LA by Night: Jazz, Art Walks, Aquariums & Sound Baths
- GSS Staff
- Oct 9
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 16
Los Angeles is known for its sunshine, but the city’s nights have their own rituals. When the day slows, Angelenos gather in museums, plazas, gardens, and even aquariums for experiences that balance culture with well-being.
From candlelit concerts and communal dance to immersive light walks and sound baths, LA by night offers more than entertainment — it’s where the city resets.
On Friday evenings from April through November, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art turns its Smidt Welcome Plaza into an outdoor concert hall. The Jazz at LACMA series is free, family-friendly, and deeply woven into the city’s cultural life. With Chris Burden’s Urban Light installation glowing nearby, these evenings are equal parts art, music, and community wind-down.
Every summer, Jerry Moss Plaza at the Music Center fills with thousands of Angelenos for Dance DTLA. Each Friday night spotlights a different style — Bollywood, salsa, disco, cumbia — with instructors leading the crowd through simple steps before the open dance floor begins. It’s movement as medicine: a free, communal ritual under the stars.
Evening concerts at Walt Disney Concert Hall pair music with space: Frank Gehry’s iconic curves, acoustic perfection, and programs ranging from Mahler to experimental premieres. On select nights, visitors can also join Drinks in the Garden pre-concert gatherings. The ritual here isn’t just the music — it’s the collective hush when the lights dim and the orchestra begins.
DTLA ArtNight is a cultural gathering & art walk, organized monthly on first Thursdays, where over 30 galleries and businesses collaborate on a wide array of art and activations. It’s an urban reset: exploring creativity at your own pace, surrounded by community.
In Long Beach, the Aquarium of the Pacific hosts Night Dive — after-hours evenings where exhibits stay open, music fills the halls, and the lighting shifts to evoke the ocean at night. The event is 18+ only, blending culture, science, and ambience. It’s nightlife, reimagined with sea turtles and jellyfish as companions.
Every Fall, Astro Lumina transforms the South Coast Botanic Garden into a glowing nightwalk. Light projections, soundscapes, and installations guide visitors through an immersive journey that feels meditative as much as entertaining. Families, couples, and solo wanderers alike treat it as a slow stroll — a mindful ritual with the stars overhead and the garden aglow.
Tucked into East Hollywood, The Soundbath Center offers one of the city’s most consistent schedules of evening sound baths — sessions where crystal bowls, gongs, and chimes create vibrations designed to calm the nervous system. Recognized by the LA Times as one of the best in the city, it’s both accessible and transportive: a modern ritual of sound and stillness.
Los Angeles’ Candlelight series transforms historic venues into glowing sanctuaries of music. Performances range from classical quartets to film scores and tributes to artists like Adele or Joe Hisaishi, all set against a stage bathed in hundreds of flickering LED candles. Venues include Zipper Concert Hall downtown and Immanuel Presbyterian in Koreatown, turning each concert into a ritual of light and sound. More than entertainment, these evenings offer a collective pause — a chance to slow down, listen deeply, and let music become meditation.
