Flea is bringing his trumpet to a Hollywood Bowl night already stacked with Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak and The Alchemist. The Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist has been added to Lauren Halsey’s ambitious September takeover, turning an art-world commission into one of Los Angeles’ most intriguing live-music mashups.
The Los Angeles Philharmonic added Flea to the lineup for emajendat, scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, at 8 p.m., according to the Santa Monica Mirror. The bill also includes Erykah Badu, The Alchemist, DJ Pee .Wee — Anderson .Paak’s alter ego — and the Charles Gaines Collective featuring Black Nile and Devin Daniels.
A jazz detour for the Chili Peppers bassist
Flea’s addition is especially notable because he is arriving with a newer musical identity in tow. His debut solo album, Honora, was released in March, with the bassist playing trumpet and electric bass throughout the jazz-focused project, as detailed by Nonesuch Records.
That makes the Hollywood Bowl booking feel less like a random celebrity cameo and more like a natural extension of Flea’s current creative detour. The musician has spent nearly five decades as one of rock’s most recognizable bassists, but Honora has put his first musical love — jazz and trumpet — back in the foreground.
Lauren Halsey is turning the Bowl into an art playground
The show is designed as far more than a standard concert. The Hollywood Bowl listing describes emajendat as a campus-wide takeover with community-focused activations, a maximalist technicolor stage designed by Halsey and a blend of music, sports and visual art.
Halsey’s work is deeply tied to South Central Los Angeles, where she and her family have lived for generations, and her installations remix neighborhood signs, symbols and cultural memory into immersive environments. Her broader practice has been described by Gagosian as both a celebration of community vitality and a response to gentrification and erasure.
Doors and pre-concert activities begin at 6 p.m., with miniature golf, ping-pong, games, airbrush stations and Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace planned ahead of the 8 p.m. performance. The official event page lists Flea among the featured artists, though the lineup and program remain subject to change.
