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Ready to have an awesome week in L.A.? Let’s get you off on the right foot.
Lined up for this April 6-10 you’ll find a listening party at L.A. Louver, lunchtime concerts at the Colburn, special events for Los Angeles Climate Week, Fruiting Bodies at Oxy Arts, Boots & Brews at Ivy Station, a VHS Workout Class at the Skunk Room, and more.
Things To Do This Week
M = Less than .5 miles from an L.A. Metro Station, FA = Free Admission, TP = Top Pick
Speaking / Listening / Playing: An Evening with Alison Saar – FA > On Monday evening, join celebrated artist Alison Saar at L.A. Louver for an intimate artist talk and listening party centered on her latest installation, Meet Me at the Crossroads: Ruby’s Soul Service Station. The program offers a unique window into Saar’s multidisciplinary practice, which often weaves together African American folklore, contemporary social issues, and spiritual tradition. Following the discussion, the gallery will host a social listening party and a friendly game of dominoes. Starts at 6 p.m. More info here.
Synth Club at Common Space – FA > Every first Monday of the month, the LA Synth Club hosts a monthly meet-up and jam session at Common Space Brewery in Hawthorne. Musicians are invited to bring their favorite synthesizers, drum machines, or any other electronic instruments to experiment / jam with. Runs 6 to 10 p.m. More info here.
Concerts at Colburn: Lunchtime Series – FA > Take a musical intermission during your workday with Concerts at Colburn, a free outdoor performance series held every Tuesday on the Colburn School Plaza starting April 7. These one-hour midday concerts offer a perfect screen-break for office workers or a casual outing for families. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own lunch or grab a meal from nearby eateries to enjoy during the show. Concerts will run through May 5. More info here.
Los Angeles Climate Week – FA > Beginning this Wednesday, Los Angeles Climate Week brings eight days of community-led events, creativity, and action to the city, uniting voices across industries and neighborhoods around a shared vision for an equitable climate future. The packed slate of events includes special workshops, planting tutorials, meet-ups, and guided walks. Get more info on all the programming here.
Caroline Jones at the Troubadour (SPECIAL OFFER) -> Country artist Caroline Jones (the first & only female member of the Zac Brown Band) pops up in Los Angeles this Wednesday with a live concert at the Troubadour as part of her Good Omens Tour. We Like L.A. readers can take advantage of a special offer: There are a handful of limited guest spots available, all you have to do is add your name to this Google Form to request your complimentary ticket(s) and you’ll be notified if confirmed. Event starts at 7 p.m. More info here.
Fruiting Bodies: Speculative Sound & Story Workshop – FA > This Thursday, explore the intersection of mycology, memory, and music at Oxy Arts during Fruiting Bodies. This immersive evening features sound artist Umi Hsu, who combines oral history and biomaterials to explore “trans temporality” and worldmaking. The event centers on a performance lecture where Hsu utilizes a custom-built living fungi synthesizer to translate the biological signals of mushrooms into sound. Participants will engage in concept-based activities that use mycelium as a metaphor for composting our life experiences to build new futures. The program starts at 7 p.m. and is free to attend. More info here.
Laugh Garden – FA > Enjoy a night of comedy under the stars at Laugh Garden, a weekly outdoor stand-up series held at the Fountain Community Gardens in Easy Hollywood. Hosted by Matt Curry and Jeff Dean, this curated showcase features a rotating lineup of national headliners and rising stars seen on Netflix, Comedy Central, and HBO. The event offers a relaxed, grassroots atmosphere in one of Hollywood’s hidden green spaces. Address is at 5620 Fountain Ave. Bring your own beverages and snacks. Starts at 7:30 p.m. Free to attend, but donations encouraged. More info here.
Boots & Brews at Ivy Station – FA M > This Friday, saddle up for a coastal country-themed evening for the April edition of the Ivy Station Night Market. “Boots & Brews” transforms the Ivy Station plaza into a lively western-inspired festival activation featuring a mechanical bull, line-dancing vibes, and over 30 local artisan vendors. Guests can “sip and shop” with craft beers from Los Angeles Ale Works or grab dinner from a variety of visiting food trucks and on-site restaurants. Runs 5 to 10 p.m. Free to attend. More info here.
VHS Workout Class – TP > Dust off your leg warmers for a beginner-friendly retro exercise session led by Liv at the Elysian Theater’s Skunk Room this Friday afternoon. This nostalgic “goofy routine” features a medley of fitness programs played straight from VHS, including Jody Watley: Dance to Fitness, David Gray’s Dance Fever, and the legendary Richard Simmons. Participants are encouraged to fully lean into the theme with 80s workout attire. And yes, there will be a costume contest! Workout starts at 2 p.m. $15 gets you in the class. More info here.
Selena Night at Benny Boy – FA > Celebrate the Queen of Tejano at Benny Boy Brewing this Friday with an evening of music, nostalgia, and community. This inaugural tribute features a live performance by Nira, who will bring Selena’s greatest hits to life alongside a full band. The event transforms the brewery into a festive space with themed activities, specialized crafts, and plenty of space on the dance floor to “party like it’s 1995.” It all runs from 8 to 11 p.m. 21+ only. More info here.
Dining & Drinking
(picks by Christina Champlin)
The Parker House rolls arrive first, golden and barely holding their shape, glossed with cultured butter and dusted with bee pollen, and somewhere between that first pull and the last crumb you understand exactly what kind of place you’re eating at. Not a restaurant trying to impress you. A restaurant trying to nourish you in the deepest sense of the word. That’s Rustic Canyon.
For twenty years, this Santa Monica corner spot has been quietly building one of the most intentional kitchens in Los Angeles. The hyper-seasonal menu answers only to what Southern California’s farms have to offer on any given week, and the zero waste philosophy runs so deep it stops feeling like a philosophy and starts feeling like a reflex.
Whey becomes milk punch. Kitchen scraps become fermented honeys and infusions. The bar borrows from the larder, the kitchen borrows from the bar, and nothing is wasted because nothing is taken for granted. Regier Farms peaches arrive with whole grain mustard, white cheddar and duck fat, a combination so counterintuitive it borders on argumentative until it doesn’t, until it’s the only thing that makes sense. The chicken liver mousse, silky and rich against the brightness of apricot and fruit toast, is the kind of dish that reminds you what classical technique in confident hands actually feels like. The duck neck sausage paired with Cuyama Farms apples and marrowfat peas is a quiet masterclass in whole animal cooking, gamey and grounding, the tartness of the apple cutting through just enough to keep you reaching for another bite. The Peads and Barnetts pork chop, finished with JJ’s Lone Daughter Ranch figs and Coleman Farms purslane, is the kind of main course you eat slowly, not because you’re being precious about it, but because you’re not ready for it to be over.
Twenty years of this. The room warm, the sourcing impeccable, the cooking alive with the kind of curiosity that doesn’t age. Rustic Canyon isn’t a monument to what L.A. dining was. It’s still actively, stubbornly, beautifully part of what it is. If you’ve never been, I strongly endorse giving it a look.
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