A concert inside Mount Wilson Observatory, improv with comedian Eric Andre, a jazz and reggae fest, rockin’ with a Morrissey tribute band and more.
JazzReggae Festival
Monday, May 27, 2019 / 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. / Sunset Recreation Center
UCLA’s JazzReggae Festival happens to be the largest student-run festival in the country. Historically, it’s been a two-day affair, but this year they’ve packed it all into one day of music and art.
The lineup includes Jamaican singer Freddie McGregor, who’s been at it for more than 50 years, reggae soulstress Etana, R&B artist Rayana Jay and Chicago rapper/singer Tobi Lou. Ensembles from UCLA and the Herbie Hancock Institute will serve up the jazz portion, alongside cosmic jazz explorers, The Roswell Universe.
Tickets: $25 / More Information
Eric Andre Improv
Tuesday, May 28, 2019 / 7-9:30 p.m. / Moroccan Lounge
It’s been a while since the last season of the insanely awkward and surreal “Eric Andre Show,” but the comedian has kept busy appearing on rom-com TV shows and voicing animals in Disney movies.
Tonight, Andre puts his fate in the hands of his adoring, possibly sadistic, fans. Here’s the chance to see how weird and funny Andre can be on the spot. Attendees get to shout out anything their imaginations can spew forth, and he’ll try to make it into a joke. It’s one of those rare instances where failure may be better than success, or at least funnier.
Tickets: $25 / More Information
Flux Film Screenings
Wednesday, May 29, 2019 / 7:30-11:30 p.m. / Hammer Museum
Flux looks near and far seeking fresh, innovative short films and music videos for their screening series at the Hammer Museum. The spring program includes the L.A. premieres of “Universal Machine” by Daniel Askill with music by Philip Glass, Will Kindrick’s “Storm,” Tierra Whack’s “Unemployed” directed by Cat Solen, Colin Levy’s animated documentary “My Grandfather’s Memory Book” and the Black Eyed Peas’ “Get Ready” by filmmaker noMSG.
The program also features music videos for Benny Blanco, Calvin Harris & Miguel, JJ Cale, Bob Moses and more.
Free tickets are available at the box office one hour before the program. One ticket per person; first come, first served. / More Information
Xiu Xiu in Concert
Thursday, May 30, 2019 / 8-11 p.m. / Lodge Room
Art-pop is far too gentle a term for describing Xiu Xiu’s music. Since 2002, the band started by Jamie Stewart has delivered unrelenting, often jarring, songs that make a compelling case for the beauty in feeling anxious or trapped in a nightmare.
Currently, the band consists of Stewart, Thor Harris, Jordan Geiger and Angela Seo. Seo co-produced Xiu Xiu’s latest album, “Girl with Basket of Fruit,” with Deerhoof’s Greg Saunier. While many albums coming out lately explore the tense emotions gripping society, none do it quite as viscerally as Xiu Xiu’s. Come for confrontation, stay for catharsis.
Tickets: $17 / More Information
Late Night! Pride in Fashion
Friday, May 31, 2019 / 6-10 p.m. / Skirball Cultural Center
Drinks, food and fashion converge at this after-hours party celebrating the Skirball Cultural Center’s current exhibitions – Fearless Fashion: Rudi Gernreich and Black Is Beautiful: The Photography of Kwame Brathwaite.
Guests are encouraged to come dressed to express. After all, it was Gernreich who famously introduced the “monokini” — a topless bathing suit that became a symbol for the 1960s sexual revolution — as well as the thong, unisex caftans, pantsuits for women and so much more. Dancers from Luminario Ballet will roam the grounds in some of Gernreich’s iconic costumes reconstructed by Diana MacNeil.
Tickets: $5; free for members / More Information
Tijuana No! con Ceci Bastida at Levitt L.A.
Saturday, June 1, 2019 / 7-11 p.m. / Levitt Pavilion
The Levitt Pavilion’s annual summer series presents 50 free concerts from June 1 to September 1 saluting the diverse musical voices of L.A. The season kicks off with a rare reunion of the Mexican, politically in-your-face, ska-punk band Tijuana No! con Ceci Bastida.
After Bastida joined the band at age 15, the group quickly rose to fame, releasing three albums on BMG in the ’90s. After she left the band, Bastida played keyboards for Julieta Venegas while also pursuing a solo career that earned her a Latin Grammy nomination.
These days she also plays in Mexrrissey, a Mexican tribute band to The Smiths and Morrissey. Locals Dub8 and Blanco y Negro round out tonight’s exploration of alternative reggae and ska.
RSVP for entry / Check out the full concert schedule.
Sunday Concerts in the Dome
Sunday, June 2, 2019 / 3-7 p.m. / Mount Wilson Observatory
Not only does the Mount Wilson Observatory’s spacious dome house a 100-inch telescope used by the likes of famed astronomer Edwin Hubble and his contemporaries, but it also happens to have excellent acoustics. And they’re putting those acoustics to work. The observatory will host a classical music concert series, with performances scheduled on the first Sunday of every month through October.
This month’s performance features the series’ Music Director Cécilia Tsan on cello, along with oboist Leslie Reed, violist Alma Fernandez and violinist Roger Wilkie playing quartets for oboe and strings by Mozart, Britten and Beethoven. Performing together has been on Tsan’s bucket list for quite a while.
“Leslie, Roger, Alma and I have been friends for a long time,” Tsan says. “We have been Principals for the same various Orchestras in town and always said that we would do it one day.”
Tickets: $50 / Performances at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. / More Information