Japanese Synth-Pop Listening Party at JACCC

If you're scanning the list of concerts in Los Angeles for something that isn't another club night or arena show, the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center has one worth circling. On Friday, October 2, JACCC and the record shop In Sheep's Clothing team up for an outdoor vinyl listening session in the James Irvine Japanese Garden, tracing the lineage of Japanese synth-pop, new wave and art rock from the late 1970s onward.

What's on the turntable

The session is built around Yellow Magic Orchestra's 1979 album "Solid State Survivor," the record that fused drum machines, Japanese melody and new wave attitude into something the trio of Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi more or less invented on the spot. From there, the set moves through the acts that built on that sound: Ippu-Do, Plastics, P-Model, Mariah and the artists they influenced in turn. It's a deep-catalog crash course for anyone who thinks they know Japanese pop music from anime openings and wants the fuller picture.

Hosting the turntables is DJ Passionfruit (Tana Yonas), a recent KCRW resident and regular voice in In Sheep's Clothing's programming. Rather than a dance-floor set, this reads more like a curated listening room: selections chosen to be heard, discussed and sat with in a garden setting after sundown.

When and where

When: Friday, October 2, 2026, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Where: TWCCC & James Irvine Japanese Garden at JACCC, 244 S. San Pedro Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Price: $15.00 (plus a $1.50 service fee) Age limit: 21 and older

The garden entrance sits on San Pedro Street between 2nd and 3rd, between the five-story office tower and the adjacent alley. Everyone checks in at the gate, so bring a valid ID along with your e-ticket and QR code.

Food and drink

JACCC is running a cash-free bar for the evening, pouring Japanese whiskey, beer and wine. Sabaku Sessions is handling food, serving ramen bowls to go with the vinyl. Neither the bar nor the food line is included in the ticket price, so budget a little extra beyond the door charge.

Getting there and what else is around

JACCC sits in Little Tokyo, a short walk from the Little Tokyo/Arts District Metro station, which makes this an easy one to reach without worrying about downtown parking. It's a good add to any running list of LA events this weekend, especially if you're already circling the area for dinner beforehand. This corner of downtown also anchors JACCC's ongoing calendar of Japanese arts and culture programming, so it's worth a bookmark if this kind of live music in Los Angeles is your thing.

The listening party is limited to adults 21 and up, and space in the garden is finite, so early arrival is worth it both for the ramen line and for a decent spot to actually hear the set. For anyone building out a bigger night around it, downtown's mix of galleries, bars and restaurants makes Little Tokyo one of the more walkable pockets to pair with a things to do in Los Angeles itinerary that doesn't end at 10 p.m.