Even after a busy summer, fall promises plenty to get music fans excited. Here are 19 albums, shows, and books to look forward to over the next three months.
September 18-19 and September 21
Pulp, Hollywood Palladium (September 18 and 19) and Hollywood Forever Cemetery (September 21)
The original Britpop group has not played in the U.S. since their Coachella performance in 2012, a reunion show that brought the band back here after more than a decade away. Pulp says their final show is dedicated to the memory of bassist Steve Mackey, who died last year.
September 20th
Bob Dylan & The Band, “The 1974 Live Recordings”
The tour Dylan undertook a half-century ago with The Band marked his return to touring after an eight-year break he took following a mysterious motorcycle accident in 1966. This 27-disc box set documents every professionally recorded show on the tour, including the closing double concert he played that Valentine's Day at the Forum in Inglewood.
September 27th
Sophie, “Sophie”
A pioneering figure in the world of hyperpop, Sophie was nearing completion of her second solo LP when she died in a fall in 2021. “Finished with love for those who cherished her most,” according to a statement, the album features collaborations with Kim Petras and Evita Manji, among others.
Charli XCX joins Troye Sivan onstage during the Something to Give Each Other Tour at OVO Arena Wembley on June 27 in London.
(Katja Ogrin / Redferns)
Alan Sparhawk, “White Roses, My God”
Mimi Parker, Sparhawk’s wife and bandmate in the influential indie-rock trio Low, died in 2022; this is his debut solo album, a striking collection of synth-driven tunes that he says “must have been what needed to get out of me.”
September 27-29
Ohana Festival, Doheny State Beach
Pearl Jam will headline the opening and closing nights of the annual Dana Point music festival founded in 2016 by surfer frontman Eddie Vedder. Also on the bill are Sting, Devo, Alanis Morissette, Jenny Lewis, Maren Morris, The Breeders and Cat Power, the latter of whom will recreate Dylan’s famous 1966 “Judas” concert.
September 29th and 30th
Air, Orpheum Theatre
Fresh off their appearance at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel of French duo Air will perform their 1998 album “Moon Safari,” a low-key landmark of downtempo electronic music that still exudes a certain I don't know what.
October 1st
Tems, Greek Theatre
This Nigerian singer's “Born in the Wild” could be the most appealing album of the year.
October 3rd and 4th
Kacey Musgraves, Kia Forum
The pop-leaning country star comes to town with this year’s captivating track “Deeper Well.” Get there early to hear cleverly arranged opening sets by Father John Misty and Nickel Creek.
Jazmine Sullivan presents Maxwell with the Living Legend Award at the 2021 Soul Train Music Awards. The pair will head to the Forum on Oct. 27.
(Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
October 4th
Leon Bridges, “Leon”
Bridges made his self-titled new album with Musgraves’ trusted producers Ian Fitchuk and Daniel Tashian; the result shares some of the ecstatic calm of “Deeper Well.”
Coldplay, “Moonlight Music”
Nearly 30 years into a career that began with the deeply sentimental “Yellow,” Coldplay has somehow gotten more sentimental with time: The band’s 10th studio LP contains a song whose title is, oh yeah, the rainbow emoji.
Finneas, “For the love of God!”
This year, he’s already scored a spectacular album with “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” from his sister and musical partner Billie Eilish (in March, the siblings also won an Oscar for their “Barbie” ballad, “What Was I Made For?”). “For Cryin' Out Loud” is Finneas’ second album under his own name after 2021’s “Optimist.”
October 5th
Omar Apollo, Hollywood Bowl
Longing breakup songs mix with sparkling club tunes on Apollo’s recent track, “God Said No,” which will come to life at their biggest Los Angeles show to date. Featuring Kevin Abstract, now focused on a solo career after nearly a decade with hip-hop boy band Brockhampton.
October 15th and 16th
Charli XCX and Troye Sivan, Kia Forum
The two pop singers were veteran cult favourites when they announced this joint tour in April. Just five months later, Charli is (finally) a real star thanks to the so-called Brat Summer generated by her latest LP.
Joni Mitchell, left, accepts the award for best folk album for “Joni Mitchell at Newport” alongside Brandi Carlile at the Grammys in February. Mitchell will perform at the Hollywood Bowl in October.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
October 17th
Life is a Carnival: A Musical Celebration by Robbie Robertson, Kia Forum
The former band member, who died in August 2023, will be honored by friends and heirs including Eric Clapton, Van Morrison, Bob Weir, Noah Kahan, Elvis Costello, Eric Church, Taj Mahal, Margo Price, Lucinda Williams, Jamey Johnson and Trey Anastasio.
October 18th
American Football, “American Football (Versions)”
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of their self-titled debut, the Midwestern emo band enlisted nine artists—including Iron & Wine, Blondshell, Ethel Cain, and Tortoise's John McEntire—to record new interpretations of the album's nine tracks.
October 19 and 20
Joni Mitchell and Joni Jam, Hollywood Bowl
Following previous concerts at the Newport Folk Festival and Washington State’s Gorge Amphitheatre, Mitchell’s return as a live performer (after suffering a debilitating brain aneurysm in 2015) comes to her adopted hometown with two shows where she will be joined by a host of local celebrity fans.
October 22
Robert Hilburn, “A Word in Defense of Our Country: The Biography of Randy Newman”
The former Times pop music critic follows up his 2018 book on Paul Simon with a gripping, richly documented biography of another great American songwriter.
October 27th
Maxwell and Jazmine Sullivan, Kia Forum
A pair of skilled R&B singers join forces for a night of songs about the adult pleasures (and occasional indignities) of love.
November 15th and November 17th and 18th
Sabrina Carpenter, Crypto.com Arena (November 15) and Kia Forum (November 17-18)
She had two of the biggest pop hits of the summer: “Espresso” and “Please Please Please.” Now Carpenter is spending the fall on her first stadium tour promoting the just-released “Short n' Sweet.”
