July 28 through August 1
Lady Gaga: The Mayhem Ball
Kia Forum 
3900 W Manchester Blvd., Inglewood
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JULY 16: (Exclusive Coverage) Lady Gaga performs during the kick off of The MAYHEM Ball at T-Mobile Arena on July 16, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)

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Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Liv

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Getty Images North America

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That’s right, Little Monsters; it’s time. Lady Gaga is back in full force with a new tour at the Forum. The tour kicked off in Vegas last week with all the glamour, dance moves and power vocals we’ve come to expect from Mother Monster.

Through Wednesday, February 18, 2026
'Fierce: The Story of Cats'
Natural History Museum 
900 Exposition Blvd., Exposition Park
COST: INCLUDED IN MUSEUM ADMISSION; MORE INFO

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Natural History Museum

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Fierce is not a word I would use to describe my tortoiseshell cat, Zelda. She’s more Muppet than cat. But I do believe, like all good house cat owners, that she is descended from a great line of fierce felines, and the new exhibit, "Fierce: The Story of Cats," at the Natural History Museum backs that up. Bring the whole family to learn about cats’ unique behaviors, social structure and pop culture icon status in history through interactive displays and hands-on activities.

Viewing Pick

July 29 through August 1
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Disney+ Dive-in Theater Experiences
La Habra (exact location on RSVP)
COST: AVAILABLE UPON RSVP; MORE INFO 

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Disney+

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Hats off to the marketing genius who pulled off this partnership between Disney+ and swimming pool sharing app Swimply. A series of “dive-in” movies are available to book over the next month, starting with Honey, I Shrunk the Kids at a private space in La Habra. And it’s not just any swim-up bar; you’ll be immersed in Rick Moranis-fueled lore by entering the space via a giant “shrink ray” laser tunnel to emerge in a “giant-sized world featuring a cereal bowl swimming pool, Cheerio pool floats, a towering popcorn box and massive ants.” Because, of course you will. We wouldn’t expect anything less from those brilliant Imagineers.

Dine & Drink Deals

Tuesday, July 29, 7 p.m. 
Taste America: Los Angeles 
The LINE Hotel 
3515 Wilshire Blvd., Koreatown
COST: FROM $150; MORE INFO

Taste delicious bites from renowned chefs from across the country at The James Beard Foundation’s Taste America series. The entire TasteTwenty class will be represented, with Chef Vivian Ku of Pine & Crane and Joy hosting the L.A. event and featuring dishes from 20 food and beverage stations, including Chef Stephen Rogers, a James Beard Award semifinalist from Sachet in Dallas; James Beard Award winner Ashleigh Shanti of Good Hot Fish in Asheville; and James Beard Award Semifinalist Dung "Junior" Vo of Noko in Nashville.

Tuesday, July 29, 5 p.m. 
So You Think You Can Toss 
Wildcrust 
4705 York Blvd., Highland Park
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO 

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Wildcrust

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Pizza, but make it chef-y. Wildcrust chef and owner Miles Okabayashi is inviting a different L.A. chef each month for a pizza tossing duel for the ages. Chefs will create two exclusive, one-night-only pizzas and join Okabayashi in the kitchen to help make them and engage with diners. Kicking off this week, Chef Anthony Wang, owner of Firstborn, will include his popular duck sausage in his pies, plus ingredients like red Sichuan peppercorns, Chinkiang vinegar, chipotle crisp and eggplant. The series follows with Klementine Song of Tsubak on Aug. 26 and Jihee Kim of Perilla on Sept. 16.