It’s only the beginning of April, but Mitski has already taken the crown for 2026’s Most Outstanding Residency, as the indie singer-songwriter kicks off a five-night residency at the Hall at Hollywood High School this week.
“When I first got here, I kind of regretted coming out of high school a little bit because I was immediately motivated,” Mitski joked to a crowd of 1,900 fans sitting on thin, old wooden folding chairs in the school auditorium for the first show Monday night. “As soon as I stepped foot on campus, my mind immediately did this thing and registered all the exits and places I could hide. Oh, no one’s laughing. That’s great. I think no one else had a bad time in high school.”
Maybe it was just a little too relatable.
It’s hard not to laugh a little at the sheer novelty of seeing one of the most iconic artists of this generation perform her only Los Angeles show of the year on the same stage that will host the high school production In the forest Next month. But to be fair, this isn’t your typical high school.
Hollywood High School has served as a filming location for many films and television shows in the past, including optimist nancy drew made, and Penn and Teller: prattle. Its famous alumni and former students include Carol Burnett, Sarah Jessica Parker, Judy Garland, and Cher. Mitski isn’t the first artist to play at the popular high school either; Elvis Costello played at the hall in 1978, and released a live album of that performance in 2010. Morrissey played more recently, in 2013, in a performance documented in the concert film. Morrissey: 25 Live.
This history is what attracted Mitski here in the first place. She was looking for more intimate and unconventional shows for this tour. In her New York shows, Mitski played at The Shed, an arts center more synonymous with theater than music.
“I want to get back to the feeling I had doing DIY shows and punk shows,” the singer told NPR. World Café last month. “And I was just trying to channel that.”
With that mandate in mind, her team began planning Los Angeles shows last year in preparation for her latest album Nothing is about to happen to me. says Wilson Cheng, Mitski’s booking agent at High Road Touring THR That its director Dalton Sim brought up Hollywood High School, recalling the shows of Morrissey and Costello. Cheng says Hollywood High School was the only school they were considering, with other potential locations including Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
The school quickly became the best option. Along with the history, its hall is also equipped with a lot more concert capacity than one might expect. It can seat a few thousand people, has a wide roof, and a stage that can easily accommodate a full band. The cafeteria below served as a pop-up “Tansi House” for Mitski, where fans could take photos and purchase merchandise.
“It’s really hard to find a unique place in Los Angeles,” Cheng says. “There are a lot of high-profile artists looking for spaces. The concept of playing a high school in itself isn’t exactly new, but it’s been a really long time since we’ve seen anyone really do it… It’s a great little theater up there. It may not be as fancy as the old Ace Hotel, but it’s a great listening experience for the fans.”
Thus, Mitski’s team left it to concert promoter Goldenvoice to coordinate and communicate with Hollywood High School principal Samuel Dovlatian. After a few months of discussions, Cheng says, the school joined the project. Getting the green light for this kind of show seems even more unlikely today than in decades past given all the security barriers in schools now. In this case, the screenings were only possible because Hollywood High School and the rest of LAUSD were on spring break that week, leaving the building vacant. Cheng says they have targeted this week from the beginning and know this is the only time they can make it happen.
Mitski’s reputation may also have contributed, as a more vocal and anarchic artist and audience member, who may not have gotten the green light. “Mitski’s fan base is very nice and understanding,” Cheng says. “That probably helped too. These aren’t programs where they’re going to mess up the school in any way. They’re polite, easy-going people.”
To give back a little, Mitski also decided to allocate $2 from every ticket sale to In the Band, an after-school music program based in Los Angeles.
The logistics of the shows weren’t too complicated after getting the green light. The biggest problem was that the auditorium seats were not originally numbered, but Goldenvoice had named them. Moreover, Mitski has brought her personal assistant, and is looking forward to being a good tenant for this week, as she has cleaned before the showings and plans to clean again at the end of the week.
Mitski didn’t spend much time in her set when she finally began her set on Monday, taking 35 minutes before she even addressed the audience as she rambled through tracks including “In a Lake,” “I Bet on Losing Dogs,” “Where’s My Phone” and “Heaven.”
The distinctive old-school California room smell and feel benefited from the DIY aesthetic Mitski was going after, although after a few songs, it was easy to forget the venue after getting into the concert itself. The images were powerful, between the projections behind her and the fog of fog machines that flooded the stage. The only other time the school’s location seemed to be acknowledged other than Mitski’s first statements was during her performance of “Two Slow Dancers,” in which she delighted the audience as she sang the opening lyrics “Does this smell like school gym in here?”
The few thousand fans who managed to get tickets to the show weren’t the only winners here. Mitski’s team gave some tickets to Hollywood High to students and staff as well. like LAist This week, she reported, the school has created an attendance contest, where students who attend every day for two weeks can try to get two tickets. 168 students enrolled, and their attendance rose from 89 percent to 96 percent. Overall, 46 students received tickets, according to the news outlet.
Then of course, there were the school rental fees for shows in general. Cheng declined to provide details about how much they paid to rent the hall, but as Mitski announced during her presentation, Principal Dovlatyan decided it would benefit the students as well, for their graduation.
“All the hats and gowns and everything, it was paid for with the rental fees,” she said, shouting in a Dovlatian voice as the rest of her band introduced as the crowd cheered. “I wish I could take credit for this but I can’t. This is Director D, so thank you.”
Mitski concludes her residency on Saturday. Then school is back in session.
