If your New Year’s Resolution is to get out of the house more often, you might as well start now because there are some very cool events happening in Los Angeles for this first weekend of 2026, including The Smell’s weekend-long anniversary bash, the L.A. Fights Back benefit show with Sextile, Automatic and Choir Boy, a David Bowie-themed skate party, film tributes to Bowie, David Lynch, Rob Reiner and Udo Kier, plus lots more. Keep reading for the breakdown.
Concerts
Downtown DIY venue The Smell celebrates its 28th anniversary with three very special shows coming up this weekend. On Friday, January 2, HLLYH, the new project from members of early ‘00s L.A. DIY faves The Mae Shi, headline a bill that also includes Sean Solomon, Devon Williams, New Life and Lily Waters, with Johnny Health handling DJ duties. The following night features Hello Astronaut, Goodby Television, The Centimeters, Cupid & Psyche, Creekbird and DJ Bobb Bruno. Then, on Sunday, The Smell flashes back to the 1970s and 1980s with a tribute to San Francisco’s heralded punk scene. The Avengers will be playing live, alongside Los Microwaves (by Microwave Buddha), Chip Kinman (featuring former members of The Dils. The Spiders of SARS will perform songs from the era with roster of guest vocalists that include Drew Trapgirl, The Linda Lindas and more, while Quinn Brayton will DJ. All of the shows are all ages and tickets are available for the individual nights on The Smell’s website.
On Sunday, January 4, heaven2nite + Permanent Records present L.A. Fights Back, an all ages benefit show where all proceeds will be donated to the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). Sextile, who released my favorite album of 2025, the banger-filled Yes, Please, is headlining and the stacked lineup also includes Automatic, Choir Boy, Mondo Mundo, CRYYS and lots more. Ticket prices are on the higher end, but it’s for a very good cause given that CHIRLA has been actively involved in our city’s fight against the I.C.E. goons. This is a fairly early show too. Doors are at 5 p.m. and the performances are set to start a half hour later. Head to The Regent’s website for more info and tickets.
Dance Clubs/DJ Events
You know how it goes, the week after New Year’s Eve is pretty slow, but, there are a few quality parties happening for those of you with an itch to dance, or maybe skate. Tokyo Love Song, the city pop bash that happens on the first Friday of every other month at Hello Stranger, is set for Friday, January 2. Expect to hear some killer cuts of vintage Japanese funk, soul, disco and synthpop on vinyl from resident DJs XL Middleton and Kaistar, who will be playing with special guest Kota from Stones Throw Japan. Plus, Salt Box Records, one of my favorite shops in L.A., is inside Hello Stranger, so you can get in a dig when you’re not on the dance floor. Tickets + more info on Eventbrite.
On Saturday, Skate Oddity is throwing Bowie’s Rock n Rollerdisco Birthday bash at L.A. Kings Burbank Sports Center with DJs Brynna Ashley and James David playing glam, goth and more. It’s all ages and goes from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. More info and tickets over on Eventbrite.
For classic hip-hop fans, Saturday night is Boombox’s annual Native Tongues Appreciation Night at Grand Star Jazz Club, so you’ll be hearing lots of jams from the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Jungle Brothers, amongst other artists. Guest DJs J. Period and Platurn join Inka One, Ben Diggin and Mantron. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.
(And, just a heads up, my own first gig of 2026 is Klub Nocturno at Catch One on Friday, January 9. There’s no cover this time, but you will have to RSVP, so snag your ticket on Dice while they’re available. I’ll be in the new wave vs. darkwave room.)
Movies
Alamo Draft House launches a month-long film tribute to David Bowie on January 2 with The Man Who Fell To Earth. As of the time of writing this, there were still some tickets available for the Friday evening screening, so maybe try to score one or two before it sells out.
There are a lot of tribute screenings and film series happening this month, most of which get started this weekend. Vidiots begins its Remembering Rob Reiner series on Saturday with When Harry Met Sally. Advance tickets are sold out, but there will be a limited amount of walk-ups available. See Vidiots website for more info.
Multiple venues have David Lynch tributes going on this month. Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House film program is collaborating with Zebulon on Night Blooming Jasmine: A Celebration of David Lynch. The series gets started at PRS on Saturday with the documentary David Lynch: The Art Life. Tickets are available on Eventbrite. On Sunday, Zebulon begins showing the first season of Twin Peaks. Dice already has a waitlist going for the free, afternoon event, but you might want to try your luck to catch that.
Alamo Draft House is also showing Twin Peaksthis month, with their screenings on Saturday afternoons. The January 3 show, with the first three episodes, is already sold out, but I’m mentioning this because you might want to get tickets now for other screenings in the series.
On Sunday, Beyond Fest co-presents an Udo Kier triple feature at the Egyptian that includes Blood for Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne and Mark of the Devil. If you have the attention span for three films in a row, this should be a great, chill way to spend a Sunday night. It starts at 5:10 p.m. and tickets are available on the American Cinematheque website.
Also on Sunday, PRS has an encore presentation of the new remaster of Diane Keaton’s Heaven, which had its L.A. premiere at the theater and is back by popular demand, on the evening before what would have been her 80th birthday.
Keep Reading:
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