The Los Angeles Setlist

New York no wave survivors Swans have always been intense and uncompromising, yet in myriad, ever-experimental ways. They emerged in the early 1980s grindingly hypnotic, birthing dissonant, unsettling records and playing provocative shows at vomit-inducing volume. Atmosphere, intricacy, and even melody crept in as singer/keyboardist Jarboe made herself felt alongside sole constant Michael Gira, with 1989’s somber The Burning World embracing acoustic instrumentation and actual singing, while Swans’ shows remained relentlessly cacophonous. Today, a reactivated Swans performs with a revolving cast that often includes faces familiar to longtime fans (though no Jarboe). Last year’s The Beggar finds yet another, almost age-appropriate route to disquiet: patient and oft gentle, yet still smoldering with disoriented, slow-burning claustrophobia. Gira & Co’s recent shows have been raw yet complex, cathartic confrontations of the human condition, oscillating between intimacy and uproar with signature irreverence.

UPDATE: Tickets to both shows at the Lodge Room are sold out.

From TikTok sensation to headlining two nights at the Hollywood Palladium in just three years, England’s PinkPantheress is at a pivotal “Is she here to stay?” moment. Toplining over frantic breakbeat loops and dance music samples that often predate her 22-year existence, it’s the combo of peer-targeted confessional lyrics and winsome semi-rapped timbre over restless, self co-produced arrangements that grab the ear. On her debut album Heaven Knows, released last year, the critically adored PinkPantheress delivers short bursts of super-nostalgic hyperpop liberally laced with UK garage and D’n’B, building brilliantly seamless bridges between bedroom and dancefloor, introspection and overt display. “Angel,” her Auto-Tuned contribution to the Barbie soundtrack, is atypically bubblegummy – start with her upstart 2023 transatlantic hit “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2” with American rapper Ice Spice for a more representative window into PinkPantheress’s delicately nuanced, open-minded artistry.

Tickets to the all-ages shows are on sale at Live Nation.

An enduring darkwave duo … from Turkey? You have our attention! Employing a time-honored genre template of programmed drums, early Cure guitars, and melodramatically melancholy Andrew Eldritch vocals, She Past Away’s initial releases during the second half of the 2000s earned an astonishing cult following despite, or perhaps in part because of, an unpretentiously DIY approach. (The 2009 video for “Kasvetli Kutlama” – literally just original members Volkan Caner and İdris Akbulut in front of a tape machine and black plastic sheeting – has notched up nearly 13-million YouTube views.) With bassist Akbulut replaced by producer/keyboardist Doruk Öztürkcan in 2015, She Past Away has shimmied towards 1980s post-punk’s electronic side, with 2019 album Disko Anksiyete (“Disco Anxiety”), as the title implies, downright danceable in a nervous, New Order-y kinda way, while still swathed is gorgeous slow arpeggios of heavily effected guitar.

Tickets on sale at The Vermont website.

Beach Weather sounds like a sunny, carefree name until you recall that it can often be overcast and even downright stormy at the seaside. And that sums up the multi-state trio’s M.O.: chilled, soulful indie pop with lyrics that delve deeper and darker into broadly relatable themes of anxiety and insecurity. Formed by Massachusetts singer/songwriter Nick Santino in 2015, it was only after a five-year hiatus that Beach Weather’s song “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” became a viral hit that earned platinum certification some seven years after its original release. The self-doubting “Unlovable,” Beach Weather’s first single in six years, was also a hit, confirming that the band had returned at a whole new level. Remarkably consistent debut full-length Pineapple Sunrise finally emerged last year, its title another bright ‘n breezy Trojan horse masking tales of self-consciousness and introversion with infectious hooks and perky percussion.

Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.

As one-third of Brooklyn hip-hop outliers Flatbush Zombies and a collaborator on countless other projects, multi-instrumentalist rapper/producer Erick the Architect has earned his nickname as the designer of so many releases over the past 15 years. So, it’s surprising that his debut solo full-length, I’ve Never Been Here Before, was only released this year. But it’s an ambitious undertaking, effectively a double album with contributions from the likes of Joey Bada$$, George Clinton, Lalah Hathaway, and T-Minus. The collection confirms Erick as a savvy, versatile MC equally adept at a hitherto seldom-seen introspection or revisiting the psychedelic rap of Flatbush Zombies. At age 35, Erick the Architect sounds like he has little to prove other than to himself and has released a record more concerned with authenticity than expectation. The results, as with most such lengthy releases, are inconsistent yet admirable and intriguing, nonetheless.

Tickets on sale at AXS.

It says much about German American indie-soul all rounder NoMBe that his debut album, 2018’s They Might’ve Even Loved Me, not only comprised 18 songs, but that he completely re-wrote, re-tracked, and re-produced the whole thing just a year later. NoMBe dedicated the record to the women in his life, from flings and crushes to his mom and godmother - who just happens to be Chaka Khan! They Might’ve Even Loved Me, which earned a 10/10 review from Atwood Magazine, finds the LA-based singer/songwriter/producer refusing to be categorized, his sometimes trippy rock/soul fusions deftly blending organic and electronic sound sources to immerse listeners in mellow moods, smooth beats, and his semi-detached croon. Dreamy 2021 follow-up Chromatopia is a themed mosaic of pop, soul, and electronic influences that confirmed NoMBe as a single-minded phenomenon capable – and perhaps only capable – of impeccably-crafted future surprises.

Tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.

In contrast to many of their peers, veteran Canadian punkers Metz are not only still pushing their sonic palette, but more so than ever on new album Up On Gravity Hill. Formed in 2007 and long on Sub Pop’s roster, the trio is as much punk in spirit as in sound, traditionally producing a joyous, sometime dissonant fury that rubs shoulders with hard rock, hardcore, and indie without committing to any of the above. After 2020’s Atlas Vending album got largely lost during the pandemic lockdown, Metz - perhaps counterintuitively - returned sounding more inspired than ever. Up On Gravity Hill leans into frontperson Alex Edkins’ film and TV scoring work to spawn a record that’s personal and pleading yet also refreshingly cinematic, enhanced by input from compatriot composer Owen Pallett, a Polaris Music Prize winner and longtime Arcade Fire collaborator.

Tickets to the all-ages show at 1720 are on sale at Etix.

LA-based Julia Holter makes artsy music seemingly inspired equally by the head and the heart. A CalArts graduate and a professor of songwriting, she has scored film, curated a festival, and been inspired by classical Greek drama. In a meandering, open-hearted career since her first official album in 2011, Holter has collaborated with Jean-Michel Jarre and Nite Jewel while earning comparisons to everyone from Laurie Anderson to Stereolab. Her sixth studio full-length, the cleverly titled Something in the Room She Moves, was released in January to characteristic critical acclaim. It’s an airy, slightly psychedelic collection, this time more visceral than cerebral, employing outdoorsy flute, glissando bass, and gentle jazz to capture the moods of new motherhood and mourning a lost loved one, yet with Holter’s voice – an ethereal, mildly eccentric instrument floating somewhere between Kate Bush and Nico – it’s chief emotional transmitter.

Tickets on sale at AXS.

In an era of social media supremacy, BashfortheWorld lies enigmatically low online and lets an unusually curious fanbase that’s spread from his native Dallas do the work for him. So, it’s perhaps ironic that his hard-hitting trap with its Texas screw and Southern swagger first gained traction on TikTok and streaming platforms during the long, empty hours of COVID lockdown, when young listeners were constantly scouring for fresh content. But ol’ Bash is super-confident and ambitious, nonetheless – a recurring theme of his clipped, off-kilter flows. It’s no coincidence that his 2020 debut was dubbed Me, Myself, & I, while “world” appears in his name and his new album is titled Mundo. Still largely a word-of-mouth phenomenon whose fame has been propelled by teasing clips of unreleased ideas, BashfortheWorld’s first headlining tour should provide validation for his largely organic, if likely carefully orchestrated, hype.

Tickets to the all-ages show are on sale at AXS.

The BeachLife Festival has always targeted an older demographic and this 5th anniversary edition is no exception. On Friday, show up early at the seafront for veteran OC punk heroes The Vandals, then stick around for the likes of Seal, Dirty Heads, and the time-defying, 72-year-old Sting, who’s lately been speckling his set with Police classics. On Saturday, a double dose of reggae, Steel Pulse and Pepper, ushers in the literally locally native Local Natives, the ever-entertaining nostalgia of Devo, and enduring Calabasas commercial juggernaut Incubus, who’ve been on high-energy form this year and including covers – from The Beatles to Portishead – in their sets. Sunday afternoon boasts Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, who just won a Grammy for Best Latin Pop Album, ZZ Top, and Fleet Foxes, before things get a little jammy with Phish’s Trey Anastasio and headliners My Morning Jacket.

Tickets are on sale at the BeachLife Festival website.

There’s an aura of goodwill around TLC, the ‘90s R&B colossus that remains the best-selling American girl group of all time. And it’s not just the 65-million records they’ve sold or those once ubiquitous, era-synonymous Number 1 singles (“Waterfalls,” “No Scrubs,” “Creep,” “Unpretty”). The tumultuous lifestyle and tragic 2002 passing of TLC’s rapper Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, a reality TV show about her bandmate Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas that began in 2010, and third member Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins’ lifelong battle with sickle cell anemia wove humanizing backstories around their glossy hits, resulting in a warm reception when they resumed performing as a duo in 2015. Witness their appearance at England’s Glastonbury Festival in 2022, when a crowd including many not even born during TLC’s heyday lapped up both their classic songs and tributes to Lopes, whose recorded rap still graces performances of “Waterfalls,” which she co-wrote.

Tickets to TLC at the L.A. County Fair are on sale at Ticketmaster.

While LADAMA’s music is rich with weighty heartfelt messages, the Pan-American quartet never lets these overshadow its often playful, percussion-rich melding of South American and Caribbean sounds with soul, R&B, and pop. Hailing from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela and the U.S., the band’s four female activists tackle everything from sexual empowerment and Indigenous rights to immigration policies, poverty, and global warming through lyrics sung in Spanish, Portuguese, and English. They also hold educational workshops on using music to address societal issues. Yet songs like “De Aquí Me Voy” and “Cumba Brasileira” are super-danceable, irresistibly joyous celebrations of multi-cultural genres and border-busting community. The likes of “Cuido Mi Raíz” and “Confesión” display LADAMA’s more serious side, but nonetheless audiences can absorb their live sets at multiple levels, from political calls to action to simply a darn good night on the dance floor.

Tickets on sale at the CAP UCLA website.