The summer 2023 season for the Hollywood Bowl will kick off in June with an opening night concert pairing Janet Jackson with Ludacris and continue with shows by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Maxwell, My Morning Jacket, Sparks, the Beach Boys, Louis Tomlinson, Diana Krall, Maggie Rogers and many others, it was announced Tuesday by theLos Angeles PhilharmonicAssociation.
The most anticipated three-night stand of the year may well be the return of the not-so-retiring John Williams. The 90-year-old maestro will share conducting duties with Gustavo Dudamel as they oversee the Phil in playing along with classic film clips July 7-9.
Another 90-year-old, Quincy Jones, will get an all-star birthday salute. Other tribute subjects include the late Stephen Sondheim, Duke Ellington and nearly a century’s worth of music for Disney animation.
Films to be screened with live orchestral accompaniment include entries from standby franchises like the “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” films, along with a movie that has not gotten the Bowl’s symphonic treatment before, Stanley Kubrick’s “2001.” Also on the cinematic side, Joe Hisaishi, a composer and conductor long associated with Studio Ghibli, will conduct the LA Phil on his own “Princess Mononoke” suite as well as the music of Debussy.
The venue’s June signature event, the Playboy Jazz Festival, will feature the Grammys’ newly coronated best new artist, Samara Joy, along with a huge cast that includes Leon Bridges, St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Digable Planets, Poncho Sanchez and Big Freedia, with Herbie Hancock and Kamasi Washington signed on as co-curators.
LA Phil music & artistic director Gustavo Dudamel will be as busy as ever as the Bowl hosts more than 20 classical music programs. Guest conductors leading the LA Phil will include Leonard Slatkin, Stéphane Denève, Jonathon Heyward, Karen Kamensek, Nicholas McGegan and Gemma New. Among the many celebrated musicians making guest turns are violinists Jonathan Cole and Clara-Jumi Kang and pianists Yunchan Lim, Hélène Grimaud and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. A classical/bluegrass crossover artist, mandolinist Chris Thile, will perform as part of a concerto/narrative song cycle that was commissioned by the LA Phil and will have its west coast premiere at the Bowl.
Back on the pop side, the summer schedule is packed with double-bills: Sparks with They Might Be Giants; My Morning Jacket with Fleet Foxes; Maggie Rogers with Alvvays; blues legend Buddy Guy with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram; Air Supply with Michael Bolton; and Kool & the Gang with the Village People.
Other concert attractions include Culture Club, Gladys Knight, Carla Morrison, Jill Scott, Charlie Wilson, Joe Bonamassa, Herbie Hancock and Jacob Collier, the latter playing with the Phil.
While annual traditions like the sing-along “Sound of Music” endure, the Bowl adds a new wrinkle with a collection of video game music, “The Game Awards 10-Year Celebration,” performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
The annual Independence Day fireworks shows will be headlined by the Beach Boys playing with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, July 2-4. The fireworks finale rounding out the season will feature Maxwell on Sept. 8-10.
Said Dudamel in a statement, “As we look to the next hundred years at the Hollywood Bowl, I am honored and excited to share a season which, to me, speaks of a beautiful future ahead. From timeless music by Mendelssohn, de Falla and Verdi, to modern-day classics by John Williams and Duke Ellington, to the soul-filling sounds of our Pan-American Music Initiative, to the singular energy of Café Tacvba, each of these programs takes us on the kind of magic journey that can only begin at the Bowl.”
The lineup revealed by the Philharmonic Association does not include rental shows produced by outside companies, some of which have already been announced, with many more to follow. Those non-Phil shows begin earlier in the spring and continue after the Bowl’s own three-month June-to-September season.
Tickets for three concerts are on sale as of today — Louis Tomlinson, Jill Scott and King Gizzard — as are subscription renewals, new subscriptions and group sales. “Create Your Own” packages become available March 14. The Bowl’s box office will open for single-ticket sales May 2. Additional information can be found here.
The full lineup of shows is below, with artists who are appearing on the Bowl stage for the first time marked in bold by the Philharmonic Association.
Venue debut marked *JUNE
Janet Jackson: Together Again
Opening Night at the Bowl
With special guest Ludacris *
Saturday, June 10, 8PM
Janet Jackson
Ludacris
Musicians of YOLA conducted by Thomas Wilkins
All proceeds from Hollywood Bowl Opening Night benefit the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its Learning and community programs.
Hollywood Bowl Jazz FestivalSaturday, June 17, 3:30PM
Sunday, June 18, 3:30PM
Arsenio Hall, host
Kamasi Washington
Leon Bridges
West Coast Get Down * (additional special guests to be announced)
St. Paul and The Broken Bones
Digable Planets *
Poncho Sanchez
Aziza
The Soul Rebels with Big Freedia
Samara Joy *
Lionel Loueke and Gretchen Parlato
Boukman Eksperyans *
Butcher Brown *
Andrew Gouché and Prayze Connection *
The Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance Ensemble at UCLA
The Cardinal Divas of SC *
LACHSA Jazz
LAUSD / Beyond the Bell All-City Jazz Big Band
Additional names to be announced
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard *
Wednesday, June 21, 7:30PM
Jill ScottThursday, June 22, 8PM
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ Part 2 in Concert
Saturday, June 24, 8PM
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
The Game Awards 10-Year Celebration
Sunday, June 25, 7PM
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
TBA, conductor
Louis Tomlinson *
Friday, June 30, 7PM
JULY
July 4th Fireworks Spectacular with The Beach Boys
Sunday, July 2, 7:30PM
Monday, July 3, 7:30PM
Tuesday, July 4, 7:30PM
The Beach Boys
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Dudamel
Thursday, July 6, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Javier Perianes, piano
Alberto Arvelo, director
Elena Villalón, soprano
Zoie Reams, mezzo-soprano
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Artistic Director
Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
DE FALLA Nights in the Gardens of Spain
MENDELSSOHN A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Maestro of the Movies: John Williams with the LA Phil
Friday, July 7, 8PMSaturday, July 8, 8PMSunday, July 9, 7:30PMLos Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
John Williams, conductor
Dudamel conducts Verdi’s Requiem
Tuesday, July 11, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Angel Blue, soprano
Rihab Chaieb, mezzo-soprano
Mario Chang, tenor
Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Artistic Director
Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
VERDI Requiem
Charlie Wilson
En Vogue
Wednesday, July 12, 8PM
An Ellington Celebration
Thursday, July 13, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Kool & The Gang
Village People
Friday, July 14, 8PM
Saturday, July 15, 8PM
Sparks *
They Might Be Giants *
Sunday, July 16, 7:30PM
Estancia with Dudamel
Tuesday, July 18, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Pacho Flores, trumpet
Gustavo Castillo, baritone
Grupo Corpo *
Pan-American Music Initiative
Francisco CORTÉS-ÁLVAREZ La Serpiente de Colores (LA Phil commission)
Arturo MÁRQUEZ Concierto de Otoño
GINASTERA Estancia
Diana Krall
Wednesday, July 19, 8PM
Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky with Dudamel
Thursday, July 20, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Alisa Weilerstein, cello
PROKOFIEV Classical Symphony
TCHAIKOVSKY Variations on a Rococo Theme
PROKOFIEV Selections from Romeo and Juliet
Café Tacvba with the LA Phil
Friday, July 21, 8PM
Saturday, July 22, 8PM
Café Tacvba
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Reggae Night XXI
Sunday, July 23, 7PM
KCRW Festival
Beres Hammond
Steel Pulse
Third World
Rhapsody in Blue
Tuesday, July 25, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Leonard Slatkin, conductor
Makoto Ozone, piano
Cindy McTEE Timepiece
GERSHWIN Rhapsody in Blue
DVOŘÁK Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
Pictures at an Exhibition
Thursday, July 27, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Stéphane Denève, conductor
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
John WILLIAMS The Book Thief
Billy CHILDS Violin Concerto No. 2MUSSORGSKY (arr. Ravel) Pictures at an Exhibition
Quincy Jones’ 90th-Birthday Tribute: A Musical Celebration
Friday, July 28, 8PM
Saturday, July 29, 8PM
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Jules Buckley *, conductor
Special guests to be announced
Everybody Rise!
A Sondheim Celebration
Sunday, July 30, 7:30PM
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Kevin Stites, conductor
AUGUST
All-Rachmaninoff
Tuesday, August 1, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Shiyeon Sung, conductor
Yunchan Lim *, piano
RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
RACHMANINOFF Symphonic Dances
A Live Presentation of 2001: A Space Odyssey
Thursday, August 3, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Caleb Young, conductor
Los Angeles Master Chorale
Grant Gershon, Artistic Director
Jenny Wong, Associate Artistic Director
2001: A Space Odyssey
Walt Disney Animation Studio: The Concert
Friday, August 4, 8PM
Saturday, August 5, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Portugal. The Man * • Chicano Batman * • Say She She *
Sunday, August 6, 7PM
KCRW Festival
Elgar and Beethoven
Tuesday, August 8, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Ryan Bancroft *, conductor
Hélène Grimaud, piano
Caroline SHAW Entr’acte
BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4
ELGAR Enigma Variations
Joe Bonamassa with orchestra *
Wednesday, August 9, 8PM
Sibelius and Grieg
Thursday, August 10, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Tarmo Peltokoski, conductor
Anton Mejias, piano
Kaija SAARIAHO Ciel d’hiver
GRIEG Piano Concerto
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
Rubén Blades
& Roberto Delgado Big Band
Salswing Tour!
Friday, August 11, 8PM
Carla Morrison *
Saturday, August 12, 8PM
Maggie Rogers *
Alvvays
Sunday, August 13, 7PMKCRW Festival
Symphonie fantastique
Tuesday, August 15, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Jonathon Heyward, conductor
Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano
BOULANGER D’un matin de printemps
RAVEL Piano Concerto in G
BERLIOZ Symphonie fantastique
Gladys Knight
Wednesday, August 16, 8PM
Shostakovich and Dvořák
Thursday, August 17, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Anna Rakitina, conductor
Sterling Elliott, cello
DVOŘÁK Cello Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5
Tchaikovsky Spectacular
Friday, August 18, 8PM
Saturday, August 19, 8PM
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, conductor
Bruce Liu *, piano
USC Trojan Marching Band
TCHAIKOVSKY Waltz from Swan Lake (Act I, No. 2)
TCHAIKOVSKY Piano Concerto No. 1
TCHAIKOVSKY Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture
TCHAIKOVSKY 1812 Overture
My Morning Jacket * • Fleet Foxes
Sunday, August 20, 7PM
KCRW Festival
Chris Thile and Appalachian Spring
Tuesday, August 22, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Teddy Abrams, conductor
Chris Thile *, mandolin
Jonathan Bailey HOLLAND new work (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
Chris THILE Mandolin Concerto (West Coast premiere, LA Phil commission)
COPLAND Appalachian Spring Suite
Herbie Hancock
Wednesday, August 23, 8PM
Joe Hisaishi * and La mer
Thursday, August 24, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Joe Hisaishi, conductor
Joe HISAISHI Symphonic Variation “Merry-Go-Round” from Howl’s Moving Castle
Joe HISAISHI Saka no Ue no Kumo (Clouds Above the Slope)
Joe HISAISHI Princess Mononoke Suite
Joe HISAISHI DA•MA•SHI•E
DEBUSSY La mer
Culture Club
Friday, August 25, 8PM
Saturday, August 26, 8PM
Smooth Summer Jazz
Dave Koz and Friends
Sunday, August 27, 6:30PM
Dave Koz
With special guests Candy Dulfer, Eric Darius
Morris Day & The Time
Beethoven at the Bowl
Tuesday, August 29, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Simone Menezes, conductor
Clara-Jumi Kang *, violin
BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”
The Four Seasons
Thursday, August 31, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Gemma New, conductor
Nathan Cole, violin
Jessie MonTGOMERY Shift, Change, Turn
TCHAIKOVSKY (orch. GAUK) Selections from The Seasons, Op. 37
VIVALDI The Four Seasons
SEPTEMBER
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert
Friday, September 1, 8PM
Saturday, September 2, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
David Newman, conductor
Air Supply * • Michael Bolton
Sunday, September 3, 7:30PM
Mozart Under the Stars
Tuesday, September 5, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Bomsori Kim *, violin
MOZART Don Giovanni Overture
MOZART Violin Concerto No. 5, “Turkish”
MOZART Symphony No. 38, “Prague”
Buddy Guy
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram *
Wednesday, September 6, 8PM
Bach and Mendelssohn
Thursday, September 7, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Masaaki Suzuki, conductor
Martin Chalifour, violin
BACH Orchestral Suite No. 3
BACH Violin Concerto in E Major
MENDELSSOHN Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
Fireworks Finale: Maxwell
Friday, September 8, 8PM
Saturday, September 9, 8PM
Sunday, September 10, 7:30PM
The Planets
Tuesday, September 12, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Karen Kamensek, conductor
Anne Akiko Meyers, violin
Pacific Chorale
Robert Istad, Artistic Director
Adam SCHOENBERG Cool Cat (world premiere, LA Phil commission)
Philip GLASS Violin Concerto No. 1
HOLST The Planets
Jacob Collier with the LA Phil
Wednesday, September 13, 8PM
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Thomas Wilkins, conductor
Sing-A-Long Sound of Music
Saturday, September 16, 6PM Pre-show; 7:30PM film
Melissa Peterman, host
Artists to be announced
Sunday, September 17, 7PM
KCRW Festival
Promises
featuring Floating Points * with Shabaka Hutchings * and more
Wednesday, September 20, 8PM
Los Auténticos Decadentes *
More artists to be announced
Sunday, September 24, 7PM
KCRW Festival
