The Best Concerts in Los Angeles in December

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. This month, The Theatre welcomes Tori Amos (Dec. 1-3), Black Violin (Dec. 5), Ryoji Ikeda (Dec. 14-15), and Blind Boys of Alabama (Dec. 17).

The iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown L.A. is hosting holiday events throughout December, including the Festival of Carols (Dec. 2 & 9), Leslie Odom, Jr (Dec. 8), Holiday Sing-Along (Dec. 16), the 37th Annual Messiah Sing-Along (Dec. 18), A Chanticleer Christmas (Dec. 19), Diane Reeves (Dec. 20), and Naturally 7 (Dec. 22).

For more festive events at the Music Center this month, read our special Holiday Events Guide. 

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. December highlights include Big Gigantic (Dec. 1), Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: New Worlds (Dec. 5), Natalia Jiménez (Dec. 10), Grizzly Bear (Dec. 13-14), and Primus (Dec. 29-30).

Known around the world as the home of the Oscars, the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland is renowned as a first class live entertainment venue that showcases the latest innovations in Dolby technology. Besides the annual Academy Awards, the Dolby Theatre hosts year-round events with world-class performances and touring Broadway productions. In December the Dolby is hosting Chris Rock (Dec. 1-2), Super Sako (Dec. 6), Intocable (Dec. 8), and The Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Tour (Dec. 16).

This landmark concert venue features an 11,000 square-foot dance floor and capacity for 4,000. The Hollywood Palladium opened in 1940 with a dance featuring Tommy Dorsey and his Orchestra, with a young Frank Sinatra as vocalist. Since then, the venue has hosted performances by everyone from the Grateful Dead and Richard Pryor to Jay-Z, who performed at the Palladium’s reopening in 2008 after a multi-million dollar renovation. In December, the Palladium welcomes Solomun +1 feat. Hot Since 82 (Dec. 2), Rhonda's Kiss Benefit Concert feat. Jane's Addiction (Dec. 8), Pixies (Dec. 13), Louis the Child (Dec. 16), and Dave Chappelle & John Mayer (Dec. 30).

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. In December the El Rey presents Hundred Waters (Dec. 1), Hayden Jaymes (Dec. 2), Jungle (Dec. 7), AC Slater (Dec. 8), Joshua Henry (Dec. 11), The Neighbourhood (Dec. 14), The Dream Syndicate (Dec. 15), Xavier Omar (Dec. 16), Steve Lacy (Dec. 21), Eric Bellinger (Dec. 22), and Brockhampton (Dec. 27-28).

Built in 1930, The Saban Theatre is an Art Deco style venue formerly known as the Fox Wilshire and one of 20th Century Fox's premier movie theatres for several decades before it was renovated into a stage theatre in 1981. Since 2005, it has been owned and operated by Temple of the Arts, an organization dedicated to the integration of Judaism with the arts. The Saban closes out 2017 with Kenny Loggins (Dec. 2), Timothy B. Schmidt (Dec. 3), Ozomatli (Dec. 9), Eddie Money (Dec. 29), The Dramatics (Dec. 30), and Todd Rundgren (Dec. 31).

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. In January 2014, The Forum celebrated its Grand Reopening with a six-night stand by the Eagles. The Forum continues to book a wide range of top music acts and special events, including Lady Gaga (Dec. 18), Jay-Z (Dec. 21), The Original Misfits (Dec. 30) and Dave Chappelle & John Mayer (Dec. 31).

Holiday shows include KISS FM Jingle Ball with Taylor Swift, (Dec. 1), KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas with Muse (Dec. 9-10), Power 106 Cali Christmas with Chance the Rapper (Dec. 16), and KOST A Very Barry Christmas featuring Barry Manilow.