Here in Los Angeles, the onset of winter doesn’t mean an end to music festivals. With its vibrant scene and almost year-round magnificent weather, LA continues to host multi-act gatherings both indoor and out through November, including Tyler the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw at the iconic Dodger Stadium; the much more intimate Mates Festival, brainchild of Vacations frontman Campbell Burns, at The Bellwether; and the inaugural Dirty Fest at historic Catch One.
This week’s concert previews also include LA’s typical array of world-class acts in venues from tiny and trendy to huge and corporate, with something for anyone with even a passing interest in sonic stimulation and bonding with like-minded fans, be it dozens or thousands.
Nyxx - The Echo (Nov. 11)
When Nyxx first manifested with 2016’s Nightmare EP, she was musically, aesthetically and lyrically aligned with Hot Topic culture. Self-identifying as goth-pop, her slithering, insinuating vocals snaked among dystopian, decaying industrial and EDM sound design to produce something all at once seductive, sinister, and stand-offishly knowing. Marrying grit and glitz, Nightmare’s title track has close to 7 million YouTube views – a feat all the more remarkable considering that Nyxx, who’s also a pro photographer and visual artist, directs and edits her own videos. Indeed, her deeply DIY ethic, which includes writing her own material and performing on stage alone with self-recorded backing tracks, is one of her admirably distinguishing traits. A frequent collaborator with Aesthetic Perfection’s Daniel Graves, as on super-synthy 2018 single “Voodoo,” Nyxx reappeared last year with “Hearse,” displaying a surprisingly softer, more soulful side that almost drops the “goth” from her aura altogether in favor of nostalgic, tremulously mellow electronic pop. Tickets at Live Nation.
Sting - The Wiltern (Nov. 12-13 & 15-17)
Sting has gone from teacher to heartthrob frontman for reggaefied new wave trio the Police to, since the mid 1980s, a similarly successful solo career. At age 73, he’s a veritable institution, awarded a British order of chivalry, performing at the late Queen Elizabeth’s birthday party, and now doing a five-night run at The Wiltern. While forever associated with the Police, Sting’s solo output – 15 studio albums over nearly four decades – dwarfs his former band’s five albums over as many years. He’s at a point where he’s likely not converting many new fans and the faces in his front rows are growing familiar, but that doesn’t diminish his astonishing songwriting gift, restless artistry, and a singular, transporting vibrato influenced equally by reggae, jazz, and rock. In echoes of his Police days, Sting is once again touring with a trio, dubbed Sting 3.0, which has him reinvigorated and unusually engaged for a star of his longevity. Tickets at Live Nation.
Manchester Orchestra & Thrice - Hollywood Palladium (Nov. 13)
Atlanta’s Manchester Orchestra are touring to mark the 10th anniversary of their much-loved fourth album, Cope. An overtly heavy post-hardcore record, Cope was a reaction to 2011’s more diverse and often prettier Simple Math, yet still imbued with Manchester Orchestra’s innate indie rock melodicism, textured musicality, and apparent allergy to cliché. While not a band that triggers Beatlemania or reinvents the wheel, the quartet – of which only singer/songwriter/guitarist Andy Hull is an original member – has potently yet authentically fused so much that makes rock fans’ hearts flutter and fists pump. They also display considerable, albeit understandable, self-confidence in opting to take the stage after Thrice, themselves uncompromising post-hardcore legends. One of very few bands to emerge from the master-planned Orange County city of Irvine, and with their original lineup unchanged over a quarter-century, Thrice hit an artistic high water mark with 2005’s Vheissu, which marries their throughline muscular, complex rock and spiritual lyricism to bold (at the time) electronic sonics. Tickets at Live Nation.
Nico Vega - Troubadour (Nov. 14)
At heart a primal rock ‘n’ roll band fronted by the ludicrously compelling and capricious Aja Volkman, LA’s Nico Vega is also open to layers of lurking electronica and not shy with pop hooks. One of this city’s “about to break big” bands throughout their initial 2005-2014 run, it never quite happened commercially for NV, despite live shows almost unmatched in their swaggering glory and visceral connection. Returning this year with their imminent fourth album Make it Out Alive and an eponymous tour, Volkman, guitarist Rich Koehler, and drummer Dan Epand are rejoined by their original sticksman, actor Michael Peña (Crash, Cesar Chavez etc.), who’s now on bass. Volkman reappears as a recently divorced mother of four - her breathlessly smokey, wounded timbre wonderfully intact and the theatrical instincts of a former CalArts student still the focus of Nico Vega’s shows and videos. One of the most welcome musical reunions in Los Angeles (or anywhere) in years. Tickets at See Tickets.
Sabrina Carpenter - Crypto.com Arena (Nov. 15)
With ninety percent of singing being the confidence to belt it out in public, it’s little surprise that so many successful actors – from Kylie Minogue and Jared Leto to Suki Waterhouse and Selena Gomez – have transitioned into music careers. Former Disney child star Sabrina Carpenter swiftly followed her early 2010s acting breakthrough with a multi-album deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records, but her initially predictable teen pop output has, since leaving that label, become more nuanced in its embrace of R&B, folk-pop, country, and house influences. This year’s sixth album, Short n’ Sweet, her second for Island Records, finds an audibly more autonomous and confident Carpenter sharing dating tales with signature wit and deft pop songcraft from co-writers including Bleachers’ Jack Antonoff and frequent One Direction collaborator John Ryan. Hot off her first Platinum-certified and U.S. number one album, this compelling live performer is, at just age 25, at the top of her game and rapidly establishing an authentic identity. Tickets to the all-ages show at AXS.
Nails - The Belasco (Nov. 15)
While seasoned metal and punk bands are often accused of diluting their sound as years go by, Nails have stayed true to their short-sharp-shock power violence, sometimes almost to the point of self-parody. Over the past 15 years, on and off, the Oxnard outfit has earned huge underground esteem for four albums of dense, migraine-inducing metalized hardcore and famously furious live shows. Nails is essentially former Terror guitarist Todd Jones, who founded and fronts an otherwise entirely changed band. It seems like he doesn’t need or expect Nails to make money, which has freed him to create utterly uncompromising, feral music without A&R execs or algorithms to please. It was eight years between outstanding third album You Will Never Be One of Us and this year’s Every Bridge Burning, which also unveiled a whole new lineup. This incarnation has created perhaps Nails’ most metallic offering yet, compressing lifetimes of agony into ten savagely succinct and occasionally widdly tracks. Tickets at Live Nation.
Bravo the Bagchaser - The Novo (Nov. 15)
With Latino culture still underrepresented in hip-hop, LA’s Bravo the Bagchaser speaks to his community and beyond with the vivid picture painting of his heartfelt ballads and hooky turn-up tracks. Both a singer and rapper, BtB grew up in South Central and The Valley listening to late local hero Nipsey Hussle, Too $hort, and 50 Cent – influences still audible in his largely autobiographical rhymes. Starting with his self-uploaded “Phone Rangin” in 2016, he’s steadily racked up impressive streaming and social media numbers through both his own regular releases and features with artists including Lou Deezi, Veteran, and Peysoh, only briefly interrupted by a prison spell last year. Headlining the 2,300-capacity Novo confirms Bravo the Bagchaser’s West Coast status, and this show will have a collaborative “& friends” vibe, with special guests the aforementioned Peysoh and Lou Deezi, Lil Maru, GmoneyDt, Zoe Osama, TruCarr, J.i Bandz, X4, 22GFay, Lil Vada, Ralfy The Plug, and Peso Peso.Tickets to the all-ages show at AXS.
Z Berg - Barnsdall Gallery Theatre (Nov. 15)
With model looks, a prominent label exec/record producer father, and a smoky, otherworldly ache of a voice that could make a to-do list sound like lifechanging declarations, LA’s Z Berg has always seemed like a shoo-in for stardom. Yet Berg’s aughts all-girl trio the Like, despite two fantastic retro-pop albums released on Geffen Records (where her dad worked) and tours with the likes of Maroon 5 and Razorlight, fizzled. Part of the well-connected Phantom Planet/Maroon 5 crowd, she then released two albums with JJAMZ (later renamed Phases) with members of those bands before going solo in 2018. Berg had been largely quiet since her 2020 debut Get Z to a Nunnery before returning in August as writer/performer of the acoustic, ballad-y Strange Darling movie soundtrack. At East Hollywood’s intimate Barnsdall Gallery Theatre she’ll be joined by friends including Alex Greenwald (Phantom Planet), Ryan Ross (Panic! at the Disco), and actor Hale Appleman (Teeth, The Magicians). Tickets at Dice.
Camp Flog Gnaw - Dodger Stadium (Nov. 16-17)
For Camp Flog Gnaw, Tyler, the Creator turns Tyler, the Curator, selecting top-tier hip-hop talent for this two-day spectacular complete with carnival games and rides (including its signature giant Ferris Wheel). Marking the tenth edition since its 2012 inception – two years were skipped due to the pandemic – this oddly-named outdoor November gathering (“Flog Gnaw” is an anagram of “Wolf Gang,” referring to Tyler’s LA-based Odd Future Wolfgang Kill Them All music collective) could only happen in a place with year-round amenable weather like Los Angeles. Along with former Odd Future members Tyler, Earl Sweatshirt, Domo Genesis, Syd, and Mike G, there are big names like Playboi Carti, Sexyy Red and Andre 3000, the latter performing his ambient solo debut New Blue Sun. There’ll also be Erykah Badu, Kaytranada, Doechii and many more plus, perhaps most intriguingly, a tribute to late legend MF Doom of which details are yet to be released.
Mates Festival - The Bellwether (Nov. 16)
After Australian indie rockers Vacations’ career first went global in 2022, thanks to TikTok viral single “Young,” their singer/songwriter Campbell Burns curated the first Mates Festival in their native Newcastle. It was meant not just as a sorta triumphant homecoming but also as a reconnecting with their DIY, self-booking and mutually supportive roots in that city’s scene. With their woozy/jangly, lo-fi inflected pop now more popular stateside, where this year’s No Place Like Home album has been particularly well received, than back home, Vacations relocated to LA last year and now Burns is holding his sophomore Mates gathering right here at The Bellwether, nestled between Westlake and Downtown LA. The foursome’s supporting bill for the event gathers Burns-admired acts from America, Australia and the UK, including Puma Blue (aka London/Atlanta singer-songwriter-producer Jacob Allen), Claud, Yot Club, Ian Sweet, and Kacy Hill, plus Vacations’ compatriots Jaguar Jonze and Waax. Tickets to the all-ages show at Ticketmaster.
Dirty Fest - Catch One (Nov. 16)
Dirty Mondays is a weekend-extending Monday night rock ‘n’ roll club that began in Milan in 2011 and last year arrived in LA. Originally held at Madame Siam in Hollywood, it now happens every last Monday of the month at WeHo’s Viper Room or Whisky A Go Go. Dirty Mondays has always featured live rock and pop bands in both cities, and now presents its debut Dirty Fest at Pico/Crenshaw’s beloved Catch One, LA’s oldest Black-owned disco dating back to the early 1970s. Catch One’s five distinct spaces, each with its own stage, will allow for constant concert action from Dirty Fest’s 30 acts. Headliners include Arizona pop rockers The Summer Set; local duo Honey Revenge, hot off a European tour earlier this year; former Capitol Records singer-songwriter Romy Flores aka DeathbyRomy, whose new “XXXhibitionist” single racked up a quarter-million views in a month; and dark LA alt-pop artist Chandler Leighton.