The Best Things to Do in Los Angeles During Coachella

Each year, more than 250,000 music fans descend upon the SoCal desert near Indio for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival – known simply as Coachella. This multi-genre, two-weekend juggernaut - augmented by art installations, DJs, and dining - is an annual “must” for many Angelenos and on bucket lists of music lovers worldwide.

However, like most major events, attending Coachella has its downsides - not the least of which is the cost. Then there’s the two and a half hour drive from LA that can take double that with festival traffic. Nearby accommodations can be hard to find and dramatically hike their prices during Coachella. And there’s the stress of finding (and paying for) parking and walking for miles beneath the Sonoran Desert sun to likely join a long queue for entry.

Meanwhile, back in LA, the streets are less congested during the Coachella weekends (this year April 10-12 and 17-19) and everything from restaurants to hotel pools can be a little more chill. So, forget your festival FOMO and consider some of these fun things to do in Los Angeles while your friends (and their finances) sweat it out at Coachella.

Dubbed "Localchella" by regulars, Goldenvoice Presents April is a concert series that brings Coachella acts to much smaller and more convenient stages around LA, Santa Barbara, the Bay Area, and San Diego. Highlights this year include:

• French Police, Freak Slug - The Fonda (April 9)
• Adam Beyer - Sound  (April 10)
• Groove Armada - Sound (April 10)
• Los Retros, Carolina Durante - The Glass House (April 14)
• Lykke Li - The Fonda (April 14)
• Fleshwater - The Roxy (April 14)
• Subtronics - Fox Theater Pomona (April 14)
• Röyksopp, Le Yora - Sound (April 14)
• Joost Klein - The Fonda (April 15)
• Noga Erez - El Rey (April 15)
• The Two Lips - The Roxy (April 15)
• Wet Leg, Blondshell - Fox Theater Pomona (April 15)
• Swae Lee - The Novo (April 15)
• Prospa & Riordan - Sound (April 15)
• Mind Enterprises - The Roxy (April 16)
• Tomora - El Rey (April 16)
• 54 Ultra - The Glass House (April 16)
• Suicidal Tendencies, Ceremony - Fox Theater Pomona (April 16)
• Dimension - Sound (April 16)
• &Friends - Sound (April 17)

• Joezi - Sound (April 18)

   

If you were considering attending Coachella for just one or a handful of acts, this “official” alternative can save you considerable time, money and sunburn.

Selena: From Texas to the World, which opened at the GRAMMY Museum in January, has extended its run through May 11. See the costumes and personal effects Selena Quintanilla, some of which are shown for the first time outside of the Selena Museum in Texas, in this special tribute to the late superstar. 

Also on view now at the GRAMMY Museum is Sublime: Straight from Long Beach, a dive into the influential ska-punk band that includes early show flyers, handwritten lyrics, instruments and rare photos. The exhibition is on view through September 7. 

Even in April, LA boasts sufficiently reliable fine weather to make outdoor movies yet another facet of the city’s lauded cultural landscape. So, your buddies out at Coachella needn’t be the only ones being entertained beneath the stars - Rooftop Cinema Club atop LEVEL DTLA is screening movies all week long, including:

• Point Break (April 9)
• Pride & Prejudice (April 10)
• Mama Mia! (April 11)
• Dirty Dancing (April 12)
• White Chicks (April 12)
• 10 Things I Hate About You (April 13)
• Titantic (April 14)
• La La Land (April 15)
• Good Will Hunting (April 16)
• Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (April 17)
• Friday (April 17)
• How Stella Got Her Groove Back (April 18)
• Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas  (April 18)
• Psycho (April 19)

Happening 10am to 4pm every Sunday at ROW DTLA, Smorgasburg Los Angeles is an open-air market comprising nearly 100 small businesses carefully curated to represent the next wave of SoCal’s food, beverage and shopping scenes. With its family-friendly beer garden and huge array of eats, it can be a something-for-everyone day out or spoilt-for-choice solo lunch stop. New vendors for this season include:

• Banana Mama
• Barranco's Fruit
• Franzl's Franks
• Hot Grease
• Mamani Pizza
• Melnificent Wingz
• Piruchi
• RuRu's Golden Tea
• Souu LA
• Stick Talk
• Terrible Burger
• Unreal Poke
• Zindrew

Director Bong Joon Ho will be on hand at the Academy Museum for screenings of his films Zodiac on April 11 and Mickey 17 on April 12. The screenings coincide with the current exhibition Director’s Inspiration: Bong Joon Ho and new items will be added to the exhibit on April 11 as well. 

Very few tickets remain to catch composer and guitarist extraordinaire Masayoshi Takanaka at the Hollywood Palladium, where he is set to play on Sunday, April 12 and Monday, April 13, as part of the City Pop Waves concert series celebrating Japanese pop artists of the 1970s and 1980s. Act fast if you want to see him live. 

The Getty Center dedicates a day to poetry and music on Sunday, April 12, with performances happening in the Central Garden between 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Amongst the performers are N8NOFACE, Michelle Tea collaborating with Girl Debord, Patrick Shiroishi and more. 

Head to Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown on Sunday, April 12, for the 12th annual Bob Baker Day. The day-long event celebrates the late founder of Bob Baker Marionette Theatre with vendors, special guests and, of course, puppet shows in a carnival-like setting that’s fun for all ages. Special guests include René's Marionettes, Very Be Careful, David Arquette as Bozo the Clown and more. 

John Waters celebrates his 80th birthday on stage at Cal State LA’s Luckman Fine Arts Complex on Monday, April 13. Join the director of Pink Flamingos and Hairspray as he takes the audience behind-the-scenes of his cult classic films and gives more insight into his life in Going to Extremes.

Jazz legend, and LA Phil’s Creative Chair for Jazz, Herbie Hancock returns to Walt Disney Concert Hall on Tuesday, April 14.

The legacy of Jackie Robinson on his eponymous day every April 15, when all MLB players, coaches and managers don Robinson’s iconic No. 42. In 1997, MLB retired his number across all major league teams - Robinson was the first pro athlete in any sport to receive that honor. To commemorate the 75th anniversary of Robinson’s historic shattering of the color barrier, all of those 42s were in Dodger Blue for the first time ever in 2022.

The World Champion Los Angeles Dodgers will celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on Wednesday, April 15 when the Boys in Blue host the New York Mets. The stadium-wide giveaway will be a Jackie Robinson jersey (while supplies last). First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm.

Detroit takes over Hollywood on Thursday, April 16, when DJ/producers Seth Troxler and Matthew Dear take to decks at The Spotlight.

Gwar, the long-running hard rock band and performance art collective who was the subject of an exhibition at Beyond the Streets last year, bring their Gor Gor Strikes Back tour to The Belasco on Saturday, April 18. 

Get ready to sweat on Saturday night, when Mutate presents British techno and hardstyle DJ/producer Rebekah alongside a live performance from Godtripper at Exchange LA.

Natural History Museum (April 19)
Celebrate our planet at the Natural History Museum's annual Earth Day Festival! Taking place on Sunday, April 19, the day-long event includes live musical performances, hands-on activities, free screenings of Green Screen: Our Planet on Film and more.