Each concert, a story. Each song, a memory. The Hollywood Bowl always brings it all together.

The Sounds of Summer: A Century of Music, Movies and Memories at听

By Lisa Niver

Summer at the Hollywood Bowl is ritual and refuge: dinner-in-a-box, friends beside you, the canyon air cooling, and the first note lifting like a collective breath. This season 鈥� and the recent years that led up to it 鈥� read like a personal soundtrack: legends and film scores, fireworks and choirs, hits that bring back high-school feelings and moments that stitch generations together. For a venue now celebrating its first 100 years (the Bowl opened in July 1922), it鈥檚 also a reminder of how music and memory carry on.

2025:听听鈥� Stories, Soul, and the Orchestra

This fall,听An Evening with John Legend听was everything the program promised: songs and stories. Joined by a full orchestra and gospel choir, Legend moved easily from storytelling into song 鈥� speaking about growing up singing in church, working in finance before answering music鈥檚 call, and making art that travels the world.听; watching him at the piano, hearing the choir swell, and feeling the crowd lean into every lyric made the night feel intimate and grand at once. His message 鈥� love, courage, and taking chances 鈥� landed like a soft benediction under the stars.

2025:听听+听听鈥� A Fireworks Finale

The season鈥檚 Fireworks Finale paired horn-driven rock with smooth 鈥�80s gold. Chicago 鈥� together since 1967 and still going strong 鈥� delivered brass-laden anthems that made the Bowl sway: the kind of songs that bring back teen angst and first crushes in one chorus. Christopher Cross opened with his signature, mellow sweep, the voice that makes you sigh and smile. I loved sharing the night with Michelle, Adam, and Eva 鈥� and it was extra special spotting my parents with friends, plus Jessica, Shimon, and their crew. Fireworks, horns, and community: a perfect LA farewell to summer.

2025: Jurassic Park in Concert 鈥� A Roaring, Symphonic Ride

One of the season鈥檚 most cinematic nights was听Jurassic Park in Concert. Watching Spielberg鈥檚 1993 classic while the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra performed John Williams鈥� score live-to-picture transformed the film into a full symphonic adventure. Nearly three decades on, the audience still gasped at the brachiosaurus and laughed together when the park touted its 鈥渃utting-edge鈥� CD-ROM tech 鈥� cutting edge in 1993, delightfully retro now. With 18,000 people beneath the stars, it felt like the best of summer: community, nostalgia, and cinematic wonder.

2024:听听鈥� In Concert;听& Andrew Bird Trio;;听

The 2024 season shimmered with color and range.听Barbie The Movie: In Concert听was pure, pink spectacle 鈥� featuring the Barbie Land鈩� Sinfonietta, an all-women (mostly women of color) orchestra dressed in vibrant pink jumpsuits. It was playful, empowering, and so much fun 鈥斕齮o match.

Opening for听Pink Martini听that August was the听听鈥� a delicate, melodic warmup for an evening of global, multilingual music led by China Forbes. The Bowl at its best: inclusive, joyous, and culturally curious.

Paula Abdul proved that star power only refines with time; at 62 she danced through hits like听Straight Up听with kinetic joy. Boyz II Men followed with velvet harmonies:听End of the Road,听I鈥檒l Make Love to You, and听Motownphilly听felt like a communal time machine, singing along with thousands under the sky.

2023:听听鈥� Return of the Jedi in Concert & Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks

A rain-soaked听Return of the Jedi in Concert听became a legendary Bowl memory: rain, lightsabers, and John Williams鈥� score performed live by the LA Phil. It was wet, raucous, and thrilling 鈥� the kind of night where a city鈥檚 collective fandom can be heard in every cheer. Soon after, the听Tchaikovsky Spectacular with Fireworks听delivered the听1812 Overture听in cinematic fashion, complete with marching band and pyrotechnics. Both nights proved the Bowl is unmatched at marrying music and spectacle.

2022:听听&听听with Gustavo Dudamel

2022 brought roots and rhythm. John Fogerty 鈥� the man behind Creedence Clearwater Revival鈥檚 swampy, southern-fried rock 鈥� served up anthem after anthem:听Proud Mary,听Born on the Bayou, and听Have You Ever Seen the Rain. His set was a reminder of rock鈥檚 earthy, storytelling power. That same summer, Ricky Martin made his Hollywood Bowl debut with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Phil, turning the amphitheater into a massive, dancing celebration that pulsed from听Livin鈥� La Vida Loca听through every chantable hit.

2022:听听at the Hollywood Bowl

2021:听听鈥� Inconceivable, and Perfect

My modern Bowl ritual began on a fairy-tale note:听(introduced by Rob Reiner), where the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed Mark Knopfler鈥檚 new orchestral arrangement under conductor David Newman. Jessica joined me, and the fencing, giants, true love, and perfectly timed music made the night feel like stepping into a beloved book brought to life. It was 鈥渋nconceivable,鈥� in the best way.听? It is AMAZING!!

Why the Bowl Endures

From the reverberating brass of Chicago to the intimacy of John Legend鈥檚 piano; from dinosaurs stomping across the big screen to the cotton-candy glow of Barbie night 鈥� the Hollywood Bowl is where Los Angeles gathers to mark the seasons, milestones, and friendships with music. It鈥檚 where generations meet: where my parents and I hum the same chorus, where friends like Sage and Jessica become co-conspirators in memory-making.

Now, as the Bowl moves past its first 100 years, it still offers the same thing it always has: nights that transform the ordinary into the unforgettable. Under those arches, with the canyon as our witness, music keeps telling our city鈥檚 story 鈥� note by note, summer after summer.

Here鈥檚 to another season under the stars.

Photo by听