Each winter, similar to the announcement of Oscar nominations, I await the unveiling of the summer Hollywood Bowl lineup with just as much—if not more—excitement. As an L.A. native, the Bowl has been a centerpiece of my summers since I was a kid. So hearing who’s going to be performing each year sets the stage for the season and gets me excited for warm nights with unparalleled music and picnicking.
Several lease events have already been announced in recent weeks (they’re still Bowl shows—the only difference for you as a concertgoer is that you can’t BYOB or wine to these shows). But for over 100 years, the Hollywood Bowl has been the summer home of the LA Phil, and it just unveiled its full schedule of shows yesterday.
The lineup doesn’t disappoint. As ever, there’s truly something for everyone. The 2025 lineup boasts Hollywood and Broadway A-listers, classical music, pop, rock, blues, hip-hop, jazz, soundtracks and more. Let me take you through some highlights.
Off the bat, one intriguing entry that’s particularly exciting is We ❤️ LA, a free concert for “wildfire first responders and impacted community members.” The night’s lineup has yet to be announced, but expect an uplifting evening of love for Angelenos and the city, with Gustavo Dudamel conducting.
Speaking of Dudamel, you’re going to want to make it a priority to catch at least one of his shows this year. The beloved LA Phil music and artistic director is decamping for New York at the end of the 2025/26 season, so this will mark his penultimate summer at the Bowl. He’ll be conducting eight performances with the LA Phil and Venezuela’s Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra in August.
Headlining Opening Night—one of the season’s biggest events—this year is none other than Hugh Jackman. The Wolverine actor will be performing songs from The Greatest Showman, The Music Man and more, accompanied by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra conducted by Thomas Wilkins.
Fellow film A-lister and Broadway star Cynthia Erivo will also be taking the stage—but not to belt out “Defying Gravity” or any other Wicked tracks. In an inspired bit of casting, the Oscar nominee will perform the titular role in the Bowl’s annual musical, which this year is Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Expect a suitably star-studded supporting cast to be announced closer to the show.
As always, cinema is well represented in the lineup, which makes sense—it is the Hollywood Bowl, after all. John Williams’s music in particular will be shown some love. There are three Maestro of the Movies concerts on the calendar, though the 93-year-old film composer himself isn’t listed on the lineup. Instead, David Newman will conduct the LA Phil as they play a selection of Williams’s biggest hits set to film clips—the hundreds of lightsabers lighting up the amphitheater are always an impressive sight. Quintessential summer blockbusters Jaws (with Newman conducting) and Jurassic Park (led by Dudamel himself) will get their own screenings, with their scores played live to film.
Fellow Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat gets his own night in the spotlight as well. He’ll conduct the LA Phil as they perform selections from The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Shape of Water (both of which earned Desplat Oscars), both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Argo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and more. And rounding out the filmic offerings is an annual tradition: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long.
Another annual tradition is back, but with a new partner this year: The Blue Note Jazz Festival (formerly the Playboy Jazz Festival, then the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival) is named for New York’s Blue Note Jazz Club, which is scheduled to open an L.A. jazz club this March. At the two-day festival, Grace Jones, The Isley Brothers, WILLOW, De La Soul and many more will take the stage for a weekend full of top-tier jazz.
And what’s a Bowl season without some razzle-dazzle? Despite the recent wildfires (the Bowl itself had to be evacuated during the Sunset Fire), there are still the classic firework shows on the calendar, including the three-night July Fourth Fireworks Spectacular (which Earth, Wind & Fire is headlining this year), the two-night Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks and the three-night Fireworks Finale with Chicago.
I could keep waxing lyrical about the lineup (Air! Alabama Shakes! Diana Ross! Josh Groban!), but here’s what you really need to know: how to get tickets. While lease events are already on sale, the LA Phil–produced shows don’t go on sale until May 6 at 10am. There are certain exceptions: Tickets for the Roots Picnic Experience tickets are already on sale; Opening Night with Hugh Jackman tickets go on sale tomorrow, February 20, at 10am; Alabama Shakes tickets go on sale February 28 at 10am; and Blue Note Jazz Festival tickets are available starting March 4 at 10am. And, as always, subscribers who purchase a ticket package for a series of concerts get first pick. Another option is to create your own package starting March 25, meaning you can pick three or more concerts that you’re interested in, get early access to tickets and save on fees.
To help you decide, you can find the complete calendar on the Hollywood Bowl website, but below is a list of some standouts.
30 shows in the Hollywood Bowl’s 2025 season lineup we’re most excited about
April
We ❤️ LA
Tue, April 1
June
Opening Night at the Bowl: An Evening with Hugh Jackman
Sat, June 7
A Roots Picnic Experience: The Class of ’95, featuring the Roots, Lil’ Kim, Redman & Method Man, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and more
Sun, June 8
Blue Note Jazz Festival
Sat–Sun, June 14–15
Rhiannon Giddens: American Tunes
Wed, June 18
KCRW Festival: Wizkid with Color of Noize Orchestra
Sun, June 22
July
July Fourth Fireworks Spectacular with Earth, Wind & Fire
Wed–Fri, July 2–4
Jaws in Concert with the LA Phil
Sat, July 5
Classical Pride
Thu, July 10
Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony: Celebrating Bugs Bunny’s 85th Anniversary!
Fri–Sat, July 11–12
The Cinematic Scores of Alexandre Desplat
Tue, July 15
KCRW Festival: SiR
Sun, July 20
Diana Ross
Fri–Sat, July 25–26
I Want My ’80s, featuring Rick Springfield, John Waite, Wang Chung, Paul Young
Sun, July 27
August
Cynthia Erivo in Jesus Christ Superstar
Fri–Sun, Aug 1–3
Jurassic Park Live in Concert
Fri–Sat, Aug 8–9
KCRW Festival: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Sun, Aug 10
Alabama Shakes with Shannon and the Clams
Wed, Aug 13
Los Aguilar, the Bolívars & Gustavo Dudamel
Fri–Sat, Aug 15–16
KCRW Festival: Reggae Night XXIII featuring Damian Marley and Stephen Marley
Sun, Aug 17
Herbie Hancock
Wed, Aug 20
Maestro of the Movies: Celebrating the Music of John Williams
Fri–Sun, Aug 22–24
Sarabande africaine featuring Angelique Kidjo & Yo-Yo Ma
Thu, Aug 28
Cyndi Lauper: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour
Fri–Sat, Aug 29–30
September
Josh Groban with the LA Phil
Fri–Sat, Sept 5–6
Black Movie Soundtrack V, featuring host Craig Robinson
Wed, Sept 10
Fireworks Finale: Chicago
Fri–Sun, Sept 12–14
KCRW Festival: Air with Orchestra
Sun, Sept 21
Big Thief
Sat, Sept 27
John Legend
Sun, Sept 28
Plus, here are five lease events taking place before Opening Night that we can’t wait to see (expect new concerts to be announced throughout the season, too):
Phish
Fri–Sun, April 25–27
Halsey with Evanescence and the Warning
Wed, May 14
Outlaw Music Festival, featuring Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Billy Strings and Sierra Hull
Fri, May 16
Ricky Gervais
Sat, May 31
Leon Bridges with Charley Crockett
Thu, June 5