Downtown Los Angeles has a free outdoor performing-arts season that has been running since the mid-1980s and that a surprising number of people who live twenty minutes away have never been to. Grand Performances programmes music, dance and theatre from around the world into a sunken plaza on Bunker Hill, across a summer season, at no charge to anyone who turns up.
The plaza fills from the front and the good spots go long before the first note, so when you arrive matters more than what is on. Ask Karpo what is scheduled on Bunker Hill and how early to get there.
What the series is
It is a non-profit programme rather than a venue's own listings, founded on the idea that the public spaces of downtown should have public programming in them. The result is a season built around artists who would not otherwise share a bill: West African bands, Latin American songwriters, contemporary dance companies, jazz, experimental work and community collaborations.
The programming is genuinely international and genuinely uncompromising, which is the part that surprises people expecting free-concert filler. This is not a covers-band-in-a-park series. Acts booked here have played major festivals, and the reason they are free is a funding model rather than a reflection of the bill.
The Watercourt
The setting is the sunken plaza at California Plaza, a modernist courtyard of stone terraces built around a large water feature, with the towers of Bunker Hill rising directly above it. It is a genuinely striking space and it does something specific to a performance: the surrounding buildings hold the sound and the terraces put most of the audience above the stage looking down.
The fountains are part of it. On some programmes they run during the performance, which is either atmospheric or distracting depending on where you sit and what is playing. The terraces closest to the water are the most pleasant on a hot evening and the least useful if you want to hear a quiet acoustic set.
Where to sit
Seating is a mix of fixed stone steps and whatever chairs are put out, and it works on first-arrival rather than allocation. The stone terraces directly facing the stage are the best of it and they are taken early on a popular night.
Bring a cushion or a folded jacket. Stone steps are unforgiving after forty minutes and this is the single most common regret people have at this venue. A small folding stool is also acceptable at the back, where it will not block anyone's sightline.
The upper terraces have a better view of the whole plaza and worse detail on the stage, and they stay comfortable when the lower levels are packed. For a dance programme the height genuinely helps; for a solo singer it does not.
Eating and drinking
Bringing food is normal and picnicking is part of how the space is used, which makes an evening here considerably cheaper than any comparable one downtown. Check the current policy on alcohol before assuming, as it has varied between seasons and programmes.
If you would rather not carry anything, Grand Central Market is a short and downhill walk away and the surrounding blocks of Bunker Hill and the Historic Core have a dense run of options. Eating before rather than during is the better plan on a busy night, because leaving your spot to queue means losing it.
Getting there
This is one of the few Los Angeles venues where public transport is straightforwardly the right answer. The Metro B and D Lines stop at Pershing Square, a short walk away, and several rail and bus routes converge downtown. Angels Flight, the funicular, runs up the hill from the Historic Core and is a small pleasure in itself.
If you drive, the garages under and around California Plaza are the realistic option and evening rates downtown are generally reasonable. Street parking on Bunker Hill exists in theory and is not worth the search time on a performance night.
What to expect from the crowd
It is one of the more genuinely mixed audiences in Los Angeles — downtown residents, people who have followed a specific artist across the world, office workers who walked over after work, families, and a solid contingent of regulars who come to most things in the season regardless of what is on.
That last group is worth talking to. The people who attend the whole season have strong views on which nights are best and will tell you what is coming up that you have not heard of, which is a better recommendation engine than any listing.
How to use the season
The best approach is not to wait for a name you recognise. The premise of the programming is discovery, the entry cost is zero, and the downside of an evening you do not love is an hour outdoors in a beautiful plaza. Booking your summer around three or four nights chosen at random is a better use of it than waiting for one familiar act.
The season runs through the warmer months and the schedule is published in advance, so a quick look at what is coming up before each weekend is the habit that gets the most out of it. Some performances now ask for a free reservation, which is worth checking rather than assuming open entry.
Practical notes
Grand Performances programmes a free summer season of international music, dance and theatre into the Watercourt at California Plaza on Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles, and has done since the mid-1980s. Seating is first-come on stone terraces — arrive early and bring a cushion. Upper terraces suit dance; lower ones suit detail. Picnicking is normal, but check the current alcohol policy and any free-reservation requirement for the specific night. Grand Central Market is a short walk for food beforehand. Take Metro to Pershing Square, or use the California Plaza garages; street parking is not worth the search. Choose nights by curiosity rather than by name recognition.
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Ask Karpo first
Want to know what is scheduled, whether the night needs a reservation and where to eat downtown before it starts? Ask Karpo for a live read on Bunker Hill this evening.
