There is so much going on this weekend that I’m worried these emails are getting too long.
As always, please let me know if you know of any cool events coming up so I can include them in the Mentions.
- Michael MacDonald
Here are some things to do this week:
FRIDAY 4/24:
🧺 2 Torched 2 Years Happy Hour Picnic
LA State Historic Park (across from HLP Brewery), Dogtown
3pm-6pm
Free, but consider subscribing
My friend Alissa Walker is celebrating the 2nd year of her amazing Torched newsletter covering the run-up to the 2028 LA Olympics with a group picnic.
🎶 Friday Night Moonlight Hike with IKSRE & Marine Eyes
Treepeople, Coldwater Canyon
6:30pm check in, 7pm music, 8pm hikes
$20 (tickets)
(music sample)
Bring layers and a camping chair. There are three levels of hikes after the music, so bring comfortable shoes for the guided walk.
📽️ Shaolin Soccer
Vidiots, Eagle Rock
7pm
$13 (tickets)
(trailer)
SATURDAY 4/25:
🎸 First Day Back
Lodge Room, Highland Park
7pm doors, 8pm show
$33 (tickets)
(music sample 1, 2)
First Day Back is a Santa Cruz-based emo revival/punk band that has become word-of-mouth sensation, that is, until Pitchfork ranked their self-released album as the 3rd best rock album of 2025, above Cameron Winter, Destroyer, Neko Case, and others. First Day Back also happens to be fronted by someone I’ve known since she was 14, Maggie Ineno, the daughter of my friends Phillip Ineno and Katie Bennett. They are playing a rare, non-house party show opening for 1990s-era emo band Everyone Asked About You, who is also great. As of when I’m writing this, there are a few tickets left but this will sell out soon. I’ll be there! All-ages show!
🎭 The Almighty Opp
NW corner of Western & Elmwood, Koreatown
9pm (show up early)
Free!
Uniquely oddball free street puppet show.
🎉 LA Forward Spring into Action Garden Party
Private residence
1pm-4pm
$150 contribution (tickets)
SATURDAY 4/25 & SUNDAY 4/26:
🖼️ Brewery Art Walk
The Brewery Artist Lofts, Lincoln Heights
11am-6pm each day
Free!
The former Pabst Blue Ribbon Brewery site is a pioneering example of post-industrial adaptive reuse that dates back to 1982. It opens its doors to visitors twice a year and this weekend is the Spring open house. Stop by to check out some art and grab a beer or meal at Barbara’s at the Brewery.
🍷 Byron Blatty Wines Closing
Byron Blatty Tasting Room, Highland Park
2pm-9pm Saturday, 2pm-6pm Sunday
You’ll pay for tastings & wine
Jenny & Matt Blatty’s winery opened a tasting room on York Blvd in 2024 and sadly, they have decided to close up shop. Last chance to pick up wine this weekend in what will surely be a festive atmosphere.
SUNDAY 4/26:
🚲 CicLAvia West LA
Santa Monica Blvd & Westwood Blvd, West LA & Westwood Village
9am-4pm
Free!
CicLAvia is back with their first event of the year! There will be a Nithya Raman group ride meeting at Stoner Park at 10am.
🎭 York Boulevard Road Concert
York Blvd from Adams Hill to the Arroyo Seco (map)
12pm-6pm
Free!
Longtime readers of this newsletter may remember that I plugged a “Rim of the World” art installation along Route 18 in the San Bernadino Mountains last year. The same artist who organized that event, Stephan van Dyck, is organizing a “public happening” closer to home with 40+ site-specific art installations and performances along York this Sunday.
🕊️ Curio Club LA: Experience the Elegance of Fancy Pigeons
Private Farm, Reseda
Sunday 4/26, 11:30am-1:30pm
$31 (tickets)
Curio Club LA returns to the event that kicked it all off with an excursion to visit the Reseda farm/residence of Drew Lobenstein and his unique “fancy pigeons.”
🧘 ONDO Somatic Sound Bath
Greenheart Yoga, Pasadena
5pm-6pm
$48 (tickets)
My friend Shane Aspegren is a musician who specializes in therapeutic sound baths and is hosting a class this weekend in Pasadena
🍻 Angel City’s Last Call
Angel City Brewery, DTLA Arts District
12pm-6pm
Free, plus beer & food (RSVP)
Another one bites the dust.
🏠 Bungalow Heaven Home Tour
Bungalow Heaven, Pasadena
10am-4pm
$28 (tickets)
🔭 Sunday Afternoon Concerts in the Dome
Mt. Wilson Observatory, Angeles National Forest
3pm-4:30pm
$100 (tickets)
🧘 Sunset Soundbath
Elysian Park Helipad
6pm-7:15pm
$15 (tickets)
🎶 Night of Solidarity For Iran
Scribble, Highland Park
7pm doors, 7:30pm show
Free!
MONDAY 4/27:
🐔 Happy Birthday Blinky
The Pop-Hop, Highland Park
6pm-9pm
Free!
Gallery blurb: “On April 27, 1978, [artist] Jeffrey Vallance went to the meat department of a Ralphs supermarket and examined the chickens in their plastic wrappings. He selected a particularly suitable specimen and named it Blinky. He then drove to the Los Angeles Pet Cemetery to bury her. The rest is (art) history.” Blinky celebrates their 48th birthday with a special art installation at The Pop Hop.
TUESDAY 4/28:
🍷 Psychic Salon
Mandarin Plaza, Chinatown
4pm-7pm
$15 for a bunch of wine
Psychic Wines of Silver Lake hosts an annual off-salon celebration after Oakland’s Brumaire natural wine fair and this year they are hosting it in Chinatown.
WEDNESDAY 4/29:
🖼️ Frame the Future!
The Ebell, Park Mile Wilshire
5pm doors, 6pm panel
$25 (tickets)
Exhibition and panel discusion of futuristic urban visions of Los Angeles organized by FORT.
🎤 Shabazz Palaces & Aceyalone
Lodge Room, Highland Park
7pm doors, 8pm show
$33 (tickets)
(music sample 1, 2)
UPCOMING:
🎶 SUSS at On Joy
Private Residence, Highland Park
Friday 5/1, 6:30pm-10:30pm
$20 (tickets)
(music sample)
🗳️ Give It Up For Glendale feat. Marc Maron & Tim Heidecker
Sid The Cat Auditorium, South Pasadena
Sunday 5/3, 7pm-12am
$35 (tickets)
Fundraiser for my friend and Glendale City Councilmember Dan Brotman.
🗳️ Wolves of Glendale Comedy Night
Lyric Hyperion, Silver Lake
Monday, 5/11, 6:30pm
$45 (tickets)
Fundraiser for my friend and Glendale City Council candidate Alek Bartrosouf.
