As the clock approached 10 p.m. on a recent Friday night, City Center on Sixth in Koreatown was buzzing with an unexpected energy. Scores of people—along with their families, friends, and pets—flooded into the three-story shopping mall not for Korean eats at H Mart, but to catch viral saxophonist Nathanial Young in a free, impromptu concert.
Sandwiched between a post office and a pharmacy on the ground floor, the 27-year-old Los Angeles resident performed an hour of original music for hundreds of people packed around three levels of atriums—transforming an ordinary mall into an extraordinary concert hall.
Young is no stranger to performing in spaces uncommon for jazz musicians—tunnels in Norway, the foot of Teotihuacán's Pyramid of the Sun in Mexico, deserted parking structures, and empty churches across LA. His unique performances, often recorded from the perspective of his Ray-Ban Meta glasses, have racked up millions of views and earned him a combined 1.1 million social media followers.
"It's wonderful to see live music, and it's even more beautiful to see everybody participating in that space that we can all share and experience together," said Edmond Smith, who traveled from Chatsworth to attend.
Young typically announces performances to his followers just a day or two—sometimes mere hours—beforehand, creating an air of spontaneous community gathering. The City Center show drew people from across Los Angeles County, united by word-of-mouth and social media.
"I feel like this also grants greater access to this type of music because usually, to listen to this kind of music, you have to be at a jazz club or symphony—not at a mall in the middle of K-town," observed attendee Nicole Carre.
In an era of ticketed exclusivity and algorithm-driven entertainment, Young's guerrilla concerts represent something beautifully analog: community gathering around art in shared public spaces, completely free and open to all.
Follow @nathanialpov on Instagram for announcements of upcoming secret shows.