Though we are blessed with incredible weather year-round in LA, summertime is still something to celebrate. There are many opportunities to cherish these three months of no parking, tourists and bare midriffs: rooftop pool parties, music, film and food festivals, and, of course, plenty of free summer concerts.
This Saturday was the Pandora Summer Crush concert at L.A. Live featuring performances by Daya, Fergie and 5 Seconds of Summer. In case you were too busy checking off the other events from our things to do list, here is what you missed.
A chunk of L.A. Live was closed off to create a stage, VIP bar, DJ booth, a moon bounce with a wrecking ball and food tents for carb loading. The first to hit the stage was Daya, the 17-year-old singer of "Hide Away," her debut, platinum song. She sang that, a cover of James Bay's "Let It Go," and showed off her incredible vocals during her newest chart topper, "Don't Let Me Down."
Photograph: Courtesy Getty Images
Good thing there was no roof because Fergie would have blown it off. Despite the sound briefly cutting out, Fergie quickly turned Summer Crush into a tribute to the mid 2000s with songs like "Glamorous" and "Don't Phunk with My Heart" from her 2006 album and time with the the Black Eyed Peas. She also paid homage to hot moms with her newest single, "MILF $" but unfortunately we didn't see any of the celebrities from her music video on site. The final portion of her set was a nonstop party as she sang vocals during a DJ set to "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)" and songs from other artists like David Guetta's "Hey Mama" and Kanye West's "All of the Lights."
Photograph: Courtesy Getty Images
After the fog machine and Fergie's forecast that "tonight's gonna be a good night," all audience members above the age of 25 fled and made room for the hoards of teens awaiting Australian boy band, 5 Seconds of Summer. The quartet gave a whole new meaning to the name "summer crush" as numerous young girls were plucked from the crowd after being sardined when people moved toward the stage, some appeared to even need medical attention. But that didn't stop every lyric from being sung during the band's set that included singles "She's Kinda Hot" and “She Looks So Perfect.” It is not a true summer party without the giant beach balls, which were bouncing above the audience during the end of their set. What better way to end a show that commemorates our favorite and fleeting season with a band titled, 5 Seconds of Summer.
Photograph: Courtesy Nikki Nahai
Even if the artists aren’t in your personal Top 40, Pandora Summer Crush was a free concert with some very exciting and energetic performances. The Pandora team was attentive to the needs of the crowd by giving out free water and assisting those that were “summer crushed.” There were even free chocolate chip cookies being passed out courtesy of Quiznos, which—in our minds—made it a mighty fine way to spend a Saturday evening.
Photograph: Courtesy Getty Images