If you have lived in the marina for more than a season, you already know the drill: the second Saturday of July, Admiralty backs up, Mindanao is a parking lot, and the concert crowd descends on Burton Chace Park. What is worth paying attention to this summer is how much the surrounding machinery has changed around that ritual. The concert series is in its 26th year, but the WaterBus, the food scene along Via Marina, and the programming filling in the shoulder weekends have quietly reorganized what a Saturday here can look like.
The short version of the thesis: summer 2026 is the first year where a resident can plan a full concert night, dinner, and ride home without touching a car, and the reason is a set of small decisions the county and a few operators made over the last twelve months.
The 2026 concert lineup, in one glance
The Marina del Rey Summer Concert Series runs Saturdays at 7 PM from July 11 through August 15 at Burton Chace Park. All six shows are free, festival seating, first-come first-served.
| Date | Act |
|---|---|
| Saturday, July 11 | Marina del Rey Symphony — Encanto in Concert Live-to-Film |
| Saturday, July 18 | Los Lobos |
| Saturday, July 25 | TBA |
| Saturday, August 1 | Marina del Rey Symphony — Video Game Soundtrack |
| Saturday, August 8 | Monsieur Periné |
| Saturday, August 15 | D Smoke and Carl Thomas |
The August 1 program is worth flagging even if video-game music sounds like a novelty on paper. Maestro Steven Allen Fox conducts the Marina del Rey Summer Symphony, joined by the SoCal Chorale led by Marya Basaraba, and features internationally acclaimed cellist Tina Guo, working through scores from Journey, God of War III, Starfield, Fallout, and World of Warcraft. That is a full orchestra and chorus on a public lawn, no ticket.
The $1 boat changes the calculus
The single most useful piece of information for a concert-night resident this summer is not on the lineup. It is that the Summer WaterBus runs for $1 per person, stopping at eight scenic locations throughout the marina including Burton Chace Park, so you can take a harbor cruise before the concert begins.
Set that against the alternative. Public parking lots near the park run $7 to $10, and traffic delays on the surrounding roads are heavy on concert nights. For a household in one of the Via Marina, Bora Bora Way, or Panay Way buildings, the WaterBus is not just cheaper. It removes the entire circling-for-parking exercise that eats the hour before showtime. If you live on a peninsula, the boat is faster than the car.
That is the calculus that shifted. In prior years the WaterBus was a nice-to-have on top of driving. This year it is the primary way in for anyone who lives within walking distance of a stop, and the concert calendar assumes you know that.
The programming filling in the rest of the summer
Beyond the six Saturday concerts, Chace Park has been layered with smaller programs that give the shoulder days their own gravity.
Match Days in the Marina. On July 11 and July 18 from noon to 6 PM, matches play on the big screen at Chace Park with a festive atmosphere and fun for all ages. If you are already coming for the evening concert, the World Cup screening is a low-effort way to make an afternoon of it.
Marina Movie Nights. Free outdoor movie screenings run Saturday nights by the water at 8 PM, with waterfront marina views. This year's lineup on the Eventbrite calendar includes the SpongeBob and Sonic the Hedgehog features, so plan around the kids you know.
Marina Drum Circle. New this year and a genuinely different use of the park. Starting Sunday, August 16, the interactive family-friendly program led by Christopher Ramirez of Freedom Drum Circles runs Sundays with Session I at 11:30 AM and Session II at 1:30 PM, continuing through the fall. If your normal Sunday routine involves a walk along Mother's Beach, the drum circle turns the return leg into something.
Neighborhood Game Night. Tuesdays 5:30 to 7:30 PM, walk-up, board games and chess on the park tables. This is not a concert-week event. It is the quiet weeknight the park deserves.
The food scene rearranged itself over the winter
The concert calendar is not the only thing that changed. If you have not been to the marina restaurants in six months, three of the anchors have moved.
Stoa Wine Bar & Market opened at 4210 Via Marina at the AMLI complex and is the most useful new address for a pre-concert dinner if you are coming by WaterBus. The European-style eatery, reminiscent of a cafe in Milan, works as a daytime market and deli, then at 5 PM turns into an evening wine bar with a happy hour and a full menu, with the pizza worth ordering. The market was curated with Tony Princiotta and Norbert Wabnig, who cut their teeth at the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop, and the display case carries international cheeses, charcuterie, and small-production wines. Executive chef Jordan Olivo came over from Charcoal in Venice. Stoa is debuting a Philosopher in Residence program with Professor Jacob Stump of Northeastern University, where guests can order guided conversations from a menu of timeless questions, which is either your idea of a great Wednesday or exactly not.
California Yacht Club at the former Tony P's site. For anyone who watched Tony P's Dockside Grille close last summer and wondered what was next: Los Angeles County entered a license agreement with the California Yacht Club for the former Tony P's site, following the restaurant's closure last summer, allowing the club to operate at the site while both parties work toward a lease amendment. The plan is a sea-to-table restaurant aiming for a Spring 2026 opening. In the interim the club is running bar service for members at the site. Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell framed the deal as preserving the location's community role, and CYC co-owner Jeff Weiss connected it to the marina's maritime tradition and the club's commitment to connecting Angelenos to experiences on the water as the marina enters its next phase. Watch the site through summer for signage.
Pita Cafe on Washington. For the Mediterranean regulars: Pita Cafe, the Mediterranean chain, is preparing to open a new location in Marina del Rey at 3205 Washington Blvd according to filings. The addition would bring the chain to five LA-area locations, with no opening date set. This is a walk-up neighborhood option, not a concert-night destination, but it fills a real gap on that stretch of Washington.
A resident's playbook for a concert Saturday
Put the pieces together and a Saturday in July or August looks like this.
- Afternoon. If it is July 11 or July 18, walk to Chace Park for the World Cup screening between noon and 6 PM. Otherwise, plan dinner around the WaterBus route.
- Early evening. Board the $1 WaterBus from the stop closest to your building. If you are on Via Marina, stop at Stoa first for the 5 PM happy hour and grab a pizza before boarding.
- Concert. Arrive at Chace Park by 6 to 6:30 for lawn space. Bring a low-back chair or blanket, a picnic if you want, and a jacket. It can get chilly at night.
- Food on site. Local trucks are at the event with a variety of options, orderable ahead through Best Food Trucks, which spares you the between-set line.
- Ride home. Same $1 boat back. No parking exit line.
- Sunday morning. From August 16 forward, walk over to the Drum Circle at 11:30 AM if you want a different way to close the weekend.
The reason to pay attention to all of this together, rather than to any single opening or event, is that it is the first summer where a resident's default Saturday routine can be entirely on foot and on the water. That is a small change in transportation logic with a large change in what living here feels like on a July evening.
If you are thinking about your own place on the water, whether it is a first move into the marina or a sale that you want to time to the summer market, Zacha Homes knows this waterfront block by block. Find out what your home is worth.
