BET Experience 2014: Free concert series to kick off festival

The BET Experience keeps getting bigger.

In the weeks before the three-day festival takes over L.A. Live from June 27 to 29, the network will sponsor a free weekly concert series.

BET and AEG teamed with Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza to present the four-week series of shows dubbed “The Road to the BET Experience.”

“American Idol” winner Candice Glover, Eric Benet, Marsha Ambrosuis, Day 26, RaVaughn, Eric Bellinger, Adrian Marcel, Dondria and Mila J. have been tapped to perform, with more artists expected to be added to the lineup.

The weekly series launches May 31 and concludes June 21, a week before the BET Experience at L.A. Live.

The shows will be held in the promenade of Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and begin at 3 p.m.

This year’s BET Experience will again include concerts, wellness seminars, celebrity panels, exhibits, the network’s popular video countdown show “106 & Park” and a free fan expo at multiple venues at L.A. Live. It’s anchored by BET’s annual award show.

R&B crooner Maxwell and singers Jill Scott, Ambrosius and Glover will kick off the festival June 27 at Staples Center.

OutKast will headline the following night’s hip-hop-focused bill with Rick Ross, ASAP Rocky, K. Michelle, Ty Dolla Sign and August Alsina. DJ Khaled will host.

Mary J. Blige, Trey Songz and Jennifer Hudson will close the festival. Future and the Roots (who will be joined by Warren G, Redman, Method Man and Doug E. Fresh) have been tapped for late-night club gigs that follow Staples Center shows.

The festival will also feature multiple stages offering free shows during its Fan Fest expo. Faith Evans, Warren G, Alice Smith, Mack Wilds, Tank, Lacrae, Rico Love, Elle Varner, Daley and Liv Warfield are among the acts scheduled to perform.

Single-day tickets to the concerts are $59.50 to $149.50, and buyers can bundle the Staples Center shows for $199 to $399. VIP packages, priced between $1,095 and $4,395, include access to the awards show and the Staples Center series.

The fan fest is free and open to the public, with no registration required.

More info on the BET Experience, including ticket sales, can be found on the festival’s site. Additional info on the free concert series can be found on the mall’s site.