The Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (former Playboy Jazz Festival) is a two-day jazz event held every June in Los Angeles, California. It has attracted many famous musicians and comedians. Bill Cosby was the MC for many festivals between 1979 and 2012, and George Lopez has been hosting the festival since 2013.
Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (Playboy Jazz Festival) 2024 Lineup
The weekend jazz fest is broadcast live by the KKJZ, a public jazz radio station. This year's line-up features such great artists and bands as Jodeci, Andra Day, Christian McBride, Cimafunk, Charles Lloyd with Jason Moran, Larry Grenadier & Brian Blade, Mulatu Astatke, Alex Isley, Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at UCLA, The LA County High School for the Arts Jazz, and Arsenio Hall as the host.
Tickets and Location
Ticket prices range from $23 to $220, depending on the chosen seats. The Hollywood Bowl is a famous amphitheater located in the Hollywood Hills. Rolling Stone Magazine included it among the top 10 best live music venues in the United States. In addition to visiting concerts at the Hollywood Bowl, you can organize picnics or stop at the Bowl Store or Hollywood Bowl Museum.
Parking
The Bowl has extremely limited parking and may sell out in advance. The prices range from $10 to $90, and it depends on type of lot or vehicle.
Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival (Playboy Jazz Festival) History
The festival was established by Playboy's founder, Hugh Hefner. Its first edition took place in 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Stadium. However, the second edition took place 20 years later, in 1979, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. It was dedicated to Playboy's 25th anniversary.
The lineups included musicians like Marcus Miller, Grammy Award winner Lalah Hathaway, Corinne Bailey Rae, Gregory Porter, TajMo’, Jacob Collier, the Arturo Sandoval Latin Big Band, Bobby Hutcherson, Angélique Kidjo, Boz Scaggs, The Maceo Parker Big Band, Sheila E., Béla Fleck and The Flecktones, Harold López-Nussa, and Sona Jobarteh.
