More than a year after the Eaton Fire swept through this hillside community, the garden terraces at 1601 E. Loma Alta Drive are still here. So are the summer concerts.
The Folly Bowl — the outdoor amphitheater that garden designer Susanna Dadd and artist James Griffith hand-built from broken concrete in the ravine behind their home — has announced five concerts for 2026, running from May through September. It is, by any measure, a season announcement. But one date on the calendar makes it something more.
On July 25, the Folly Bowl will host the Altadena Musicians Showcase, a concert tied to Altadena Musicians — the nonprofit that Brandon Jay started after the January 2025 Eaton Fire took his home, his recording studio, and nearly every instrument he owned. What began as a Facebook post about irreplaceable lost things grew into an organization that has, according to its website, helped return more than 1,500 instruments to displaced musicians across the Altadena and Palisades burn zones.
“Altadena Musicians was borne of heartbreak, yes, but more so of hope,” Jay wrote on the organization’s website.
Dadd and Griffith built the Folly Bowl over 20 years ago — tiering the steep ravine seat by seat, slab by slab, filling gaps with succulents and stringing it with lanterns — and opened it for public concerts in 2003. The venue seats roughly 120. Its programming has always leaned toward the unusual, and 2026 is no exception.
The season opens May 23 with santoor player Sandip Chatterjee and tabla artist Subhajyoti Guha, two North Indian classical musicians who have performed together across the United States and internationally. August 22 brings Tempa and Naor, a Maui-based SoulFolk duo whose vocalist, Tempa, has shared stages with B.B. King, Mavis Staples, and Jeff Beck, according to the duo’s website. On September 5, Los Angeles experimental duo Non Credo — Joe Berardi and Kira Vollman, whose music draws equally from film scores and what their Bandcamp page calls “pygmy war chants” — takes the stage. September 19 is listed as the North Star Festival.
As in past seasons, the Folly Bowl asks attendees to bring their own refreshments, a blanket, and a pillow; seating is provided. The venue’s Facebook page is the primary source for updates and any additional details.
IF YOU GO
The Folly Bowl 1601 E. Loma Alta Drive, Altadena, CA 91001
2026 Schedule:
- May 23 — Subhajyoti Guha and Sandip Chatterjee
- July 25 — Altadena Musicians Showcase
- August 22 — Tempa and Naor (tempaandnaor.com)
- September 5 — Non Credo (noncredo.bandcamp.com)
- September 19 — North Star Festival
Bring your own refreshments, blanket, and pillow. Seating is provided.
For updates: facebook.com/TheFollyBowl
Altadena Musicians: altadenamusicians.org
