Best things to do this week in Los Angeles and Southern California: June 22-25

The World Cup and the Hollywood Fringe theater festival may not have a huge Venn diagram of overlapping fans, but perhaps the closest is the theatrics of England fans singing "It’s Coming Home" loudly at Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica (get there early if you want a seat for the England match on Tuesday). Then head to the theater to check out sporty Fringe shows Ball Boy, where comedian Ben Fisher recounts his experiences as the gay son of a baseball umpire, or go catch Kickball: The Musical (self-explanatory!).

If music is more your thing, Licorice Pizza’s picks for the week include supermodel and eyebrows icon Cara Delevingne’s two special showcases at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Monday and Tuesday; also on Monday, shoegaze legends Heavenly make their own comeback at the Regent.

Tuesday, rapper and singer Isaiah Rashad is at the Grammy Museum, and singer-songwriter Audrey Hobert plays her first of two nights at the Wiltern. Also on Wednesday, Khalid plays the Greek, Madison Beer and Thủy play the Forum, Britrockers Bôa play the Bellwether, and rising U.K. electropop star Girli is at the Lodge Room.

On Thursday, Summer Walker is at the Crypto.com Arena, and Killswitch Engage with Machine Head are at the Hollywood Palladium.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can find out who to blame for the lack of public bathrooms in L.A., make a plan to see the top 25 documentaries of this century and get our full guide to World Cup festivities around town.

Events

16th Annual Zócalo Book Prize Event: America, Can We Take Down the Walls Between Us?

Thursday, June 25, 7 p.m. 
ASU California Center Broadway 
1111 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Zócalo Public Square

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Anand Pandian, the winner of the 2026 Zócalo Book Prize, will join political strategist and Lincoln Project co-founder Mike Madrid for a conversation about Pandian’s winning book, Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down. From fences around our houses to the "walled gardens" of the internet, our real and imagined borders are the focus of Pandian’s work. Plus, Deborah Ager, winner of the Zócalo Poetry Prize, will read her winning poem, “Letter from Indialantic.”

Rod Lightning & the Thunderbolts of Love

Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m.
Concerts on Cañon
Beverly Cañon Gardens
241 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Celebrate Pride with a free early evening concert in Beverly Hills, featuring classic hits from Rod Lightning & the Thunderbolts of Love.

29th Annual Dances With Films LA Festival

Wednesday, June 24, 4 p.m.
The Art of Sharing film screening
Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
COST: $26.90; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy GPPR

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The annual indie film fest Dances With Films continues through June 28, but this Wednesday is a great chance to see the block of documentary short films in the lineup. The docs include The Art of Sharing, which follows Michelin-starred chef and artist Minh H. Phan during her artist residency with Food Forward, a California nonprofit dedicated to rescuing fresh surplus produce that we’ve featured in Best Things to Do for their annual Zest Fest and volunteer opportunities.

Dataland 

Ongoing
100 S. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: FROM $49; MORE INFO

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Refik Anadol Studio

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I had the chance to spend several hours at Dataland, the world’s first AI art museum, ahead of its opening, and to speak with its founders, the artists (and married couple) Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkiliç. The pair have brought to life something truly unique, and we’re lucky to be in L.A. to experience it. You enter into a deeply immersive (I know, overused word, but it’s true) world that takes you to the rainforests of the Amazon and into the connected networks that exist across nature. It’s a totally new way of going to a museum, and I think there’s a lot that other institutions that could take notes on how to make art and technology feel visceral and relevant. It just opened last week and is a permanent installation that takes more than two hours to really see, so plan accordingly.

Stud Country beginner night 

Monday, June 22, 8 p.m.
Los Globos 
3040 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake
COST: $20; MORE INFO

Cross learning to country line dance off your bucket list at Stud Country’s weekly queer line-dancing party at Los Globos. Mondays are for beginners; Thursdays, you’d better know what you’re doing or fear the trample! Howdy, pardner.

Chris Fleming

Tuesday, June 23, 8 p.m.
Largo at the Coronet
366 N. La Cienega Blvd., Melrose 
COST: $50; MORE INFO 

Chris Fleming performs at the Largo this week.

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Arturo Holmes

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Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival

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I saw Chris Fleming at a Netflix Is a Joke Festival event, and now I’m kind of obsessed with their quirky, offbeat humor. They’re doing a standup set at the Largo — which will definitely be longer than their fleeting but excellent Widow’s Bay turn as the shaman who gets sucked up into a tornado (IYKYK).

Live reading: Mrs. Alving & The Captain, Los Feliz

Wednesday, June 24, 7:30 p.m.
Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Hamish Linklater's new play will get a free reading this week.

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Michael Loccisano

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Getty Images

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Oh look, another Widow’s Bay reference from me. Y’all really need to watch this show. But I digress. This time, the featured actor from the Apple TV hit is Hamish Linklater, who wrote a new play — Mrs. Alving & The Captain, Los Feliz — and is also in the cast. Get in early and check out this free reading of the new comedy with Echo Theater Company.