PHOTO: The Music Center | The South Pasadenan | The Music Center’s Innovation Social Returns with Free Speakeasy-Style Events Blending Art, Tech, and Community
WHAT:
The Music Center’s Innovation Social brings free speakeasy-style gatherings designed to spark imagination to Angelenos with a range of reality-bending projects that showcase where performance and technology meet. Previously known as The Music Center’s Black Bar Social, the series evolves this year not only in name, but also with a move to Friday nights and a focus on exciting new digital works. This is the frontier of storytelling, as Angelenos know it and love, and the technology of today and tomorrow.
The November 2025 iteration, “Connection Through Movement,” includes Aya Umoh’s Rhythmic Wave, where traditional Nigerian dance meets digital avatars of the future; Cosmeage, a Pan-African and sound experience unfolding into a visual art that explores heritage and identity by Ari Melenciano; Hands Performance, a short film by Rashaad Newsome exhibiting the uniquely Black and Queer aspects of sign language; and Black Bar Listening Station by Janice Duncan, an audio installation comprised of short narratives that weave creative archive, community ritual, and celebration of artists.
Details of the January and March 2026 iterations will be announced soon!
The Music Center’s Innovation Social is made possible by a grant from Agog: The Immersive Media Institute with additional support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.
WHEN:
Select Fridays: November 14, 2025; January 9 and March 20, 2026
6:00–9:00 p.m.
WHERE:
The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
Founders’ Room & Stern Grand Hall
135 N. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
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CONTACT:
Gil Diaz
The Music Center
213-972-3332
[email protected]
TRANSPORTATION:
Public parking available for $10 per vehicle at two locations:
The Music Center Garage – 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 90012
Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage – 111 S. Grand Ave., Los Angeles, 90012
The Music Center Main Campus Garage is cash-only; The Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage accepts both cash and credit cards.
The public is highly encouraged to take public transportation. The Civic Center/Grand Park Station along the Metro B Line (Red) and Metro D Line (Purple) is located conveniently in Gloria Molina Grand Park with a short walk to The Music Center. Additionally, The Music Center is easily accessible by taking Metro’s Regional Connector to the Grand Av Arts/Bunker Hill Station along the Metro A Line (Blue) and E Line (Expo).
MORE INFO:
RSVP is encouraged by visiting musiccenter.org/innovationsocial.