Daytime

Celebrate the 42nd anniversary of the Annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival, and the 47th anniversary of the Annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival at the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus. The music-centered festival welcomes residents and families from across Los Angeles to unite in the sounds and expressions of local and internationally recognized jazz artists, and cross-cultural percussionists and dancers. In addition to enjoying and dancing to over a dozen performances, visitors can explore the historic Watts Towers Arts Center Campus, which will be activated with art and crafts and local food vendors, family arts workshops, and visual art exhibitions, including the opening weekend of A Woman in Charge, Robin Strayhorn. Activities on both Saturday and Sunday, September 28 and 29 are scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

A Woman in Charge, Robin Strayhorn, curated by Rosie Lee Hooks, is a one-woman exhibitionon view in the Noah Purifoy Gallery. A Woman in Charge highlights the cumulative work of the multidisciplinary artist featuring graphite, collage, acrylic, and monoprints. The exhibition spans her 40 years residing in Los Angeles up to her most recent work reflecting time spent living and studying in India. On view from September 28, 2024 to March 8, 2025.

The festivals take place at the DCA’s Watts Towers Arts Center Campus at 1727 East 107th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90002. Free admission and complimentary valet parking. For more information, please call 213.847.4646 or visit www.wattstowers.org. 

Festival Schedules:

42nd Annual Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival
Saturday, September 28, 2024 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Master of Ceremonies: James Janisse and Torrence Brannon Reese

10:00 a.m. Danza Azteca Xochipilli
Aztec traditional dancing with Huehuetl and Teponaxtle drums

11:00 a.m. Hemant Kulkarni
Tabla solo accompanied by Makheer Singh on Dilruba

12:00 p.m. Afro Peruvian Experience
Presenting African Ancestors from Peru

1:00 p.m. TAIKOPROJECT
Based in Little Tokyo, one of LA’s leading Taiko groups
2:00 p.m. IGABA
Ron Powell’s journey through Brazil and the Diaspora

3:00 p.m. Jaz Sawyer Drum Summit
Jaz Sawyer teams with Emi Desiré & Aisha Gaillard, two young exciting percussionists

4:00 p.m. Leon Mobley – DA LION
Traditional African American Drum Music

46th Annual Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival
Sunday, September 29, 2024 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Master of Ceremonies: James Janisse and Torrence Brannon Reese

10:00 a.m. Alaadun
Yoruba ground blessing uniting all cultures based on common themes and principles

11:00 a.m. Kevin Flournoy
Inspirational music with contemporary R&B influence

12:00 p.m. The Jasmine Tommaso Group
Italian Jazz and West Coast Soul

1:00 p.m. Kirk Andrés Wilson
Delta-Chicago Jazz and Blues with a touch of R&B

1:45 p.m. Tai Chi Chuan
School of Healing Martial Arts

2:00 p.m. Community Presentations

2:30 p.m. Nedra Wheeler & Friends
Honoring our Jazz Legends while celebrating our Young Prodigies

3:30 p.m. MEDUSA Tha Gangsta Goddess
The Godmother of West Coast Hip Hop

4:30 p.m. Munyungo’s Jungle Jazz
Jungle grove music you cannot help but move to

All Day Activities at the Festivals:

Watts Towers Amphitheatre

Drum Pavilion: Universal Drum Circle Led by Matt Gibson II
Food Court

Watts Towers Arts Center

A Woman in Charge by Robin Strayhorn and curated by Rosie Lee Hooks in the Noah Purifoy Gallery
International Musical Instruments inside the Dr. Joseph & Bootsie Howard Gallery

Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center

Fertile Ground  exhibition at the Charles Mingus Gallery
Children’s Activities: 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Garden Studio Gallery

Tiling and Gardening Activities 

Directions:

Watts Towers Arts Center Campus
1727 East 107th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90002
213.847.4646

wattstowers.org

The Campus is easily accessible from:

1. the 105 East Freeway at Wilmington Avenue by taking Exit #10;
2. via the 108th Street Bus Stop, 55 Route (North/South);
3. via the 103rd Street / Graham Bus Stop, 117 Route (East/West);
4. the 103rd Street / Watts Towers Station via Metro A Line (Blue);
5. the 110 Freeway, Century Boulevard exit (Southbound) Imperial Highway exit (Northbound). Self-parking and valet parking are free. 

ADA:

Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request.

Are you a small business owner or a street vendor? Do you want to know more about business permits in California? View an online workshop with representatives from the US Small Business Administration (SBA)and the Koreatown Youth Community Center (KYCC). The video is in Spanish.

Used as a teaching tool, pottery is one of the most enduring indicators of culture. We at the American Museum of Ceramic Art are celebrating the rich and enduring history of Latinx and Indigenous pottery this  Latino Heritage Month. Bring our Mud Mobile outreach program to your school or event. Led by our teaching artists, this educational art experience allows students to interact with artwork from our Mata Ortiz and Pueblo pottery collections and create their air-dry clay projects.

Create fun memories during summer vacation with a free tour of The Music Center’s sprawling campus. The 90-minute tours encompass The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Tuesdays – Fridays, 11:00 a.m., Saturdays – Sundays, 10:15 a.m.

In 2019, Lawson answered more than 1,000 questions in his Story File so that future generations can continue conversing with him to learn about his legacy. What would you like to ask Lawson?

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.,
Thursday, 12:00 noon – 8:00 p.m.
Adults – $16, Seniors and Youth – $9, Members and Children under 5 – Free

Mark Bradford’s 150 Portrait Tone, a mural-size composition that contains elements of both abstraction and realism, is based on an idea for a work that the artist conceived after the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a police officer in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in July 2016. Castile, a nutrition services supervisor at an elementary school, was shot after being pulled over in his car—an incident that was livestreamed on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, who was sitting in the passenger seat next to him.

The painting features excerpts of Reynolds’s dialogue from the video. The title, 150 Portrait Tone, refers to the name and color code of the pink acrylic used throughout the painting. Like the now-obsolete “flesh” crayon in the Crayola 64 box (renamed “peach” in 1962), the color “portrait tone” carries inherent assumptions about who, exactly, is being depicted. In the context of Bradford’s painting, the title presents a sobering commentary on power and representation.

There are family-oriented activities, live music, and street and food vendors every Sunday. Bring your drum for the outdoor Drum Circle Workshop and the jam session at the World Stage. You’ll find fresh-made ice cream, jewelry, clothing, art classes, free entertainment, and fun.