Empire of the Sun — synth-pop live

Empire of the Sun’s Los Angeles appearance is the kind of listing that tells you almost everything from the surrounding context. Time Out included the Australian duo in its weekly Los Angeles events roundup published Monday, May 18, 2026, as part of a guide to concerts and other picks for the week. Time Out’s standalone event page for the act describes “glam electro-pop anthems and glittering costumes” and places the show inside Cercle Odyssey’s Los Angeles debut at the Los Angeles Convention Center. That listing says the performance would feature a “visual narrative” from the group’s creative team and names South African brother duo Roi Turbo as the opener. The Los Angeles Convention Center’s event page identifies Cercle Odyssey as a large-scale 360-degree immersive concert installation and lists Empire of the Sun on the Thursday slot during the run in downtown Los Angeles. (timeout.com) Cercle’s own ticket page gives the Empire of the Sun date as May 8, 2025, at 5 p.m., which clarifies that the Time Out event page refers to that earlier Los Angeles booking rather than a newly announced May 2026 standalone concert. (timeout.com) ### Why is this showing up in a May 2026 Los Angeles events conversation? Time Out’s May 18, 2026 weekly roundup is a current page, but the specific Empire of the Sun event page surfaced in search results is dated Tuesday, March 11, 2025. The available source material therefore supports the band’s presence in Time Out’s Los Angeles coverage, but not a fresh May 2026 Los Angeles headlining date tied to that old event page. (laconventioncenter.com) The band’s official site does show Empire of the Sun actively touring in 2026, including festival and headline dates across Europe and North America. As of the current tour page, the listed California stops are Lightning in a Bottle in Bakersfield on May 20-24, Lollapalooza in Chicago on July 30, Outside Lands in San Francisco on August 9, and a broader North American run beginning August 11 in Morrison, Colorado. ### What exactly was the Los Angeles show format? (timeout.com) Cercle Odyssey billed the Los Angeles Convention Center event as a 360-degree immersive production rather than a conventional club or theater date. The official event material says the show blends music, art and synchronized visuals projected across a large screen environment. Time Out matched that framing in shorter form, saying Empire of the Sun’s Los Angeles stop would include a “visual narrative” from the group’s creative team. (empireofthesun.co) That language lines up with the duo’s long-running live identity, which has centered on theatrical costuming and highly designed stage visuals. ### Where does this fit in Empire of the Sun’s current cycle? Empire of the Sun released *Ask That God* in 2024, their first studio album in years, and the official band site continues to route fans through an active tour schedule. (odyssey.cercle.io) Apple Music’s album page includes Luke Steele saying the record “definitely feels like a rebirth,” while the official site labels the album “out now.” Live Nation and Ticketmaster listings show the group’s 2026 North American dates under the “Ask That God: Afterlife” banner, with stops including Red Rocks, Forest Hills Stadium and other amphitheaters later this summer. (timeout.com) Those listings indicate that the current live campaign has moved beyond the earlier Los Angeles Convention Center event. ### So what should Los Angeles readers do now? (music.apple.com) Time Out’s weekly roundup remains the current place to check for Los Angeles picks, but the verified Empire of the Sun-specific Los Angeles page available in search points to the May 8, 2025 Cercle Odyssey performance, not a new May 2026 booking. Readers looking for a confirmed next Empire of the Sun date should use the band’s official tour page or primary ticketing listings for current availability. (livenation.com) The next concrete milestones on Empire of the Sun’s official schedule are European dates beginning May 31 in Oslo, followed by U.S. festival appearances on July 30 in Chicago and August 9 in San Francisco, before the North American headline run opens August 11 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. (empireofthesun.co) (timeout.com)