The Best of Los Angeles in 2020: Concerts

Designed by Frank Gehry, the stunning Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown LA is an architectural and acoustic marvel. In addition to classical concerts by the acclaimed LA Phil, 2020 performances include Power to the People! Patti Smith (Mar. 6), Power to the People! Residente (Mar. 7), Power to the People! The Movie Music of Spike Lee & Terence Blanchard (Mar. 14), Wayne Shorter Celebration feat. Ambrose Akinmusire (Apr. 5), Anoushka Shankar & Norah Jones - Family & Friends Celebrating the Centenary of Ravi Shankar (May 19), the annual Noon to Midnight new music marathon (June 6), A "Moodswing" Reunion feat. Joshua Redman, Brad Mehldau, Christian McBride, and Brian Blade (Sept. 27), RY X (Oct. 11), and Snarky Puppy (Oct. 13)

Located at the spectacular L.A. LIVE entertainment complex in Downtown LA, STAPLES Center is the home of the NBA's Lakers and Clippers, the NHL’s Kings, WNBA Sparks, and hosts world-class performances throughout the year. Highlights of the the Staples Center 2020 season include Celine Dion (Apr. 2-3), Krush Groove Festival (April 17), Jurassic World Live (July 17-19), Camila Cabello (Aug. 7), The Weeknd (Aug. 14-16), The Lumineers (Aug. 21), Roger Waters (Sept. 10-11), Enrique Iglesias & Ricky Martin (Sept. 17), Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds (Oct. 10), and Janet Jackson, who will bring her Black Diamond Tour to LA on Aug. 12 with brand new music and a special performance of Rhythm Nation.

The Theatre at Ace Hotel opened as the United Artists Theatre, the flagship for United Artists, the film studio founded by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith. Located adjacent to the Ace Hotel in Downtown L.A., the stunning 1,600-seat movie palace features wall murals of the nascent movie industry and a dazzling ceiling dome with hundreds of crystal pendants.

Retrofitted with state of the art sound and lighting, the theatre hosts a wide range of concerts, performances, and movie screenings. Highlights for 2020 include Tim & Eric (Mar. 6), My Dad Wrote a Porno (Mar. 20), Philip Glass & Jerry Quickley: Whistleblower (Mar. 21), Nathaniel Rateliff (Apr. 2-3), John Cameron Mitchell (Apr. 11), Perla Batalla: Discoteca Batalla (Apr. 18), LETTERKENNY LIVE! (Apr. 21), Little Big Town (Apr. 23-24), Netflix is a Joke Fest: The Hall (May 3), Kurt Vile with Cate Le Bon (May 8), Heather McMahan (May 9-10), Daniel Lanois & Heavy Sun (May 14), Mandy Moore (May 16), Hamilton Leithauser (May 20), Russell Brand - Recovery Live! (June 6), EOB (June 15), and Westminster Harmony Showcase (June 28).

With the mantra "All Are Welcome," the inaugural Virgin Fest Los Angeles will debut at Banc of California Stadium and Exposition Park on Saturday and Sunday, June 6-7. Virgin Fest features headliner Lizzo along with A$AP Rocky, Anderson. Paak & the Free Nationals, Ellie Goulding, Major Lazer, Jorja Smith, Kali Uchis, Banks, Clairo, Tank and the Bangas, Japanese Breakfast and Lay Zhang.

Virgin Fest will take place across three music stages, as well as the BEYOND innovation hub and DTOUR, a "surprise performance attraction."

Tickets are now on sale at Virgin Fest. The eco-conscious festival has partnered with Metro to offer four free single rides to get fans to and from the event on buses and trains. (Be sure to opt-in when you buy your tickets.)

Opened in 1926, the Shrine Auditorium is one of the largest theatres in Southern California, with a capacity of 6,300. It also boasts the largest proscenium stage in North America. The Shrine has appeared in the original "King Kong" (1933) and two versions of "A Star is Born," in 1954 and 2018.

Upcoming shows include Chris Lake (Mar. 13-14), Omer Adam (April 2), Mura Masa (April 15), Slander (April 16), Moein (April 18), Kaytranada (April 24-26), Big Gigantic (May 1), Duke Dumont (May 8), Black Coffee (May 9), Underworld (May 16), Chicano Batman (May 29), A.R. Rahman (May 31), Kraftwerk 3-D (June 24), and Boombox Cartel (July 25).

Barcelona's acclaimed Primavera Sound festival is expanding to Los Angeles in 2020. Co-produced by Live Nation, Primavera's first-ever U.S. event is scheduled for Sept. 19-20 at Los Angeles State Historic Park in Downtown LA. Fans can expect a wide-ranging lineup featuring legends, icons of today, and artists of tomorrow during a weekend of music that includes a public commitment to gender equality.

"We have been thinking about Los Angeles for many years now, and the celebration of our 20th anniversary felt like the perfect timing for the decision of crossing overseas,” said Gabi Ruiz, one of Primavera Sound’s directors. "Our goal is to bring the Primavera Sound spirit and vibe to cities with a similar feel: creative, colorful and welcoming. ... So it’s a dream to finally say: yes, it had to be Los Angeles."

One of baseball's most storied ballparks, Dodger Stadium has hosted ten World Series, MLB All-Star Games (including its third this July), and concerts by The Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Elton John, David Bowie, Beyonce and Guns N' Roses.

On July 25, Dodger Stadium welcomes the Hella Mega Tour, featuring Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer and The Interrupters. Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster.

Opened in 1929, the historic Greek Theatre is one of LA’s premier outdoor music venues, offering an intimate concert setting with state-of-the-art acoustics and excellent sight lines, surrounded by trees in a picturesque setting within Griffith Park.

Upcoming concerts in 2020 include Kesha (May 5), Dead Can Dance (May 9), Adam Ant: Friend Or Foe (May 16), NF (May 17), Local Natives & Foals (May 20), Norah Jones & Mavis Staples (May 22), Light Up the Blues feat. Neil Young, Willie Nelson, Stephen Stills (May 30), LP (June 10), Barenaked Ladies (June 12), Awolnation with Andrew McMahon (June 19), Smokey Robinson (June 20), Above & Beyond Acoustic (June 25-27), Melanie Martinez (July 17), Primus (July 18), Gladys Knight (July 26), Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (July 29), David Gray (July 31), Deftones (Aug. 2), Funk N The Greek: Morris Day & The Time, Zapp, SOS Band (Aug. 8), The Gipsy Kings (Aug. 15), Lauv (Aug. 29-30), Lost 80s Live (Sept. 4), Goo Goo Dolls (Sept. 5), Alicia Keys (Sept. 8-9), John Legend (Sept. 22), and Maren Morris (Oct. 17).

Originally built in 1931, The Wiltern is located near Koreatown at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue, directly across from the Wilshire/Western station of the Metro Rail Purple Line. The Wiltern and the adjacent 12-story Pellissier Building are considered among the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the country, and have been named to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.

From alternative and indie to classic rock and world music, The Wiltern continues to book a wide range of acts in 2020: DaVido (Mar. 6), Thundercat (Mar. 7), Umphrey's McGee (Mar. 13), Third Eye Blind (Mar. 14), Killswitch Engage (Mar. 24), Supergrass (Apr. 1), Coin (Apr. 4), Bacilos (Apr. 10), Kountry Wayne (Apr. 11), Jacob Collier (Apr. 21), Nightmares On Wax (Apr. 23), Cody Ko & Noel Miller (Apr. 24-25), Oh Wonder (Apr. 26), Todd Rundgren (May 6-7), Citizen Cope (May 8), Shinedown (May 14), Coheed and Cambria (May 15), Stereolab (May 17), Wavves (May 18), Milky Chance (May 20), Beach Fossils & Wild Nothing (May 22), Gogol Bordello (May 23), Melendi (May 28), Palaye Royale (May 29), The Frights (May 30), Brian Culbertson (June 14), The Flaming Lips (June 17), lovelytheband (June 19), Hyukoh (June 20), Bayside (June 22), Louis Tomlinson (July 16-17), Car Seat Headrest (July 18), The Decemberists 20th Anniversary (Aug. 4), A-ha (Sept. 26-27), and They Might Be Giants (Oct. 10).

The world-famous Hollywood Bowl has been one of LA’s top summer concert destinations for generations. The Hollywood Bowl 2020 season includes highlights like the Playboy Jazz Festival (June 6-7), Brandi Carlile (June 13), Jill Scott (June 21), Andrew Bird with Calexico and Iron & Wine (June 28), July 4th Fireworks Spectacular with The Beach Boys (July 2-4), Flying Lotus & Kamasi Washington (July 5), Fantasia (July 10), Janelle Monae (July 17-18), Maxwell (July 19), Brittany Howard (Aug. 16), John Fogerty (Aug. 19), Cynthia Erivo (Aug. 21), John Williams: Maestro of the Movies (Sept. 4-6), Diana Ross (Sept. 11-12), Sheryl Crow (Sept. 16), and The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long (Sept. 26).

"Lease Events" (non-LA Phil-produced events) include Hall & Oates (May 29), Lady Antebellum (May 30), Alice Cooper (May 31), Steely Dan with Steve Winwood (June 8), Alanis Morissette with Garbage & Liz Phair (June 9), Halsey (June 10), Andrea Bocelli (June 16-17), Mariachi USA (June 20), Matchbox Twenty (Sept. 28), New Order & Pet Shop Boys (Oct. 2-3), and Backstreet Boys (Oct. 9).

Located on Sunset Boulevard, The Hollywood Palladium opened on Oct. 31, 1940 with a dance featuring Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, with a young Frank Sinatra as vocalist. Boasting an 11,200 square-foot dance floor and capacity for 4,000, the Palladium's upcoming shows include NGHTMRE (Mar. 7), Dance Gavin Dance (Mar. 12), Hayley Kiyoko (Mar. 13), Trippie Redd (Mar. 15), Flogging Molly (March 17), Bad Religion (Mar. 26), Snoh Aalegra (Mar. 27), Wilco (Apr. 5), King Krule (Apr. 7), Netflix Is A Joke Fest (April 29 - May 2), The Glitch Mob (May 8), Little Dragon (May 9), Die Antwoord (May 14), Bright Eyes (May 21-23), Purity Ring (June 11), I_O (June 19), Paul van Dyk (June 20), Lennon Stella (June 23), Big Thief (Aug. 12), Joe Russo's Almost Dead (Aug. 14), Ferry Corsten (Aug. 15), Nightwish (Sept. 11-12), and Four Tet (Oct. 27).

First opened as a movie house in 1936, the El Rey Theatre was designed by Clifford A. Balch, known for designing over twenty Art Deco movie houses around Southern California. After nearly 50 years as a first run movie theater, the Art Deco gem was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1991 and was converted to a live music venue in 1994. 

The El Rey's 2020 calendar features an exciting mix of acclaimed musicians and rising stars, including Dirty Honey (Feb. 28), JVNA (Feb. 29), Rapsody (Mar. 3), Anna of the North (Mar. 5), Jordan Davis (Mar. 6), Leslie Odom Jr (Mar. 7), Moe (Mar. 8), The Rapture (Mar. 10-12), Grace Potter (Mar. 19), G Herbo (Mar. 21), Whine Down with Jana Kramer & Michael Caussin (Mar. 28), The Airborne Toxic Event (Mar. 31 - Apr. 2, 4), Ripe (Apr. 3), Ally Brooke (Apr. 7), Grieves + The Holdup (Apr. 24), Madeleine Peyroux (May 1), Tops (May 2), Meat Puppets & Mudhoney (May 8), Dinah Jane (May 10), Koe Wetzel (May 14), Buzzcocks (May 20), DJ Shadow (May 23), Eve 6 (June 2), and Stephen Malkmus.

Built in 1929 as one of UCLA’s first campus structures, the landmark Royce Hall is hosting a wide-ranging, eclectic lineup in 2020. Highlights include  Marlon James (Feb. 27), Omar Sosa & Yilian Cañizares: Aguas Trio (Feb. 28), Octavia E. Butler's Parable Of The Sower (Mar. 7), Fly Higher: Charlie Parker at 100 (Mar. 26), Jennifer Koh & Davóne Tines: Everything That Rises Must Converge (Apr. 17), Anthony De Mare (Apr. 25), and David Sedaris (May 10).

Los Angeles will add to its incomparable collection of world-class sports and event venues when SoFi Stadium opens in the summer of 2020. Located on the site of the former Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood, the state-of-the-art SoFi Stadium will be the home of the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. The first indoor-outdoor stadium to be constructed, SoFi Stadium will host Super Bowl LVI in 2022, the College Football Championship Game in 2023, and co-host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games in 2028.

Taylor Swift will kick off the stadium's inaugural year of events with Lover Fest West on July 25 and 26. With these two concerts, Swift will become the first woman in history to open an NFL stadium. Other upcoming concerts include Kenny Chesney: Chillaxification Tour 2020 (Aug. 1), Guns N' Roses (Aug. 8), Tim McGraw & Luke Combs (Sept. 4), and The Stadium Tour featuring Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Sept. 5).

For many years, The Forum was regarded as one of L.A.'s greatest sports and events venues, the home of the "Showtime" Lakers, the Great Gretzky, the "Miracle on Manchester" and countless music concerts. 

The Forum's 2020 calendar includes Blake Shelton (Mar. 7), Tame Impala (Mar. 10-11), Prince Royce (Mar. 12), Eros Ramazzotti (Mar. 13), Nickelodeon SlimeFest 2020 (Mar. 21-22), Ana Gabriel (Mar. 27), Billie Eilish (Apr. 3-5), Pearl Jam (Apr. 15-16), Eagles (Apr. 17-18, 24), Five Finger Death Punch (Apr. 21), Soda Stereo (Apr. 25), Ateez (Apr. 26), The 1975 (May 7), Sturgill Simpson (May 8), Niall Horan (May 18), Journey & The Pretenders (May 23), Chicago with Rick Springfield (June 13), Bon Jovi with Bryan Adams (June 18), Harry Styles (Sept. 2-3, 6), The Doobie Brothers 50th Anniversary (Sept. 18), The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker (Sept. 19), My Chemical Romance (Oct. 8, 13-14, 16), and Joe Rogan (Nov. 1).

Global phenomenon BTS returns to Rose Bowl Stadium on May 2-3 and May 5 for the LA dates of their "Map of the Soul" World Tour. Last year the K-pop superstars sold out their two concerts and the BTS ARMY will surely be out in force this May.

At the 62nd GRAMMY Awards, BTS made history as the first Korean act to perform at the ceremony when they joined Lil Nas X on stage at STAPLES Center.

Taking place at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, May 2, Cruel World features a stellar lineup that includes Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie, Devo, The Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen, Violent Femmes, The Church, and many more. Tickets on sale at the Cruel World website.

A week later, DHSP will host the inaugural Lovers & Friends festival, featuring Ms. Lauryn Hill, Ludacris, TLC, Lil' Jon, Usher and more. Registration is now open for tickets, which include General Admission, VIP and Super VIP options.