Artists and The Ford
An intimate venue, The Ford is a genre-fluid home for bold, boundary-pushing artists, where experimentation, cultural exchange, and artistic range take center stage. For over 100 years, The Ford has featured a variety of performances, from punk rock to Shakespeare. Today, the LA Phil presents music, dance, theater, comedy, and film in its open-air amphitheater.
The 2026 Season
Every year, incredible artists from around Los Angeles County and the world visit The Ford. Explore our calendar to see who’s stopping by this season!
The Ford: A Living History of Artistic Exchange
Tucked into the hills of Los Angeles, The Ford has long existed as a space apart—an intimate outdoor venue where artists and audiences meet at close range, and where cultural expression unfolds without pretense. Across decades, The Ford’s history has been shaped not by a single genre or tradition, but by a steady commitment to experimentation, cultural storytelling, and artistic voices that reflect the evolving rhythms of the city itself.
From its earliest years, The Ford has served as a platform for connection—between artists and audiences, between cultures, and between past and present. Its scale has always invited proximity rather than spectacle, creating conditions where creative risk feels possible and where emerging ideas can take root.
Early Foundations: Community, Culture, and Access
Early programming reflected a broad cultural mandate—presenting music, dance, theater, and spoken word that spoke to the city’s diversity and its growing appetite for live performance beyond traditional concert halls.
Rather than centering a singular artistic canon, The Ford embraced multiplicity. Performances often highlighted folk traditions, regional storytelling, and community-based artists, establishing a foundation that valued cultural specificity and lived experience. This approach positioned The Ford as a venue where art was not only presented, but shared—an exchange rather than a proclamation.
As Los Angeles grew into a global cultural capital, so too did The Ford’s artistic scope. Across the latter half of the 20th century, programming expanded to reflect a widening spectrum of genres and voices.
Performances at The Ford
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A platform for cultural storytelling
Throughout its history, The Ford has remained deeply committed to cultural storytelling. Programming has consistently reflected voices that speak to identity, migration, memory, and place—stories that resonate strongly within Los Angeles’ multicultural landscape.
Watch & Listen
LULA: Reaching for Your Soul
Creating the master plan with the jazz-influenced dance company.
Jazz Is Dead at The Ford | The Story of the Mizell Brothers
Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad take us behind the scenes
Photo Essay: The Women of Grandeza Mexicana
Mexico's revolutionary history comes to life through ballet folklórico by Las Fotos Project's Maria Evelyn Romero Gomez