Support for LAist comes from
We Explain L.A.
Stay Connected
LAist needs your help: Why we're asking everyone who values our journalism to donate today

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

Your Guide To Free Outdoor Summer Concerts In Los Angeles

We need to hear from you.
Today during our spring member drive, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership. Thank you.

One of the blessings about living in sunny Los Angeles are all the free outdoor concerts we get in the summers. You don't need a major paycheck here to get to listen to some awesome live music—from indie rock to jazz and electronic. All the shows are spread out throughout the city, from the beach to local parks. Remember to check the events' websites before you head out as the schedules could always change.


Santa Monica Pier summer concert (Photo by T.Tseng via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
Twilight Concert Series @ Santa Monica Pier

Thurs., July 10 @ 7 p.m. - Cults with James Supercave
Thurs., July 17 @ 7 p.m. - Yuna with King and KCRW DJ Anthony Valadez
Thurs., July 24 @ 7 p.m. - Cayucas with Papa and KCRW DJ Chris Muckley
Thurs., July 31 @ 7 p.m. - Omar Souleyman and KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd
Thurs., Aug 07 @ 7 p.m. - Jagwar Ma with KCRW DJ Jason Bentley
Thurs., Aug 14 @ 7 p.m. - La Santa Cecilia with Sergio Mendoza Y La Orkestra and KCRW DJ Raul Campos
Thurs., Aug 21 @ 7 p.m. - The Zombies with Mystic Braves and KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole
Thurs., Aug 28 @ 7 p.m. - Lee "Scratch" Perry with Mexico 68
Thurs., Sep 04 @ 7 p.m. - TBA
Thurs., Sep 11 @ 7 p.m. - Charles Bradley with King James & The Special Men

Support for LAist comes from

Santa Monica Pier is located at 200 Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica. More information about the concerts can be found here.

KCRW Summer Nights @ One Colorado

Sat., June 7 @ 7:30 p.m. - Waters with KCRW DJ Dan Wilcox
Sat., June 21 @ 7:30 p.m. - Kan Wakan with KCRW DJ Marion Hodges

One Colorado is located at 41 Hugus Alley in Pasadena. More information about the concerts can be found here.


Chinatown Summer Nights (Photo by Marc Evans via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
Chinatown Summer Nights @ Chinatown's Central & West Plazas

Sat., June 14 @ 8 p.m. - KCRW DJs Travis Holcombe and Mario Cotto
Sat., July 12 @ 8 p.m. - KCRW DJs Jason Bentley and Liza Richardson
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 8 p.m. - KCRW DJs Raul Campos and Anthony Valadez

Chinatown's Central & West Plazas is located at 943 N. Broadway in Chinatown. More information about the concerts can be found here.

Made in L.A. Music @ Hammer Museum

Thurs., July 10 @ 6:30 p.m. - The Do-Over with De Lux and KCRW DJ Mathieu Schreyer
Thurs., July 17 @ 6:30 p.m. - Alex Ebert, crash, and KCRW DJ Liza Richardson
Thurs., July 24 @ 6:30 p.m. - Rocky Dawuni and KCRW DJ Jeremy Sole & DJ Glenn Red
Thurs., July 31 @ 6:30 p.m. - DJ Marques Wyatt, DJ Doc Martin, and KCRW DJ Raul Campos

Support for LAist comes from

Hammer Museum is located at 10899 Wilshire Blvd. in Westwood. More information on the concerts can be found here


Grand Performances (Photo by CindiK. via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
Grand Performances @ California Plaza

Fri., June 20 @ 8 p.m. - Angelique Kidjo
Sat., June 21 @ 8 p.m. - Panoptica with Federico Aubele
Sat., June 28 @ 8 p.m. - daKAH Hip Hop Orchestra
Sat., July 5 @ 7 p.m. - Stones Throw Picnic with Peanut Butter Wolf, Madlib, DâM-FunK, and the Lions
Fri., July 11 @ 8 p.m. - Spirit of Cesaria and Cesaria's band with singer Nancy Viera
Sat., July 12 @ 8 p.m. - Adventures From Paradise, Decoders and KCRW DJ Aaron Byrd
Fri., July 18 @ 8 p.m. - Chop and Quench with The Fela! Band
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 8 p.m. - People Get Ready: Soundtrack of the Civil Rights Movement
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 8 p.m. - Los Dos Marks- DJ Nu-Mark & Mark de Clive-Lowe
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 8 p.m. - Raul Pacheco (Ozomatli) and Reyes Rodriguez (Tropico de Nopal)
Fri., Aug. 15 @ 8 p.m. - Joe Driscoll, Sekou Kouyate, and Vikesh Kapoor
Sat., Aug. 16 @ 8 p.m. - Miner and Eagle Rock Gospel Singers
Fri., Sept. 5 @ 8 p.m. - DakhaBrakha + Carmen Rizzo
Sat., Sept. 6 @ 8 p.m. - Yuna

California Plaza is located at 350 S. Grand Ave. in downtown. More information about the concerts can be found here

Pershing Square Downtown Stage

Sat., July 12 @ 8 p.m. - The Orchestra (with former members of ELO and ELO 2) and Who's Your Daddy
Sat., July 19 @ 8 p.m. - Dead Sara with TONIC
Sat., July 26 @ 8 p.m. - When in Rome, Information Society and Missing Persons
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 8 p.m. - Survivor with Lou Gramm (the voice of Foreigner)
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 8 p.m. - Stan Ridgway and The English Beat
Sat. Aug. 16 @ 8 p.m. - Dread Zeppelin with The Original Wailers

Pershing Square is located at 532 South Olive Street in downtown. More information on the concerts can be found here.


Levitt Pavilion at MacArthur Park (Photo by Burns! via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
Levitt Pavilion @ MacArthur Park

Sun., June 8 @ 6:30 p.m. - Ozomatli
Thurs., June 12 @ 8 p.m. - Dublab: Angel City All-Stars Brass Band & Zoom B
Fri., June 13 @ 8 p.m. - KiT
Sat., June 14 @ 8 p.m. - Mariachi Divas
Thurs., June 19 @ 8 p.m. - The Delirians, Dub 8 & LA Collective
Fri., June 20 @ 8 p.m. - Incendio
Sat., June 21 @ 8 p.m. - Sergio Mendoza y La Orkesta
Thurs., June 26 @ 8 p.m. - Very be Careful
Fri., June 27 @ 8 p.m. - Dub Club Presents: The Tamlins & Arise Roots
Sat., June 28 @ 8 p.m. - Playing For Change
Thurs., July 3 @ 8 p.m. - Dub Club Presents: Peaking Lights & Pharoahs
Thurs., July 10 @ 8 p.m. - Richard Thompson
Sat., July 12 @ 8 p..m. - Whiskey Shivers
Thurs., July 17 @ 8 p.m. - Loudon Wainwright lll
Fri., July 18 @ 8 p.m. - Buyepongo
Sat., July 19 @ 8 p.m. - Moshav
Thurs., July 24 @ 8 p.m. - EarthRise SoundSystem
Fri., July 25 @ 8 p.m. - Nina Diaz with Elsten Torres
Sat., July 26 @ 8 p.m. - Radiotron
Thurs., July 31 @ 8 p.m. - Upground
Fri., Aug. 1 @ 5 p.m & 8 p.m. - Luz Roja de San Marcos & Sonora Santanera
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 5 p.m. & 8 p.m. - Benny y sus Tropicales & Chavos de la Cumbia
Thurs., Aug. 7 @ 8 p.m. - Dublab Presents: Myron & E. & Wondem Band
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 8 p.m. - KPOP Night: Mike B.
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 8 p.m. - Boca do Rio
Thurs., Aug. 14 @ 8 p.m. - Metalachi
Fri., Aug. 15 @ 8 p.m. - Master Blaster Sound System with Niña Dioz
Sat., Aug. 16 @ 8 p.m. - Beatles Retrospective with the Omega String Quartet
Thurs., Aug. 21 @ 8 p.m. - Cambalache
Fri., Aug. 22 @ 8 p.m. - Young Dubliners
Sat., Aug. 23 @ 8 p.m. - Rocky Dawuni
Thurs., Aug. 28 @ 8 p.m. - La Resistencia: CD Release
Fri., Aug. 29 @ 8 p.m. - Quetzal
Sat., Aug. 30 @ 8 p.m. - La Santa Cecilia

Levitt Pavilion @ MacArthur Park is located at 2230 W 6th St. in Los Angeles. More information about the concerts can be found here


Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena (Photo by Daniel via the Creative Commons on Flickr)
Levitt Pavilion @ Pasadena

Sun., June 15 @ 7 p.m. - Barbara Morrison
Wed., June 18 @ 7 p.m. - Pasadena Symphony
Thurs., June 19 @ 8 p.m. - Dublab: The Album Leaf & Bell Gardens
Fri., June 20 @ 8 p.m. - Marley's Ghost
Sat., June 21 @ 8 p.m. - Afro Funké: Featuring Jungle Fire & Batala Los Angeles
Sun., June 22 @ 7 p.m. - Lao Tizer
Thurs., June 26 @ 8 p.m. - Janiva Magness
Fri., June 27 @ 8 p.m. - Playing For Change
Sat., June 28 @ 8 p.m. - Pistolera
Sun., June 29 @ 7 p..m. - Kenny Burell Big Band
Thurs., July 3 @ 8 p.m. - The Duhks
Fri., July 4 @ 8 p.m. - Night Train Music Club
Sat., July 5 @ 8 p.m. - Vaud & the Villains
Sun., July 6 @ 7 p.m. - Billy Mitchell & Friends
Thurs., July 10 @ 8 p.m. - Cecilia Noël
Fri., July 11 @ 8 p.m. - David Garza with Irene Diaz
Sat., July 12 @ 8 p.m. - Carlos Nuñez
Sun., July 13 @ 7 p.m. - Dr. Bobby Rodriguez Latin Jazz
Thurs., July 17 @ 8 p.m. - Dublab: Kamasi Washington & Teebs Band
Fri., July 18 @ 8 p.m. - Johnny Tillotsen & Bryan Hyland
Sat., July 19 @ 8 p.m. - Jimmy LaFave
Sun., July 20 @ 7 p.m. - Open Hands
Thurs., July 24 @ 8 p.m. - Richard Bernard's Oy! Stars
Fri., July 25 @ 8 p.m. - David Lindley
Sat., July 26 @ 8 p.m. - The Four Preps
Sun., July 27 @ 7 p.m. - Pete Escovedo
Thurs., July 31 @ 8 p.m. - Upstream
Fri., Aug. 1 @ 8 p.m. - Dustbowl Revival
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 8 p.m. - Laith Al-Saadi
Sun., Aug. 3 @ 7 p.m. - Scott Healy
Thurs., Aug. 7 @ 8 p.m. - Echocell
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 8 p.m. - Ceci Bastida with Raquel Sofia
Sat., Aug. 9 @ 8 p.m. - Mariachi Divas
Sun., Aug. 10 @ 7 p.m. - Hot Club of Detriot
Thurs., Aug. 14 @ 8 p.m. - Dublab: Dwight Trible Ensemble & SK Kakraba
Fri., Aug. 15 @ 8 p.m. - Blame Sally
Sat., Aug. 16 @ 8 p.m. - Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca
Sun., Aug. 17 @ 7 p.m. - Richard Smith
Thurs., Aug. 21 @ 8 p.m. - Omega String Quartet/Classic Rock
Fri., Aug. 22 @ 8 p.m. - Brothers Joscephus & the Love Revolution
Sat., Aug. 23 @ 8 p.m. - John Fullbright

Levitt Pavilion @ Memorial Park is located at 85 East Holly Street in Pasadena. More info about the concerts can be found here.

Make Music Pasadena

Make Music Pasadena is an all-ages music festival and will have acts like Surfer Blood, Yuna and Tennis headlining. It will take place from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, June 7 at different stages throughout Pasadena. More information about the event can be found here.


Marina del Rey's Summer Concert Series (Photo via Marina del Rey Convention & Visitors Bureau)
Marina Del Rey Summer Concert Series @ Burton Chace Park

Thurs., July 10 @ 7 p.m. - Opera at the Shore
Sat., July 19 @ 7 p.m. - Yuna
Thurs., July 24 @ 7 p.m. - William Hagen on violin playing Prokofiev, Respighi, Mussorgsky and Tchaikovsky
Sat., Aug. 2 @ 7 p.m. - Blue Oyster Cult
Thurs. Aug. 7 @ 7 p.m. - Yana Reznik on piano playing Gershwin, Addinsell and Safan
Sat., Aug. 16 @ 7 p.m. - Roberta Flack
Thurs., Aug. 21 @ 7 p.m. - Bernadette Peters
Sat., Aug. 30 @ 7 p.m. - Pacific Mambo Orchestra

Burton Chace Park is located at 13650 Mindando Way in Marina del Rey. More information about the concerts can be found here.

Friday Flights @ The Getty Center

Fri., May 30 @ 6 p.m. - The Liars
Fri., July 18 @ 6 p.m. - No Age
Fri., Aug. 8 @ 6 p.m. - Mikael Jorgensen

The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive in Brentwood. More information about the concerts can be found here.

Saturdays Off The 405 @ The Getty Center

Sat., June 21 @ 6 p.m. - Kuenta i Tambú
Sat., July 12 @ 6 p.m. - Chicano Batman
Sat., July 26 @ 6 p.m. - Caught a Ghost
Sat., Aug. 23 @ 6 p.m. - BADBADNOTGOOD
Sat., Sept. 13 @ 6 p.m. - Kan Wakan

The Getty Center is located at 1200 Getty Center Drive in Brentwood. More information about the concerts can be found here.

Most Read