Los Angeles culture this week: five picks for May 20 to May 27, 2026
Five cultural picks in Los Angeles this week, May 20 to May 27. Gallery openings, theater, food events, museum late hours, the occasional sports night. The picks below are ranked by what would make a good story to tell tomorrow.
The full live map is on the Los Angeles map. This piece is the editor's cut.
Five cultural picks for the week
Drugdealer
Drugdealer at The Fonda on Friday 9pm, free door for the listed, Goldenvoice presents. Michael Collins's project has been one of the more interesting LA studio acts of the last decade, the records draw from late-sixties Laurel Canyon without curdling into pastiche. The Fonda is the right room for this kind of band, big enough to handle the bigger arrangements, small enough that the vocal stays the centre. Friday late start. The lineup rotates more than the studio credits suggest.
Josiah and the Bonnevilles
Josiah and the Bonnevilles at The Fonda on Thursday 8:30pm, free at the door for the listed, Goldenvoice presents. Josiah Leming's Americana project has built a slow, patient audience the last few years and the live shows have grown into the bigger rooms gracefully. The Fonda balcony sound is the move for this kind of material. Bring a drink and stay for the encores. The Thursday-night Fonda crowd tends to be more attentive than the weekend bookings.
Yungblud
Yungblud at the Greek on Friday 8pm, free at the door for the listed. Dom Harrison's project has grown into the proper amphitheatre format with the kind of pop-rock arrangements that translate cleanly across the lawn. The Greek under stage lights at sunset is one of the better LA concert settings going. Bring a jacket, the hill cools down hard once the sun drops. Friday holiday-weekend crowd. Expect production. The video screens earn their keep on the upper rows.
Russell Dickerson
Russell Dickerson at the Greek on Wednesday 7:30pm, free door for the listed. The Tennessee country artist has been touring this material hard for two years now and the band has tightened around the songs the way the radio cuts always promised. The Greek crowd for a midweek country show pulls a more curious audience than the festival circuits, which suits the slower material. Bring a chair if you're going for the lawn seating. Sunset hits around 7:45.
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