Watts Towers Day of the Drum + Jazz Festival 2026

The last weekend of September belongs to Watts. Two of the neighborhood's longest-running traditions return to the grounds of Watts Towers: the Day of the Drum Festival on Saturday, September 26, and the Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival on Sunday. Both are free. If you're scanning LA events this weekend for something that isn't a ticketed arena show or a rooftop brunch, this is the one we'd point you to first.

Why the setting matters

Watts Towers is a set of 17 interconnected sculptures built by hand over 33 years by Simon Rodia, an Italian immigrant who worked alone with steel rebar, mortar, and whatever broken tile, glass, and pottery he could collect. The tallest spire climbs close to 100 feet. Up close, you can pick out bottle green glass, seashells and bits of dinnerware pressed into the cement.

The site had a busy summer. The arts center campus closed for renovation work in June, then reopened on July 8, 2026. On June 30, the World Monuments Fund named the towers one of its Irreplaceable America designees, part of a campaign tied to the country's 250th anniversary. So this year's festival weekend lands at a moment when a lot of people are paying fresh attention to the place.

Saturday: Day of the Drum

Saturday is about percussion. According to We Like L.A.'s weekend guide, there's a drum pavilion set up on the grounds for the day. Bring kids. It's loud in the best way, and nobody minds if a six-year-old starts keeping time on a folding chair.

Sunday: Simon Rodia Watts Towers Jazz Festival

Sunday shifts to jazz, named for the man who built the towers. Jazz runs deep in Watts. Charles Mingus grew up in the neighborhood, and the Charles Mingus Youth Arts Center on the campus carries his name.

What else is on the grounds

Beyond the music, the weekend listing mentions:

• Guided visits to the towers themselves
• Access to the Noah Purifoy and Charles Mingus galleries
• Gardening activities
• A food court
• Arts and crafts vendors

The guided tour is worth prioritizing. On regular days it's the only way inside the towers, with tours capped at twenty people and tickets sold first-come, first-served at the arts center office.

Practical info

• Where: Watts Towers, Watts, South Los Angeles
• When: Day of the Drum on Saturday, September 26; the jazz festival follows on Sunday
• Cost: Free admission both days, per We Like L.A.
• Getting there: We Like L.A. flags the site as within half a mile of a Metro station. The 103rd St/Watts Towers stop on the A Line is the easy call, and it spares you the parking hunt on residential streets.

Set times and performer lineups weren't published when we wrote this, so check the Watts Towers Arts Center Campus site before you head out. Bring sunscreen, since most of the grounds sit in open sun, and some cash in case food court or craft vendors don't take cards.

For more things to do in Los Angeles, browse our festivals listings or see what's coming up across Los Angeles. If you can only pick one day, Saturday's drum pavilion is the better bet for kids, and Sunday suits anyone who wants to sit with the jazz and the towers.