From the bottom of our hearts, we’d like to thank you for being part of the Grand Performances journey this year.

Before we move forward to a new year, we invite you to revisit some of the highlights from a truly memorable season of music, art, celebration and community at Grand Performances.

OUR SEASON AT A GLANCE

2022 marked Grand Performances’ 36th year providing free access to the global performing arts in downtown Los Angeles. After a condensed schedule last year, 2022 was our first full season back at the newly-renovated California Plaza. 

Here’s how we got back into the swing of things:

• 20 free concerts (including a satellite event at Plummer Park in West Hollywood) with over 25,000 attendees.

• Artists representing Mexico, India, Nigeria, Iran, Pakistan, Chile, Canada, Puerto Rico and more (as well as local communities from Boyle Heights to Leimert Park).

• More than 400,000 people from around the world joined GP Livestreams and watched our concert archives online.

MUSICIANS MAKING THEIR MARK

Talented artists from across the globe graced our stage in 2022. Here’s just some of the highlights:

• Pakistani Ali Sethi, whose smash hit “Pasoori” earned 600M plays and topped Spotify’s global song charts.

• Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Russell, fresh off her triple Grammy nominated album “Outside Child.”

• Iranian pianist and vocalist Kamyar, who dazzled audiences while singing in no less than three languages: Farsi, English and French.

SPEAKING THEIR TRUTH

No matter who the artist might be, Grand Performances proudly provides them with a safe space to speak their truth in front of new audiences. We live in challenging times, but we know that art will always be at the forefront of the cultural movements that will bring about positive change. We’re here for it.

Two such moments from this summer which really resonated were Allison Russell’s rallying call for social justice, and Renee Goust centering LGBT rights in her traditional Mexican folk music.

HELPING US BUILD BRIDGES

Inspiring community and celebrating diversity is core to our mission, and we are deeply grateful for all the opportunities we had to continue doing so this summer.

Thanks to our partner organizations Aga Khan Museum, Boleros de Noche, COLA, Cumbiatón, Farhang Foundation, Pakistan Arts Council, and the World Stage, in 2022 we brought together incredibly diverse crowds representing the entire spectrum of humanity. We united with love.

The iconic taste-makers at KCRW deserve special recognition as we partnered with them for two successful Summer Nights events this season featuring Sly5thAve, Allison Russell, IFE, and KCRW DJs Silva and Raul Campos.

CROSS-CULTURAL AND INTERGENERATIONAL 

Nearly four decades deep into our mission, Grand Performances is blessed to have now entertained three generations of Angelenos. From toddlers to parents to grandparents, we strive to throw events that continue to be welcoming to all. Some of our acts like the Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Boleros de Noche, and Cumbiatón make it their mission to do the same, and with them we threw some epic age-inclusive shows this past summer.

Alice Coltrane’s enduring musical and spiritual legacy also transcends generations, and that was on full display when our tribute show to her was able to bring together our largest and most diverse crowd of the summer.

So that’s a wrap on the 2022 season. If you missed any of these magical moments, you can catch up on our YouTube channel, where you’ll find an archive of all our past shows.

Again, we’d love to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being on this beautiful journey with us. We can’t do it without you.

If you’d like to support our upcoming 2023 summer programming, we’d welcome any donation you can make: https://www.grandperformances.org/donate

Cheers,

-The GP Team