Artist Lauren Halsey Stages Funk Opera Emajendat at Hollywood Bowl
- Visual artist Lauren Halsey is staging a one-night funk opera called emajendat at the Hollywood Bowl on September 29, combining a handmade tactile stage design with headliners Erykah...
- Erykah Badu and the Alchemist are headlining the evening as part of their tour for the new album Before the World Blows.
- While the music anchors the evening, Halsey’s physical art and stage concepts take center stage.
Visual artist Lauren Halsey is staging a one-night funk opera called emajendat at the Hollywood Bowl on September 29, combining a handmade tactile stage design with headliners Erykah Badu and the Alchemist, Flea, and Anderson .Paak. The event, whose title is pronounced “imagine that,” serves as a conceptual proof of concept for non-classical programming at the historic Los Angeles venue.
Star-Studded Lineup and Performances
Erykah Badu and the Alchemist are headlining the evening as part of their tour for the new album Before the World Blows.
The lineup also features a performance from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and a DJ set from Anderson .Paak performing under his alias DJ Pee .Wee. Actor and comedian Yvonne Orji is hosting the event.
The jazz duo Black Nile will also take the stage alongside saxophonist Devin Daniels and Charles Gaines, who is Halsey’s former teacher. Members Aaron and Lawrence Shaw noted that playing the Hollywood Bowl represents their biggest hometown crowd in Los Angeles to date. You just don’t see a lot of Black people in that way, you know?
Aaron Shaw said of playing the prominent venue. Unfortunately, popular society, they benefit off of not putting us in a positive light. Jazz, this Black American art form, has become the underground thing, when it shouldn’t be.
Immersive Visuals and P-Funk Inspiration
While the music anchors the evening, Halsey’s physical art and stage concepts take center stage. The grounds will feature family-friendly activities and art installations, including a Technicolor pyramid, ping-pong, mini golf, and a basketball game modeled after one Halsey played at the Santa Monica Pier during her childhood.
Halsey drew primary inspiration from George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic, citing the band’s musicality and mythos as foundational influences for her artistic practice. Before I even knew there was a fine art world, before I knew I would have a practice and be a sculptor and all these things, I was already deeply embedded in the world of P-Funk,
Halsey said. Literally and everything is an ode to just what that band has done for me.
Lawrence Shaw praised the artistic direction, noting that Halsey brings a distinct craft to the production without touching music directly. Nobody’s ever seen anything like this before,
he said.
Ticketing and Arrival Logistics
Doors for emajendat open at 6 p.m. on September 29, and the show begins at 8 p.m. sharp. Halsey recommended arriving early to account for traffic around Cahuenga, Highland, and Hollywood Boulevards and to experience the grounds fully. Tickets are available through the Hollywood Bowl website, where visitors can also purchase advance passes for on-site parking, Metro connections, Park & Ride buses, and bowl shuttles.