Music

JANET JACKSON

• By J. COOK
• Photo Courtesy of LA PHIL

None other than Janet Jackson is headlining Opening Night at the bowl this year! Good luck getting a ticket. Back in 1990, Janet would sell out The Forum for four consecutive nights in under an hour. Thirty-three years later not much has changed. Except this is the “Together Again” tour, and she will be performing with Ludacris and the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles.

Believe it or not, it has been twenty-five years since she introduced the term Velvet Rope into the vernacular, thirty-four years since she convinced us we are one “Rhythm Nation,” and over fifty years since she started performing with her family. Since then, it seems like it’s been a never-ending hit brigade. And now, she will be packing that all into Bowl June 10, which is apparently not big enough to handle her draw being it sold out within minutes. 

Though, assuming you are a Gen Xer, springing for exorbitant tickets is presumably easier now than it was when you were in college and missed her “All for You” and “Velvet Rope” tours. This is that chance you were hoping for all those years ago, when you said you’d catch her that next time. Well, it won’t be easy to see her. But, as Janet would tell you, “That’s the Way Love Goes.”

All proceeds from Hollywood Bowl Opening Night benefit the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its learning and community programs.

For more, click here.

Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival

• By Cynthia Lum
• Photo By LA Philharmonic

Summer’s biggest jazz party returns to the Hollywood Bowl for a two-day celebration of incredible music and fun times. Get on your cool, bring a picnic or opt for one of the Bowls great food offerings, hang out with other jazz heads, celebrate Father’s Day, and have a fantastic time! 

The LA Phil will present two days of exciting music at the Hollywood Bowl Jazz festival June 17-18. Saluting 43 years, the beloved festival will be co-crated by jazz titans Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington.

Herbie Hancock the LA Phil’s Creative Chair for jazz said, “I was thrilled when the LA Phil asked me to co-curate this festival with Kamasi and explore his extraordinary artistic vision. Our celebration this year includes so many artists—both emerging and established—at defining moments in their musical journeys. Together, we hope to create community and connection through the music we make and leave audiences feeling uplifted and inspired. It has been a joy to partner with Kamasi and the LA Phil, an organization committed to innovative jazz programming and nurturing our humanity through the arts.”

Celebrated funny man, and avid jazz fan, Arsenio Hall, will be back as host of this year’s festival bringing joy and laughter to the stage while introducing an artistically eclectic line up of performers including Kamasi Washington playing an excerpt from his original score to a new documentary BECOMING: an intimate portrait of Michelle Obama.

For the details and tickets, click here.

Tina – The Tina Turner Musical

• By J. Cook

The world has sadly just lost its Queen of Rock and Roll, the legendary Tina Turner. Scorching to the top of the charts from the moment she debuted with Ike Turner, (whom she literally grabbed the microphone from when he was on a break), she never looked back. It quickly changed to the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, which she then left behind for her own well-being, only to go on to win twelve Grammys and selling more concert tickets than any other solo performer in history. Hers is often claimed to be one of the greatest comebacks of all time. But really, Tina Turner never went anywhere. Even now that she is gone, we will always have her music and her voice. 

That music is now featured in TINA – The Tina Turner Musical is written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Katori Hall and directed by the internationally acclaimed Phyllida Lloyd. The show is a jukebox musical featuring the music of Tina Turner and depicting her life from her humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her transformation into a big star. It’s playing at the Pantages in Hollywood, June 13-July 9, 2023, and is a testament to Tina’s enduring spirit and the indelible mark she has left on the world of music.

For tickets, click here.

Bernadette Peters

• By Pamela Brode
• Photo Courtesy of Pasadena Playhouse

Star of stage, screen, and music, Bernadette Peters will dazzle audiences this month with her concert at the Pasadena Civic Center. The Queen of Broadway brings her spell bounding, one of a kind vocals, full force as she celebrates the music of the late great Stephen Sondheim. 

Throughout the years, Sondheim trusted Ms. Peters to bring many of his character to the fullest.  His incredible genius for pairing music, that delights the ear, with lyrics, that make you feel deeply, is custom made for the most talented voices and actresses that the great white way has ever seen.

Bernadette Peters has been entertaining audiences since she was three years old. At five her mother changed her name from Lazzara to Peters. She said it would fit better on the Marquee. Clearly destined for success, she went on to receive numerous accolades including three Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, three Emmy Awards, four Grammy Award nominations and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bernadette Peters will delight audiences with songs and characters she’s graced the stage with for decades. From some of the most iconic musicals of our time including Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Song and Dance, and Gypsy. Currently Ms. Peters is signed onto West Side Story opening in London’s West End this fall. Broadway lovers won’t want to miss this one. 

For tickets and more, click here.