Things to do in L.A. this weekend

Listen to a run of summertime, family-friendly concerts on the Music Center’s Jerry Moss Plaza during this returning outdoor series.

Lifelong Neil Young fans (are there really any other kind?) will not want to miss the rock star/environmentalist/best-selling author as he play four intimate shows at the Ford plus another at the Greek. His live performances have a legendary reputation, and hopefully there’ll be a good mix of the old classics, the newest efforts and Young’s signature high-quality sound, energy and gripping guitar solos.

The midnight snacker’s greatest fantasy is just a car ride away. One of America’s largest Asian food markets spans the course of Santa Anita Park’s front Paddock Gardens during the summer. Come hungry and come caffeinated—this lively market, complete with over 250 Asian street food and booze peddlers, live music, artists, games, and beyond, won’t put itself to bed until midnight.

Ring in another year of independence in the grand ol’ USA with the Beach Boys (which these days is Mike Love and Bruce Johnston but not Brian Wilson and Al Jardine) backed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. The Bowl proudly hosts its annual Fourth of July party, complete with a dazzling fireworks finale. Grab your tickets early; seats in the nosebleed section go for less than the price of parking. Or consider springing for front section tickets—it is America’s birthday, after all.

Dance, stroll and unwind at Descanso Gardens toward the end of the day during this series of summertime events. Tonalism (July 1 8pm–1am) will turn the garden into a backdrop for late-night ambient music.

Order up! This new Netflix dining pop-up inside Short Stories Hotel’s on-site restaurant will serve a collaborative tasting menu dreamt up by food TV superstars from shows like Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend, Chef's Table: BBQ and Nadiya Bakes. A separate cocktail menu comes from the brains behind Drink Masters. Open nightly for dinner (with reservations recommended), the pop-up will also serve a weekend brunch menu 10am–2pm. 

Artist Glenn Kaino’s grandfather, Akira Shiraishi, was a star high school football player whose dreams were cut short when he was incarcerated at the Heart Mountain concentration camp in Wyoming during WWII. When he returned to East L.A., he and his wife Sachiye opened a market on the corner of Blanchard Street and Geraghty Avenue—which Kaino has recreated via virtual reality and a contemporary store at the Japanese American National Museum.

The L.A. editions of this California craft fair finds artsy folks in waterfront neighborhoods browsing diverse, local and handmade goods from dozens of vendors while dining on offerings from a curated selection of food trucks. Get your craft on at DIY stations, strike a pose in the photo booths and take in live music. The festival is both kid and pet-friendly and quirky perks include a bike valet for two-wheeled travelers.

Scope out the galleries at the Hammer (until 7:30pm) and then catch a screening of hip-hop-inspired films and documentaries during this free series on select weeknights in the summer.

The annual Anime Expo takes over the Los Angeles Convention Center for four days of panels, special events and plenty of cosplay. Thousands of fans come to celebrate the quirky art and culture of anime as figureheads and stars of the industry visit to speak and sign autographs. Plus, a massive wing of the convention is set aside specifically for gaming—both electronic and card-based.

While there’s always been a theatrical flair to Fall Out Boy’s music, the band’s latest records take those overwrought inclinations to their logical conclusion. See Patrick Stump and company to dig into their catalog, in front of a crowd of older fans that should know all the words to “Dead on Arrival,” during this show at BMO Stadium.

Make your Fourth of July an all-day blowout by heading down to this legendary, long-running fest at the Huntington Beach Pier. The festivities kick off with a 5K run and fitness expo. Walk the parade route to the beach and then put on your Uncle Sam hat for the four-day Pier Plaza Festival, where you’ll find live entertainment, family activities and all-American eats. Scope out a spot or grab a VIP seat for the fireworks display at 9pm, which ends in an epic finale.

Ahamed Weinberg and Mekki Leeper host this monthly stand-up show at the Elysian. For the July 1 show, a benefit for the Downtown Women’s Center, the lineup includes Margaret Cho, Eddie Pepitone, Caitlin Reilly and Steph Tolev.

Socialize some foster dogs while embarking on a group hike to the top of Runyon Canyon during this weekly benefit. Free Animal Doctor helps cover major medical bills for pets and owners in need (they currently have a special fund to benefit writers impacted by the WGA strike). To support the initiative, you can join the nonprofit’s founders and adoptable dogs for a bit of exercise and some pup photo ops.

Catch comedy sets inside the aquarium on the Santa Monica Pier during this monthly stand-up series. Sean Leary hosts this 90-minute event, during which all gift shop and food and beverage sales will benefit Heal the Bay.

Local nightlife promoters Stranger Than are taking over the rooftop at the Petersen for a series of electronic music concerts, starting with sets from Adam Ten and Dead-Tones. Each ticket only gets you into the show; access to the rest of the automotive museum is a separate charge.

You know it’s summer in L.A. when the live outdoor music starts swelling all over the city, including at MacArthur Park’s Levitt Pavilion. The Westlake concert series returns this summer with free shows every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Expect a genre-spanning mix of local acts that range from cumbia to ska to EDM.

On select Saturdays and every Sunday during the summer at sunset, both hotel guests and vistors at the Fairmont Miramar can slip into something waterproof and enjoy a family-friendly flick around the Santa Monica hotel’s luxurious pool. You’ll find a mix of aughts Disney faves and recent animated releases projected onto a portable screen—think Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Zootopia, Ratatouille and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Eats and libations will be available for purchase from the FIG Restaurant menu menu, and though seating is free for hotel guests, visitors will have to secure a $45 reservation (that price includes a food special or a cocktail).

One of L.A.’s best free live music offerings, Jazz at LACMA has featured legit legends over its three-decade run at the museum. Seating for the program is available in the museum’s plaza on a first-come, first-served basis, though you’re welcome to picnic on the grass, too (you won’t really be able to see the show, but you’ll still hear it). You’ll find the series on Friday evenings in LACMA’s welcome plaza (just behind Urban Light).

The masters of alfresco rooftop movie viewing have returned for another season of screenings in the Arts District, DTLA and El Segundo. You don’t even need to bring your own camping chair—Rooftop Cinema Club provides you with your very own comfy lawn chair. And instead of listening to the movie over loudspeakers, you’ll get a set of wireless headphones so you never have to miss a word.

It isn’t summer in L.A. until the first cemetery screening brings hoards of movie-lovers to Hollywood Forever, toting folding chairs, picnic blankets, snack spreads and lots of booze. The outdoor screenings are an L.A. rite of passage, a quintessential summer experience and one of the best film venues in the city.

Watch a slate of classics from the past couple of decades on one of the prettiest rooftops—now called Anita’s Oasis—in Hollywood at this outdoor screenings series. All movies are piped in over sets of provided (and sanitized) wireless headphones. Before showtime, make sure to hit up the bar or the on-site kitchen.

For dinner and a movie, all in one, just follow the food trucks. During the spring, summer and fall, Street Food Cinema throws together a series of outdoor parties that include screenings of some of our favorite movies, paired with an assortment of gourmet food trucks and even a live music performance from a cool local band. Some of the outdoor venues are dog-friendly, allowing you to bring your four-legged cinema lover along.

True to its name, Boat Cinema will once again present a mix of nautical-themed movie screenings (think: Jaws, Titanic) and decades-spanning fan favorites on the beach at Castaic Lake every Friday, Saturday and Sunday this summer. You can rent an electric mini boat that seats up to five people ($199, front row for $249), or bring along your own blankets and chairs for a spot on the beach ($15). The movie itself will be screened on the sand and viewable from both land and on the lake.

Every Sunday you can find dozens of food vendors at this market at ROW DTLA, with a mix of much-loved pop-ups and future foodie stars. Look out for this year’s new vendors, including the Golden Skewer, Shlap Muan and Thai Town’s Rad Na Silom.

Keith Haring’s colorful, energetic designs—like his barking dogs or crawling stick figure-like radiant baby—have moved well beyond the world of street art over the past four decades and ingrained themselves as instantly recognizable pieces of pop art. Now, the Broad will examine that body of work in a museum setting with this display of over 120 artworks and archival materials.

You can step inside a recreation of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s studio and see hundreds of items tied to the iconic neo-expressionist painter at the L.A. debut of this touring exhibition. Blessed by the late artist’s estate (his sisters Lisane Basquiat and Jeanine Heriveaux serve as producers and curators), “Jean-Michel Basquiat: King Pleasure” brings over 200 pieces—a mix of paintings and drawings alongside ephemera and artifacts—to the Grand in Downtown L.A.

Envisioned years before the pandemic but debuted in the throes of it, Detroit DJ Carl Craig’s Party/After-Party turned the basement of New York’s Dia Beacon into a cavernous, empty dance club with slivers of light casting shadows across the floor. The techno-heavy work makes the jump to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, with a slate of live performances to accompany it.

We’re all kind of obsessed with the lighting in Southern California, but the local progenitors of the 1960s Light and Space movement really love it. (Fun fact: The glossy, slick style that ties these industrial-inspired pieces together is often referred to as “finish fetish.”) LACMA is digging into its collections to pull out all sorts of reflective and refractive works from the likes of Peter Alexander, Larry Bell, Judy Chicago, Mary Corse, Fred Eversley and Robert Irwin, among others (though one notable name missing: James Turrell).

The Academy Museum’s second-ever special exhibition is an essential and energetic display that spotlights an entire century of often-overlooked filmmaking and demonstrates that Black artists have been a vital part of cinema since its inception. “Regeneration” uses posters, costumes and film clips to dive into the works of Black actors, directors and production companies from the birth of the motion picture industry through the Civil Rights era.

See airbrushing and drawings on everything from a metal canvas to a car at this Beyond the Streets show of L.A.’s legendary tattoo artist, Mister Cartoon.

The Hammer Museum has a ton of new exhibitions and spaces to show off this spring, including a new lobby, sculpture garden and a brand-new Wilshire-facing gallery. As for the museum’s existing main gallery, it’s been filled with “Together in Time: Selections from the Hammer Contemporary Collection,” which features more than 70 works from the likes of John Baldessari, Lee Bontecou, Mark Bradford, Simone Forti, Luchita Hurtado, Mike Kelley and Noah Purifoy, among others.

See how the California abstract painter was influenced by the Japanese concept of “ma,” the dynamic between form and non-form, at this LACMA exhibition. The show includes 60 works from the museum’s collection, a mix of Francis’s paintings and historic Japanese pieces.

This touring photo exhibition focuses on four decades of work from Dawoud Bey and Carrie Mae Weems, who first met in Harlem in the 1970s and have remained friends ever since as each has tackled similar themes of race, power and representation through scenes rooted in the Black community.

Bountiful feasts and bowls of fruit have peppered the scenes of European artwork for centuries. But what do they actually say about the hunger, excess and sustenance of those times? And how has art impacted food trends? The Norton Simon examines all of these with 60 paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures from 1500 to 1900.

See over 250 artifiacts, many of which are being displayed outside of Guatemala for the first time, inside this spotlight on Mayan civilizations at the California Science Center. Objects on display include a nine-foot-long jaguar warrior sculpture and a mask made of obsidian and jade.

Pundits and politicians may cry wolf about censorship these days, but decades ago the government actually pushed the entertainment industry into blacklisting individuals due to their beliefs. In response to the 1947 testimonies in front of the House Un-American Activities Committee, Hollywood responded to baseless accusations of Communism by adopting a blacklist of employees. This touring exhibition at the Skirball explores the proceedings, investigations, motives and choices of those involved, with a particular focus on the Jewish creatives and executives caught up in the process.

Whenever, wherever, you’re meant to be at this exhibition of 40 pieces from Shakira’s personal archive. The GRAMMY Museum is surveying the Colombian singer’s career with the display of Super Bowl outfits, crystal-embellished guitars and handwritten lyrics, among other objects.

In 1973, to get back to England from Japan, David Bowie and his friend and bandmate Geoff MacCormack traveled through the Soviet Union on the Trans-Siberian Express. Culver City’s Wende Museum has MacCormack’s photos of their train voyage on display alongside footage from The Long Way Home, which includes additional footage.

More than 100 works spanning from the 17th century to today chart the history of the transatlantic slave trade and its legacies in the African diaspora. The works and expressions on display in this LACMA exhibition come from just about every landmass that touches the Atlantic—and therefore places that participated in the slave trade—with works that are hundreds of years old shown next to contemporary creations.

L.A.’s only public showcase devoted to contemporary craft and community-based folk art mounts its third biennial focused on how artists are pushing the boundaries of works in clay. The 14 artists featured all tie clay’s inherent properties to the land and water.

One of L.A.’s most wonderful oddities, the Velaslavasay Panorama, is teaming up with Glendale’s Forest Lawn Museum for a show of grand paintings at the latter. You’ll find immersive, large-scale panoramas divided into three categories: the early history of panoramas, crucifixion panoramas and panoramas in Hollywood and Los Angeles.

See 75 works by 42 women artists who live or were born in Islamic societies. The featured artists portray some shared concerns but via identities that are not exclusively “Middle Eastern”; they range in origin from Africa to Western, Central and Southern Asia to diasporic communities.

Dive into the origins of digital art with this survey of the artists, writers, musicians, choreographers and filmmakers who first started integrating computers and algorithms into their practices.

Step inside of recreations of classic Friends sets and pose in front of familiar costumes at this photo-friendly touring pop-up in Lakewood (Lakewood Center, 4661 Silva St).

Nature lovers rejoice! Spend a day at the Natural History Museum’s Butterfly Pavilion, which will open from March 5 through August 13 with up to 30 butterfly and moth species and an assortment of California plants. The seasonal outdoor exhibit allows for adults and children alike to witness nature up close—we’re talking having bufferlies take flight and land on your arms or shoulders. Prime time for these unique butterfly flight experiences are between 10 and 11am each morning.

Walk through a pavilion of fluttering butterflies and peep a chamber with pupae and caterpillars at South Coast Botanic Garden’s seasonal exhibition. For an extra $6, you can pick up a flower vial or ring filled with nectar to attract and feed butterflies.

Harrison Ford is back as adventurer Indiana Jones—now with sidekick Phoebe Waller-Bridge—and he’s playing all the old hits.

Jennifer Lawrence lets it all hang out in a sex comedy that fizzes and then fizzles.

Pixar’s latest is a meet cute between a fiery woman (in that she’s made of fire) and an aqueous stranger in a world inhabited by the elemental beings.

Ezra Miller’s fleet-footed superhero tries to outrun their bad press but gets bogged down in shoddy CGI and annoying multiverses.

Absurdly brilliant, this Spidey sequel is popcorn entertainment delivered with pop art genius.

More ’bots, fewer humans equals one of the better Transformers movies.