It’s like the Super Bowl for online fan armies: Megastars Taylor Swift and Beyoncé will be performing at SoFi Stadium this summer, a mere month apart. Swifties will be sure to note that Taylor has commanded five sold-out nights compared to Beyoncé’s three. The Beyhive will hail its queen’s otherworldly showmanship. Merch lines will stretch from Inglewood to Redondo Beach for both. Whomever you favor, it will make for an intriguing comparison of two of this century’s defining artists, at the peak of their powers.
Beyond the two quasars, there’s an exceptional assortment of concerts coming to L.A. this summer, from goth icons Siouxsie Sioux and the Cure to a slew of Latin powerhouses, including Karol G, Maná, Eslabon Armado and Fuerza Regida. Old-school rock fans get Blink-182 and Metallica; millennials and zoomers can enjoy Boygenius and Maggie Rogers. And music fans of all ages will be celebrating Quincy Jones’ 90th birthday at the Hollywood Bowl.
Dead & Company, Kia Forum (May 19-20)
A jam-band supergroup featuring several members of the Grateful Dead, John Mayer and Oteil Burbridge of the Allman Brothers Band, Dead & Company says its summer tour will be its last — but of course any rock fan knows to take such a pronouncement with a grain of salt. Elsewhere the band is playing stadiums including Chicago’s Wrigley Field and San Francisco’s Oracle Park. But it’s keeping things intimate to start with an opening two-night stand at Inglewood’s relatively cozy Kia Forum. — Mikael Wood
Cruel World Festival, Brookside at the Rose Bowl (May 20)
The macabre music festival known as Cruel World returns to the Rose Bowl for its second year. A celebration of punk, new wave and other Gen X countercultures, era-defining acts like Billy Idol, Adam Ant and Gang of Four will share the stage with contemporary descendants like Molchat Doma, Boy Harsher and Ela Minus. Headliners are the shirtless legend Iggy Pop and British goth-rock icon Siouxsie Sioux, whose performance will be her first in North America since 2007. — Suzy Exposito
The Cure, Hollywood Bowl (May 23-25)
Aging goths and bereft Swifities agree: Ticket service fees make them even more miserable than usual. While Robert Smith’s canonically dour rock band tried to price seats reasonably for this run (some as low as $20), seething fans posted screenshots where the all-in price went up by multiples. Smith took to Twitter to all-caps lament so hard that Ticketmaster agreed to some refunds. A guy so wan he can break the profit-seeking will of the biggest firm in live music? That’s real power right there. — August Brown
Maná, Kia Forum (May 26-27)
The Mexican pop-rock outfit Maná may have gotten its start in Guadalajara, but the band has made a second home in L.A. over the years — including a record-breaking 7 sold-out nights at the Forum in 2019, followed by a 2022 residency. The group will return to L.A. for its upcoming México Lindo y Querido tour, which will include two nights at the Forum in May, as well as two newly added dates in November. — S.E.
Members of Grupo Firme.
(Timothy Norris/Getty Images)
Grupo Firme, SoFi Stadium (May 27)
Grupo Firme wasn’t satisfied with two sold-out SoFi Stadium shows in 2022. Now, the regional Mexican band is returning on Memorial Day weekend, becoming the first-ever band to play the billion-dollar stadium in back-to-back years. — Kenan Draughorne
Re:SET, Brookside at the Rose Bowl (June 2-4)
Concert promoter Goldenvoice would probably love nothing more than a peaceful outdoor festival with absolutely no lineup changes or last-minute production tweaks. Re:SET hopes to be exactly that, with zoomer fave Steve Lacy, indie supergroup Boygenius and Brooklyn dance-rock vets LCD Soundsystem leading this traveling mini-fest. The openers are solid too, with emerging acts Fousheé, Dijon and Bartees Strange and edgier stalwarts Jamie xx and Idles. — A.B.
Romeo Santos, SoFi Stadium (June 3)
The feathery-voiced bachata superstar has been filling stadiums since his days with the Bronx boy band Aventura. But don’t be surprised if the L.A. date of Santos’ latest tour (which launched in February with four nights at Peru’s Estádio Nacional) features a surprise guest or two. In the last year alone he’s collaborated with Justin Timberlake, Rosalía, Karol G and Christian Nodal. — M.W.
Janet Jackson, Hollywood Bowl (June 10)
The L.A. date of Jackson’s Together Again tour — which comes after a much-discussed 2022 docuseries about the singer’s one-of-one life and career — will double as the Hollywood Bowl’s annual opening-night bash, which means a portion of your ticket price will go to benefit the L.A. Phil’s community-outreach initiatives. Also on the bill: rapper Ludacris and Youth Orchestra Los Angeles. — M.W.
Blink-182 performing at Coachella in April.
(Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)
Blink-182 and Turnstile, BMO Stadium (June 16-17)
The reunited pop-punk trio got called up for a last-minute Coachella headline gig on Weekend 2, after the embattled Frank Ocean melted his ice rink for good. The set was as delightfully bratty and hooky as you’d expect, with the added poignance of watching a band that beat both cancer and an expensive UFO-hunting hobby running at full steam again. Come early for Turnstile, the hardcore band everyone from the full-sleeve-tat set to nihilistic emo rappers can agree on. — A.B.
Jill Scott, Hollywood Bowl (June 22)
Hopefully you’re not still asking “Who Is Jill Scott?” in 2023. But in case you’re unfamiliar, the neo-soul songstress will serve a fiery reminder at the Hollywood Bowl in June. The 20th anniversary tour celebrating her landmark debut “Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds Vol. 1” was three years delayed due to the pandemic, but Scott should more than make up for lost time. — K.D.
Pride in the Park, Grant Park (June 23-24)
Turns out that even after an acrimonious split between the city of WeHo and Pride parade organizers, there is plenty of room in SoCal for multiple substantial Pride festivals. While the WeHo version is more local and community-oriented, L.A.’s Pride in the Park has become a festival-season contender in its own right, with beloved R&B belter Mariah Carey and the triumphant (musically and now legally) rapper Megan Thee Stallion atop the bill. — A.B.
Eslabon Armado, Crypto.com Arena (July 15)
The Patterson, Calif., sierreña band, a staple of the regional Mexican charts, has made music history in the last 12 months: Its 2022 album, “Nostalgia,” became the genre’s first album to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, and its viral jam with Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola,” recently shot to No. 5 on the Hot 100. This summer the group will knock out another major milestone with its first headlining show at Crypto.com Arena. — S.E.
Fuerza Regida, BMO Stadium (July 15)
One of the first signings for the influential L.A. label Rancho Humilde, Fuerza Regida helped architect the latest regional Mexican music boom among Gen Z. Come July, the South-Central corrido will bring their block to BMO Stadium, in what is sure to be the asada of the summer. — S.E.
Russell and Ron Mael of Sparks.
(Anna Webber/Focus Features)
Sparks, Hollywood Bowl (July 16)
Brothers Ron and Russell Mael spent their formative years growing up in Pacific Palisades. This summer, they’ll venture across the 405 Freeway to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. Reviewing their 2021 documentary “Sparks Brothers,” The Times’ Glenn Whipp called the pop and rock duo “the greatest band you’ve never heard of.” Expect high-volume theatrics when they hit the storied venue. — K.D.
Quincy Jones’ 90th Birthday Tribute: A Musical Celebration, Hollywood Bowl (July 29)
Anyone who’s anyone (who’s newly 90) is being feted at the Bowl this year: Just a few months after Willie Nelson’s all-star birthday blowout, Jones will mark his becoming a nonagenarian with a two-night tribute featuring the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Performers are yet to be announced, but given Jones’ decades of arranging and producing work with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and countless others, the repertoire alone is sure to please. — M.W.
Taylor Swift, SoFi Stadium (Aug. 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9)
You survived the “several bear attacks” of Ticketmaster and scored SoFi tickets. You grieved the end of Joe Alwyn by laying alms at Cornelia Street. Congratulations, the Eras tour is actually here. Early reviews suggest Swift’s long-awaited return to stages was worth every bit of the wait, with thoughtful pacing through her extensive catalog, some surprisingly saucy dance moves and a wild-card round of deep cuts to keep even the most devoted fans on their toes. — A.B.
HARD Summer, LA Memorial Coliseum, Exposition Park and BMO Stadium (Aug. 5-6)
All the cool kids love B2B (back-to-back) sets these days, with the last-minute addition of Skrillex, Four Tet and Fred Again to wrap up Coachella’s second weekend. HARD Summer, the EDM- and hip-hop seasonal staple, is chock full of bros and besties teaming up on the decks: Kaskade and John Summit; Skrillex and Four Tet; Diplo and Blond:ish; and Yellow Claw and Flosstradamus among them. The real fun will probably be at Ludacris on Sunday, and the house duo of Bicep shouldn’t be missed live. — A.B.
Beck performing at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday.
(Randall Michelson)
Beck, Phoenix and Jenny Lewis, Kia Forum (Aug. 7)
A mini-Desert Trip for 42-year-old post-hipsters ready to pay whatever it takes to get a babysitter for the night. All three 2000s indie-scene staples have (or are prepping) enticing mid-career albums, from Beck’s synthy “Hyperspace” to Phoenix’s zippy “Alpha Zulu” and Lewis’ still-upcoming “Joy’all.” Hit up Short Stop afterward for old times’ sake. — A.B.
Drake, Kia Forum (Aug. 12, 13, 15 and 16)
Drake’s voice is on the hottest new track in pop music, but he didn’t sing on it. “Heart on My Sleeve,” an AI-generated facsimile of a duet with the Weeknd, terrified and fascinated the music and tech industries with its genuinely passable quality. If you need the real thing though, he seems to have left his house-music era quickly behind and is having a great time on the road with his more trap-inclined “Her Loss” collaborator 21 Savage. — A.B.
Marco Antonio Solís, BMO Stadium (Aug. 12)
At the 2022 Latin Grammys, Solís — founding frontman of the legendary grupera band Los Bukis — was named the Latin Recording Academy’s person of the year. This summer, the poet laureate of Mexican pop will embark on a 40-date solo run, which includes a stop at BMO Stadium. — S.E.
Maggie Rogers/Alvvays, Hollywood Bowl (Aug. 13)
Rogers hates ticket scalpers just like you! And in April, the singer-songwriter plotted to get tickets straight into her fans’ hands, holding a one-day, in-person presale at box offices around the country (sadly, the Hollywood Bowl was not one of those shows). With acclaimed Canadian band Alvvays opening, Rogers’ winsome indie-rock should make for a charmed evening under the stars. — K.D.
Karol G performs at Crypto.com Arena in January.
(James Carbone)
Karol G, Rose Bowl (Aug. 18)
The Colombian pop-reggaetón star came in hot this year with her sunshine-soaked LP, “Mañana Será Bonito,” or “Tomorrow Will Be Pretty,” which landed at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — making Karol the first woman to reach that perch with an all-Spanish language record. She’s celebrating her triumph this summer with a six-date stadium tour, which includes a stop at Pasadena’s scenic Rose Bowl. — S.E.
Metallica, SoFi Stadium (Aug. 25 and 27)
If you’re hankering to throw some horns to “Trapped Under Ice” but your back isn’t up for a full weekend of Power Trip in Indio, Metallica will make its much-anticipated return to L.A. with a two-night stand at SoFi. This SoCal stop will feature two distinct sets each night in support of its still-brutal new LP “72 Seasons,” which delves into singer James Hetfield’s troubled, deeply religious childhood and what it took to see the light beyond it. — A.B.
Sam Smith, Kia Forum (Aug. 31 and Sept. 1)
Smith sprinted out of the gates in 2023 with theirscorching album, “Gloria,” promoted with steamy big-screen performances at the Grammys and BRIT Awards. Expect the English pop star to dial up the heat even further in Inglewood. — K.D.
Beyoncé, SoFi Stadium (Sept. 1, 2 and 4)
As always with Beyoncé, little is known about what she has in store for her long-awaited road show behind last year’s club-inspired “Renaissance” LP. (Consult social media for a stream of blurry samizdat photos purporting to depict rehearsals for the tour, which kicks off May 10 in Stockholm.) To expect anything less than a full-blown spectacle, though, is to forget that this woman devised one of pop music’s most ambitious productions for exactly two gigs at Coachella in 2018. — M.W.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
