Matteo Bocelli, Jacob Collier Among Artists Performing at The Ford in 2026

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The season will also feature Judy Collins & Bruce Cockburn, Ani DiFranco & Valerie June, and more.

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The LA Phil has unveiled the 2026 season at The Ford, its hillside open-air venue, running from May 8 to October 31. The 2026 season brings together a multidisciplinary mix of music, dance, film, theater, comedy and spoken word. The season will also see the return of the beloved family-friendly LA Soundscapes daytime programming series and FordLab, the incubator and accelerator program that gives local and regional artists the opportunity to develop new work and reach wider audiences.

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FordLab Productions

The 2026 FordLab series launches with comedian, writer, actor and author Aida Rodriguez. Fresh from the release of her new HBO Max special Fighting Words, she brings “The Remix” to The Ford, her program in which stand-up comedy meets the soundtrack of your life. Rodriguez teams up with comic Frankie Quiñones and DJ D-NICE for a night of laughs, music and a party you don’t want to miss. This event is produced in partnership with De Mi Alma Productions (Friday, July 17, at 8PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

First-year FordLab producer Leimert Park Jazz Festival brings a special presentation of its highly regarded Sunday Jazz series to The Ford stage. The program, John Beasley ’s UNLIMITED MILES: Miles Davis AT 100, opens with award-winning pianist and composer John Beasley ’s one-hour performance tracing the artistic evolution of the jazz icon through distinct creative eras, and concludes with a one-hour jam session featuring 13 outstanding emerging artists from the Sunday Jazz monthly series. In the tradition Davis embodied of assembling young innovators and pushing them toward new artistic terrain, this set highlights the next wave of jazz voices. This event is produced in partnership with Leimert Park Jazz Festival (Sunday, July 19, at 7:30PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Nothing Compares 2 Prince: A Celebration of Life & Legacy featuring Bilal & Special Guests with DJ Rashida presents a powerful live tribute at The Ford honoring the music and cultural impact of Prince. This special evening brings together Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Bilal, known for his extraordinary vocal range and genre-defying artistry and for delivering one of the most unforgettable Prince tributes. He is joined by dynamic special guests and DJ Rashida, Prince’s former touring DJ and longtime collaborator, for a genre-crossing experience inspired by one of the most visionary artists of all time. This event is produced in partnership with Fusicology (Friday, September 25, at 8PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Outside of their home city of Manchester, UK, nowhere have The Smiths had a bigger and more lasting impact than in Mexico, where their music is still huge decades after the band broke up. The LA Phil and co-producers Mariachi Tierra Mia present Mariachi Meets The Smiths, a night of Smiths favorites from across the band’s discography as interpreted by some of the best mariachi artists in Los Angeles (Sunday, September 27, at 7:30PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Artist and cultural strategist Marc Bamuthi Joseph presents America(!)... The Beautiful(?). An immersive evening of performance and civic imagination produced in partnership with For Freedoms, this event brings together artists whose work lives at the intersection of creative expression and collective action (Saturday, October 3, at 8PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

The Ford presents Bambu: Bass Building, an evening led by Filipino American emcee and community organizer Bambu. Inspired by the ethos of his album Party Worker, the program reimagines the live hip-hop show as a grassroots organizing session, transforming the amphitheater into a forum for dialogue, connection and shared purpose. Featuring special appearances by The Neighborhood Kids, Kiwi, Rocky Rivera, Prometheus Brown, Ruby Ibarra, DJ Phatrick and Faith Santilla, among others, the evening brings together artists whose practices are deeply rooted in community. This event is produced in partnership with AKB Media (Saturday, October 10, at 8PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

MAROONS is a genre-defying multidisciplinary performance that reimagines the history of marronage (resisting or liberating oneself from slavery) as a living, time-bending practice of escape and collective freedom. The performance blends theater, music, choreography, and visual spectacle to create an immersive world where history fractures and reassembles. At its core, MAROONS treats the stage as a portal, and audiences are invited into a space where time bends and new possibilities emerge from the refusal of oppressive systems. The work asks what it means to move toward freedom together and what signals (seen and unseen) guide that journey. Written by Autumn Breon, Ashley Soto Paniagua and Tristen J. Winger, the work features special guests to be announced. This event is produced in partnership with Studio of Autumn Breon (Friday, October 16, at 8PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Alongside the LA Phil, Discostan presents Music Beyond Borders: Discostan with Lifafa and Arushi Jain. As part of Discostan’s 15-year anniversary series, the creative collective spotlighting innovative artists brings two figures guiding the future of electronic music in India to The Ford’s stage. Lifafa makes his North American debut in his only scheduled US performance, presenting his deeply personal music that highlights Hindi and Urdu influences and fuses disco, sampled loops and cosmic guitar with traditional folk instruments. Composer, vocalist and modular synthesist Arushi Jain presents her original compositions, which draw as much from Terry Riley, Aphex Twin and The Cocteau Twins as traditional ragas and talas and have been hailed by Pitchfork, Fader, and The Guardian (October 24, at 8PM). This performance is supported in part by the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture.

Rostam’s American Stories Tour stops at The Ford for one performance with Zsela and Henry Solomon. This event is co-presented with Live Nation Hewitt Silva (Saturday, May 30, at 7PM).

Matteo Bocelli performs at The Ford as part of his Falling in Love World Tour. The singer—and son of Andrea Bocelli —moves from heir to innovator with his eagerly anticipated second album Falling in Love and steps confidently into the spotlight as a next-generation artist with the heart of a poet and the reach of a global pop star. His music is rich in romantic yearning and vulnerability, with passionate showpieces and cinematic, emotionally charged ballads (Sunday, June 21, at 7:30PM).

This season’s Composer-in-Focus, Joe Hisaishi , has established himself as a formidable force in contemporary music for his delicately crafted symphonic and solo works. Hisaishi brings his MUSIC FUTURE series to the LA Phil, highlighting the works and talents of his notable collaborators such as Bryce Dessner and Nico Muhly , as well as his original compositions. The concert will feature chamber performances and works conducted by Hisaishi himself. (Saturday, July 25, at 8PM).

For a decade, Boleros De Noche has honored the timeless beauty of bolero music in Los Angeles. This year, it’s bringing together generations of music lovers for an unforgettable night of romance, nostalgia and cultural pride with the 10th Annual Boleros de Noche featuring iLe. The celebration reaches new heights with a special performance by Grammy Award–winning Puerto Rican artist iLe. With her latest album Como las Canto Yo, she breathes new life into classic boleros, blending tradition with her signature artistry and honoring the passion and elegance that define the genre. Opening the night is Voz Bohemia, a Los Angeles–based trío romántico rooted in bolero and ranchera, whose sound reflects the rich musical tapestry of LA, México and Latin America (Saturday, August 1, at 8PM).

For nearly six decades and across 55 iconic albums, Judy Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs and a firm commitment to social activism. Collins brings her Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Farewell Tour to The Ford stage featuring songs from Spellbound, her 29th studio album and the only one composed of entirely original songs. She’s joined by 13-time Juno Award winner Bruce Cockburn for an evening of soul-touching folk by a pair of iconic musical storytellers (Friday, August 7, at 8PM).

Writing with extraordinary insight balanced by empathy and care, Ani DiFranco is an icon for those who find that society’s boundaries have been drawn to exclude them. Her latest album, 2024’s Unprecedented Sh!t, is a poignant political and social commentary, with songs that serve as civil rights rallying cries, calls to action for reproductive freedom and harnessing the power of identity without being overwhelmed—all set to the captivating alchemy of folk, soul, and jazz-pop that’s made her one of the most beloved singer-songwriters of her generation. She’s joined by singer-songwriter Valerie June, who made her Ford debut in 2023 at the Los Angeles Folk Festival (Wednesday, August 12 at 8PM).

Helado Negro’s spectral experimental pop draws imagined beings, ghosts, haunted machines and atmospheres into a beautiful and heartfelt world. His most recent album, 2024’s Phasor, was hailed by Pitchfork for its “space-age synths, wistful romance, and the breeziest vibe in town.” He’s joined by Reyna Tropical, best known for their rhythmic, hip-swaying tropical beats featuring Afro-Indigenous drum patterns and environmental samples—expertly mixed and produced with dreamy guitar riffs and soft vocals by Fabi Reyna on The Ford stage (Thursday, August 13, at 8PM).

Tercera Raíz, produced in partnership with Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company, comes to The Ford in a performance that celebrates and honors the African diaspora’s vital contributions to Mexican culture, illuminating its impact on the country’s history, music, dance and daily life. While Mexico’s Indigenous and Spanish roots are widely recognized, the African influence has often been overlooked. This production seeks to reclaim and highlight that “third root,” giving voice to Afro-Mexican communities and their enduring legacy. Through dynamic dance, vibrant music and storytelling, the production not only honors the past but also engages with contemporary issues of visibility, inclusion and unity. More than a performance, Tercera Raíz is a movement, reaffirming that Afro-Mexican heritage is an essential, living part of Mexico’s identity. (Friday, August 21, at 8PM).

Element Band marks another milestone in its musical journey in this legendary venue with its performance of Pyur, a showcase of the beauty of traditional Armenian music. Established in 2005 by Ara Dabandjian, the band has become a leading force in bringing Armenian music to audiences around the world. Dabandjian has created a sound that resonates across generations, reviving and preserving songs that might otherwise have faded away and the ev

_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/Matteo-Bocelli-Jacob-Collier-and-More-Set-for-The-Ford-2026-Season-20260512)._