The Best Los Angeles Concerts: Dec. 16-22, 2024

Billie Eilish’s ethereal, electro-saturated pop and dark lyricism resonates so hard among her peers and beyond that, at just age 22, she can headline five sold-out nights at Inglewood’s 17,000-capacity Kia Forum with ease. An A-list star since her teens, this native Angeleno’s artistry is truly a family affair, with older brother Finneas O’Connell (who’s also worked with the likes of Drake, Nicki Minaj and Halsey) co-writing and producing her material; plus both of her actor/musician parents are also involved with her tours. Perhaps this has helped to nurture and preserve the very personal and distinctive nature of her character-driven yet conversational lyricism. Released in May, Hit Me Hard and Soft is Eilish’s first post-teen album and emphatically confirms that she’s no mere ex-child star or passing fad. Widely hailed as a heartbreak masterpiece, the record’s elusive yet rhythmically resolute vocals deliver coming-of-age avalanches emotionally pertinent to not only her generation but also to anyone who’s traversed adolescence to adulthood.

Cascada enjoyed enormous success as a trio in the aughts, by the end of that decade being the second-most downloaded dance artist of all time (behind only David Guetta). Hits like “Everytime We Touch,” “What Hurts the Most” and “Evacuate the Dancefloor” lit up charts and clubs worldwide alongside energized cover versions including Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi” and Patti Smith’s “Because the Night.” This year is the 20th anniversary of Cascada’s debut single, “Miracle,” but the milestone was marked in unexpected fashion. After a 13-year wait, Cascada’s fifth album is essentially a solo release by vocalist Natalie Horler, who has dispensed with writers/producers Manuel Reuter and Yann Peifer in favor of compatriot producer Christian Geller on Studio 24, released in May. Its title a reference to New York’s legendary Studio 54 nightclub, it’s an album entirely of cover versions, mostly of disco songs that showcase Horler’s supple, sultry pipes while moving her firmly into contemporary pop territory. Tickets at Live Nation.

For a singer who placed seventh on American Idol 20 years ago, Jennifer Hudson has done alright for herself. Just nine years later, the eminently likeable Chicago chanteuse/actress/TV presenter had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; by 2020 Time had declared her one of the most influential people in the world; and two years later she became the youngest-ever female “EGOT” (recipient of Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony Awards). This year, J.Hud is going big on Christmas, lending her potent mezzo-soprano to The Gift of Love, her first seasonal album, and the anthemic “Let There Be Joy,” the official theme of Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas. She’s also embarking on a short, exclusive The Gift of Love: An Intimate Live Experience tour, including this LA date. From her beginnings singing in a small Chi-Town church to an all-powerful multi-hyphenate before she’d even turned forty, this will also be an occasion to celebrate the remarkable J.Hud herself. Tickets at AXS Marketplace.

Billy Gibbons still loves performing so much that, long after his success with Texas blues-rock juggernaut ZZ Top negated any further financial incentive, he still celebrates his birthday with these “Birthday Jam” shows at the Troubadour alongside special guests TBA. If you only recall ZZ Top from their glossy, semi-electronic 1980s hits and accompanying MTV-ubiquitous videos, it’s easy to forget that the band, and its de facto leader Gibbons in particular, were already revered and successful bluesmen fully a decade earlier with much more organic albums Tres Hombres and Fandango! Not until 2015 did guitarist/vocalist Gibbons launch a simultaneous solo career with the Latin-flavored Perfectamundo, which topped the US Blues chart. Two further full-lengths have since appeared, with 2021’s Hardware being a truly collaborative effort with former Guns ‘N Roses/Cult drummer Matt Sorum and songwriters/producers Mike Fiorentino and Chad Shlosser, with guest vocals from roots rockers Larkin Poe – which likely offers hints at some of his Troubadour birthday guests. Tickets at AXS Marketplace.

Nineties Brit shoegaze has enjoyed a revival over the past decade, with subgenre leading lights Ride and Slowdive both reuniting in 2014 and Lush’s Miki Berenyi also back in action with her eponymous trio. While all but defining shoegaze with their neo-psychedelic wall-of-jangle/noise guitars, cavernous drums, and layered vocals released through the massively influential Creation label, Ride’s melodic instincts and deft dynamics set them apart and served them well through their original eight years of sonic adventure. While far from idle during their long disbandment – bassist Andy Bell played for Oasis and Beady eye, and drummer Loz Colbert with The Jesus and Mary Chain and Supergrass – a reunion always felt inevitable for a band with an unchanged lineup since forming in Oxford in 1988. Their three-album activity since has been refreshingly forward-looking rather than nostalgic, with seventh album Interplay, released in March, declared by Under the Radar, “The masterpiece Ride has been promising since getting back together.” Tickets at AXS.

LA DJ/producer Henry Steinway first filled floors with big-room house tracks as Clockwork but has become much better known under his trap/bass alias RL Grime. Combining electro, hip-hop, drum & bass and more into intense productions and remixes, his broad appeal is also reflected in DJ sets which offer something for almost anyone with even a casual ear for EDM. Last year’s PLAY album has been hailed for an innovative structure that divides its 21 tracks into three bite-sized, themed sections. The first is bone-rattlin’ bangers and the second a more emotive and lyrical “experience,” before PLAY takes a closing turn into deep house, techno, and breaks. Performing in the wake of Halloween XIII: The End, allegedly the last of his popular annual Halloween mixes that debuted in 2012, RL Grimes’ Hollywood Palladium bass set will be the Friday night party in town. Joined by Wavedash and Wink B2B Nikko, tonight will pull in kindred-spirit EDM droppers and late-night vibers from far and wide. Tickets at AXS.

Expect positive vibes as a trio of America’s pioneering alternative, progressive hip-hop acts gather for The Cypher, a true bill for the books. Philly’s on-again/off-again Digable Planets formed in 1987 but have only released two albums. Yet their laid back jazz/hip-hop collisions, 1993’s Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) and ‘94’s Blowout Comb, while not huge sellers, have been so influential and stood the test of time so well that here they are, original lineup intact, headlining The Novo. LA foursome The Pharcyde, all former In Living Color dancers, brought welcome eccentricity and humor to alt rap with their 1992 debut, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. Without a new album since 2004 but still busy in various incarnations, expect a rapturous welcome for these local legends. Atlanta’s Arrested Development infuse their positive hip-hop with funk, soul, blues and traditional African influences. In contrast to their billmates, the much-changed outfit has been extremely prolific since reuniting in 2000. Tickets at AXS.

It’s a sad statement about the music industry that the very existence of a young female, photogenic guitar virtuoso makes headlines. But Kansas City roots rock phenom Samantha Fish, who lit up Slash’s Serpent Festival at the Greek Theatre in July, long ago transcended novelty status to become a blues chart topper by her mid-twenties with 2015’s Wild at Heart. She repeated the feat with Belle of the West two years later and, as her reputation and confidence swelled, started embroidering her blues-based core with signature strands of R&B, rockabilly, rock ‘n roll and funk. Her 2021 Faster collection found Fish reaching whole new audiences by both reinvigorating blues rock and questioning its parameters. And whereas many guitar heroes seem to treat vocals as an afterthought, her supple, soaring singing and increasingly glam stage presence have created a classic frontperson who has the whole package in spades. Tickets at AXS.

Since founding The Midnight Hour as a modest record store in 2020, Sergio Amalfitano has expanded it into a two-room community event space that’s become a hub for not only music lovers and musicians but also poets, visual artists, and writers. YouTube is already full of often chaotic clips of bands, mostly of the punk/hardcore variety, performing to pit-centered crowds, but Midnight Hour also hosts DJs, hip-hop, cumbia, reggae and more. Tonight’s headliners, Orange County’s Eighteen Visions, are metalcore pioneers who helped introduce both clean vocals and keyboards to the hybrid genre, while also – with both pro hairstylists and former Banana Republic employees among their members – epitomizing the attire- and hair-aware “fashioncore” tag. Despite grandiose ambitions for their multi-mood compositions, they never quite broke into the mainstream and within a year of their arena-ready 2006 eponymous major label debut album had disbanded. But Eighteen Visions made a welcome return with XVIII in 2017 and the covers album 1996 four years later. Tickets at Ticketweb.

Nicole Moudaber has had an enormous influence on techno music and nightlife in general, both audibly as a DJ, producer, and radio personality; and behind the scenes as an event promoter and record label owner. This Lebanese/British force of nature was promoting dance parties in Beirut as far back as the 1990s, began releasing her own music in the late aughts, and is today a regular returnee to Ibiza’s top clubs and a veteran of Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, Glastonbury and Tomorrowland festivals. Known for creating her own magical world from behind the decks with hypnotic grooves and mesmerizing mixing (including her MoodZONE stage at major fests), this Avalon Hollywood appearance is a relatively intimate performance by the former Carl Cox protégé. With her The Mood Radio broadcast in over 50 countries, an autobiography imminent, and rumors of a documentary, Nicole Moudaber is at the apex of her game and homage is due at what will surely be a wild Hollywood night. Tickets at Ticketweb.