The Top 5 Things to Do in LA This Weekend

There's always something exciting happening in Los Angeles!

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Read on for the best things to do in LA this weekend.

Janelle Monáe headlines the first day of the Outloud @ WeHo Pride music festival, with Doechii, Noah Cyrus, Keke Palmer, Channel Tres Yaeji and Sophie Ellis-Bextor also in the stacked lineup. Summertramp will keep the dance floor going with a DJ lineup led by Purple Disco Machine.

With Kylie Minogue headlining the second day, Outloud is this weekend’s hot ticket. The lineup includes Diplo + Friends, Ashnikko, Trixie Mattel, Big Freedia, Vincint and more. Indie dance favorites Hot Chip will DJ and ‘90s house icon Crystal Waters will perform at the Summertramp stage. Note that weekend VIP passes are sold out.

Barnsdall Art Park Foundation has announced the return of its popular Friday Night Wine Tasting, which is back in full swing for 2024 after being on hiatus since 2019. The event takes place from 5:30pm to 9pm on the West Lawn of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hollyhock House, LA's only UNESCO World Heritage site, every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day (May 31 to August 30). Enjoy a sunset flight curated by Silverlake Wine, along with rotating food trucks, DJs and great views of the Hollywood Sign and Griffith Observatory. Marking its 15th season, the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation’s signature fundraising event supports the Park, its arts programing and landscaping, which includes the recent restoration of the historic Olive Grove, which dates back to the 1890s. Tickets on sale at Eventbrite.

While not the most successful of the Brit post-punk bands of the 1980s, or even of the Manchester scene from which they emerged, the Chameleons have aged incredibly well. A nearly quarter-century absence (less a 2000-2003 reunion) has only made regard for their art grow fonder, as witnessed during last year’s US tour with The Mission. At the LA stop at the Belasco Theatre, around a third of the crowd left after the Chameleons’ set. On this headlining run, the Chameleons are performing their dreamy 1986 album Strange Times in its entirety. The album’s recent vanishing from streaming platforms, apparently due to a publishing dispute, will only make these shows more welcome among the faithful. And with half of the Chameleons’ classic lineup – vocalist/bassist Mark Burgess and guitarist Reg Smithies – aboard, and the other members being from Burgess’ interim incarnation ChameleonsVox, we’ll be getting something very close to the real deal. Tickets on sale at Live Nation.

Sa-Fire was one of only a handful of freestyle artists who crossed over into mainstream pop, chiefly with her 1989 ballad “Thinking of You,” which lacked many of the genre’s trademarks. Principally an East Coast phenomenon, notably in New York City and Miami, freestyle also enjoyed a following in areas of California, including Los Angeles. A fusion of sensual R&B and the mechanical synthesized beats that then-new technology allowed, the likes of Shannon and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam brought freestyle to national airwaves in the early ‘80s, while Sa-Fire was still coming up in East Harlem and then working as a session vocalist. Although she scored three more minor U.S. hits, “Thinking of You” remains her theme song and will surely be a highlight of this nostalgic Freestyle Fiesta at East LA’s Don Quixote. Also appearing are genre standouts Rockell (“In a Dream”), Shana (“I Want You”) and Christina Marie. Tickets at Eventbrite.

Presented by Glamazon, the Venice Pride Block Party is a FREE, inclusive celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, taking place at 99 Windward Ave. near the iconic Venice Sign from 5-11pm on Friday, May 31. The Block Party features DJ Victor Rodriguez, a diverse array of community booths, LGBTQ+ vendors, food trucks and a few surprises. Special Pride Month edition of Gaywatch to follow at Baja Cantina from 10pm to 2am.

It says much about the passion of jazz virtuoso Arturo Sandoval that, even as he entered his seventies, he was posting new compositions on social media almost daily during lockdown. Some of those pieces reemerged on his most recent album, Rhythm & Soul in 2022. From impoverished beginnings in Cuba, the 10-time Grammy winner defected to the U.S. with the help of mentor and fellow jazz trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie in 1989. Also an accomplished pianist, Sandoval shows little sign of slowing down at age 74, still booking multiple monthly engagements all over North America and Europe. For this two-night stand at Catalina Jazz Club, incongruously slotted into the ground floor of a Hollywood office building, Sandoval will perform with his touring band. If you can’t snag tickets, he returns to LA at Walt Disney Concert Hall with a big band on December 23.

In association with the highly anticipated limited series Clipped, FX will be presenting Clipped: Courtside Club, an immersive exhibit the weekend prior to its premiere - free and open to the public. The exhibit centers around one of the biggest scandals in sports, and the aftermath that followed for the LA Clippers front office, players, and fans - set off by the notorious NBA team owner, Donald Sterling.

Throughout the exhibit, the show will be brought to life by taking visitors through a narrative journey, recreating the Sterling scandal through visual and audio storytelling. The exhibit will transition into the heart of the scandal through a throne photo op inspired by V. Stiviano’s infamous visor and reproduced audio featuring snippets of the leaked tapes. After learning about the details of the scandal, the exhibit concludes with an interactive on-the-court moment, courtside photo, and exclusive show-inspired merchandise. Grab a courtside seat to experience the scandalous story of LA’s "other basketball team." RSVP at Eventbrite.

On Saturday, June 1, the Hollywood Roosevelt presents a glamorous celebration of Marilyn Monroe's 98th birthday! Step into the world of Old Hollywood and immerse yourself in an evening filled with elegance, entertainment and nostalgia. General Admission tickets are $25 and include access to the Tropicana Pool Party, one complimentary drink, a Marilyn Monroe performance and a poolside screening of Some Like It Hot. For an additional $50, the VIP ticket includes a special meet & greet with the Marilyn performer in the Marilyn Monroe Suite from 6-7pm, special cocktails and apps.

Also on June 1, the LA Conservancy presents a screening of The Seven Year Itch (1955) at the historic Orpheum Theatre in Downtown LA. Monroe has never been more "Marilyn" than in this hilarious romp from writer/director Billy Wilder. The movie is probably best known for the iconic scene of Marilyn letting her white halter dress billow over the subway vent. Hosted by film historian Leonard Maltin, the screening will be followed by a Q&A about the Orpheum.

Celebrate Pride Month at the Academy Museum on Saturday, June 1 with Puppets and Pride, a marionette show by the beloved Bob Baker Marionette Theater. The show will celebrate love, self-acceptance and community through a musical marionette lineup of proud puppets performing medleys from LGBTQ+ icons, queer history and more. Puppeteers will stroll the museum from 12:30 - 2pm; the Puppets and Pride show will take place in the Sidney Poitier Grand Lobby from 2:30 - 3:30pm.

The Getty Center kicks off the 2024 season of Off the 405 with Hailu Mergia, an Ethiopian musician and composer, best known for his work as a keyboardist and accordion player, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s. Mergia gained prominence as a member of the Walias Band, a prominent Ethiopian jazz and funk group that blended traditional Ethiopian music with Western jazz and funk influences. DJ set by Mark Maxwell at 6pm, performance in the Museum Courtyard at 7:30. Free with RSVP at the Getty website.

Located near the bustle of WeHo Pride, Hump Events’ pool party at SLS Hotel offers a chance to soak in the sun and the water on Sunday afternoon. Cabana reservations are available and there’s a Happy Hour menu from 1pm to 2:30pm. Tickets on sale at Eventbrite.

In March, DJ/production duo Walker & Royce dropped their sophomore full-length, No Big Deal, filled with collabs with the likes of Reggie Watts and VNSSA, on cult favorite SF dance music label, Dirtybird. Check them out in the DJ booth at Day Trip in the Park this Sunday, where they’ll be playing along with Bruno Furlan, Luke Andy and Life on Planets. Tickets at the Day Trip website, with VIP table reservations available.

For the best guide to what's happening in Los Angeles, visit the Discover LA Events Calendar and book your stay today!