The best concerts in L.A. this May

Treat your ears to a vibrant concert on a spring or summer night this year, by attending MUSE/IQUE’s annual program. This monthly series of performances, held venues (largely outdoors) across L.A., features a mix of performances inspired by landmark albums and public figures, including tributes to Ed Sullivan, Bob Dylan, Abraham Lincoln, Oklahoma! and more. In order to attend, you’ll need to become a MUSE/IQUE member; you could make a $75 donation for a single event, but if you’re interested in more than just one, it’s cheaper per event to become a full-fludged member.

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) throughout the summer.

Bowling Green, KY natives Cage the Elephant first found fame (strangely enough) in England, as well as with their showing at SXSW in 2007 and their eponymous debut album released the following year. Their take on classic garage punk is a chaotic listen that draws on psychedelia, ’70s southern rock, glam and contemporary indie: just the thing for a rollicking live show.

See a free salsa concert every second Friday of the summer during this series at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes. This year’s lineup includes Rumbankete, Gabrielito y La Verdad, Son Mayor, Son Miron and Club Mambi—all featuring Super DJ Robby.

Listen to classical and jazz in a dome more than a mile above L.A. during this mountaintop concert series. The Mount Wilson Observatory is hosting monthly concerts this summer inside the dome of its 100-inch Hooker telescope, which was the largest telescope in the world for much of the first half of the 20th century. Tickets cost $60 (that also includes access to the exhibit at the observatory) and it’s highly recommended that you buy them in advance since seating is limited. You’ll need to be able to climb 53 steps to reach the dome, and children under 12 aren’t permitted. 

Singer Anitta brings a taste of Brazil’s singular dance parties to L.A. during the Baile Funk Experience, a relatively intimate tour that includes a stop at the Wiltern.

The steadiest and sturdiest of the great Seattle grunge titans—the only one that hasn’t lost a key member or taken an extended hiatus—rumbles into town for two arena gigs. Expect to hear raucous newer tunes as well as selections spanning a vast catalog that’s far more compelling than the band’s vocal haters would care to admit.

Forged from the same label behind BTS, Tomorrow X Together (or TXT) takes their larger-than-life K-pop tour to L.A. at the Crypto.com Arena.

The krautrock and electronic pioneers sent museumgoers into a frenzy over their intimate shows in New York and London institutions about a decade back. Now, the proto-techno quartet is reviving that marathon format to stage nine shows at the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Each one will focus on a different album, starting with Autobahn, while the final concert will pull from their entire catalog.

After years on the Central Coast, the annual event has more recently made a move significantly closer to L.A., at Bakersfield’s Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area. Sure, it’s still a bit of a trek, but where else can you find a sustainable, vegetarian festival dedicated to equal parts music, food, art, yoga and wellness? Expect to do some serious soul-searching during this six-day retreat, all while immersing yourself in everything from a speaker series at the Lucent Temple of Consciousness to the old timey Grand Artique trading post. Skrillex, Labrinth, Lane 8, James Blake and M.I.A. top the 2024 lineup.