On Aug. 21, the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles presented “Sure on this Shining Night,” an evening of classical and contemporary music from Giuseppe Verdi to Morten Lauridsen to Lady Gaga.  Joining the massive group was a new entity, the GMCLA Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) Choir, and with it powerhouse young voices from nearby [...]

I imagine the artists who had the Hollywood Bowl stomping and shaking on Aug. 18 were booked well before April 20, when an explosion aboard BP’s Deepwater Horizon precipitated the unthinkable. But Wednesday’s lineup of New Orleans music legends — the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the Neville Brothers — [...]

Mindshare LA feels like a new experience made from a number of familiar ones.  On its website, the event calls itself an evening of “enlightened debauchery,” and it promises “intellectual stimulation in a club-like atmosphere.” Doug Campbell, co-founder (with Adam Mefford) and MC for the July 15 event, likened the evening to having one’s brain [...]

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s 2010 Hollywood Bowl Jazz series begins Wednesday, July 7, at 8 p.m. Here are the details of that concert and the series lineup from the LA Phil’s press release:
Wednesday’s concert features a compelling mix of African beats, dance and jazz. Nigerian Afrobeat superstar Femi Kuti returns with his explosive rhythms and [...]

World-class guitar virtuoso solo artist, composer and arranger Laurence Juber, who is also the former lead guitarist for Paul McCartney’s Wings, will perform in Culver City on Saturday, June 12. It’s amazing what Juber can do with just a guitar onstage, and it’s no surprise he was voted #1 by Fingerstyle Guitar magazine. Read more [...]

You might have heard about a new documentary called “The Art of the Steal: The Untold Story of the Barnes Collection.” Director Don Argott makes the case that it’s a crime to move the $25 billion collection of impressionist, post-impressionist and modern art amassed by Albert C. Barnes from its present home in a Philadelphia [...]

It’s The Hurt Locker vs. Avatar for Best Picture this year, a true David and Goliath Oscar battle. I’m rooting for the underdog.
I saw the low-budget The Hurt Locker long before the mega-million-dollar 3D IMAX film, and when I left the theater I couldn’t imagine any other film being my Best Picture pick. I was [...]

When David Longstreth heard his music Saturday night (Feb. 27) at Walt Disney Concert Hall, his body reacted.  Deft toe tapping and a kind of rhythmic saunter embodied the swells and trills of The Getty Address, played in its entirety with the small orchestra of Alarm Will Sound.  The operatic and genre-dissolving 2005 album would [...]

On Thursday night at Theatre Theater near Mid-City, Rogue Machine Theatre presented its eighth monthly “Rant & Rave,” self-described as “An Ongoing Art Project Where Prose Finds Voice.”  In the timeless form of nonfiction first-person prose, eight men and women waxed narrative around this month’s topic – yes, February’s – love.
But this was far from [...]

We are reprinting information from the Santa Monica Museum of Art and Union Station Homeless Services about how you can help the homeless this holiday season, starting with food drives this weekend.
Santa Monica Museum of Art
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, join SMMoA for a food drive and Cause for Creativity workshop to benefit the individuals [...]