SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SYNDICATE

Two days of music, comedy, art, food, and community bring the unmistakable Echo Park spirit to life this month. Echo Park has always been one of Los Angeles’ coolest—and often most underrated—neighborhoods. While other parts of the city have transformed over the decades, Echo Park has managed to hold onto something special: a genuine local spirit, a creative energy and that unmistakable bohemian charm that has attracted artists, musicians, filmmakers and dreamers for generations. For anyone who wants to experience the real Echo Park vibe, there are two options: watch the classic 1989 film Echo Park , starring Susan Dey and Tom Hulce , which offers a fascinating snapshot of the neighborhood during another era, or head to the annual Echo Park Rising  on August 29 and 30 and experience that energy firsthand.  Named “Best Music Festival” by LA Weekly , Echo Park Rising began as a free, grassroots street fair created by the Echo Park community as a way to celebrate the neighborhoo...

La Luz de Jesus Gallery hosts SoCal artist's deliciously dark solo exhibition through Aug. 2.  Heavy metal has inspired countless albums, tattoos and T-shirts, but in the hands of Southern California artist Bob Dob , it also fuels a wildly entertaining collection of paintings packed with monsters, misfits and deliciously dark humor. Now on display at La Luz de Jesus Gallery inside WACKO in Los Feliz, Origins showcases the latest work from the longtime artist and punk musician. The solo exhibition remains on view through Aug. 2, giving Angelenos and visitors plenty of time to experience Dob's imaginative universe before it disappears. A graduate of Otis College of Art and Design, Dob has spent years building a style that's instantly recognizable. His paintings blend pop surrealism with the attitude of punk rock and heavy metal, creating colorful worlds inhabited by demons, oddball creatures and lovable monsters that seem equally at home at an underground concert or a Holl...