The City of Los Angeles has many events for USC students to attend throughout the seasons. Today, we would like to highlight a fun, long-standing event that has become increasingly popular among USC students: Jazz at LACMA.
Jazz at LACMA is a free outdoors jazz event located at the Outdoor Smidt Welcome Plaza of LACMA in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles. The jazz event is hosted on Friday evenings, May through November from 6pm to 8 pm. Jazz at LACMA has a forever rotating line-up of L.A and world-renowned jazz legends. Traveling to Jazz at LACMA for USC students has gotten easier as well, with the newly constructed Metro D-Line train station that can take USC students there from University Park. This is also a popular place where USC students meet and convene with UCLA college students from neighboring Westwood.
Whether you’re a fan of jazz music or not, Jazz at LACMA is a great place to meet new people, hang out, and take in the warm scenery. It also puts you in a position to attend and participate in plenty of activities in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood before and afterwards. The LACMA Museum is open for L.A. county residents to attend after 3 pm on weekdays. There are also many nearby restaurants and other attractions to check out, including The Grove; a popular outdoor shopping center, The Academy Awards Museum, and the La Brea Tar Pits, just to name a few.
In 1961, the LACMA museum opened its doors to the world. In 1991, the LACMA museum began the incredible Jazz at LACMA tradition, celebrating the museum’s 30-year history as a staple in the city of Los Angeles. My father frequently attended Jazz at LACMA throughout the 1990’s. He would tell me about the fun times he had going to the event with his friends when he was my age, and I later attended when I was a USC undergraduate student. This summer, we went back to the event together and ran into his old friends that have been regularly attending the event for over 30 years. This is truly something that the entire Los Angeles community enjoys.
Every Friday evening throughout late spring and early fall, you’ll find hundreds of USC students, jazz enthusiasts, and community members of all ages gathering for the smooth sounds and inviting atmosphere of Jazz at LACMA. We strongly encourage our incoming Trojans to attend and immerse themselves in this unique piece of Los Angeles culture.
Written by: John Russell, Assistant Director – USC Office of Undergraduate Admission