Top London Gigs

This is a dream double-bill for anyone into cinematic jazz and crate-digging culture. Les Hommes are a London trio who helped define the late-'90s lounge-exotica revival on Schema Records — think hypnotic Lowrey organ grooves, bossa nova rhythms, and Italian film score atmospherics. Their 2024 album 'Sì, Così' proved they've still got it. The Karminsky Experience Inc. complement them perfectly with an all-vinyl DJ set drawn from their legendary collection of obscure mid-century jazz, library music, and downtempo rarities — they've topped the Mixcloud Soundtrack chart and sold over 20,000 copies of their curated compilations.

Tara Lily is a South London singer of British-Bengali heritage who makes this gorgeous, hazy blend of trip-hop, jazz, and electronica with Indian soundscape elements woven through. She was the first British artist signed to Motown UK, and her debut album 'Speak In The Dark' on Tru Thoughts has drawn praise from Gilles Peterson, Iggy Pop, and Jamie Cullum. Her recent material has pushed further into drum & bass and electronic territory, so expect the live show to hit harder than the records suggest. MOTH Club is a great room for this kind of intimate, atmospheric performance.

MEGA is a British-Ugandan soul singer from North London with one of those voices that stops you in your tracks. She discovered her talent singing in a gospel choir alongside Little Simz after a three-year throat condition nearly ended her career before it started. Her single 'My Bones' hit the BBC Radio 2 Playlist and The Times' Best New Songs of 2025, and she's racked up over 100 million streams independently. Seeing her at KOKO — a proper big room — should be a moment.

Don Glori is the alias of Gordon Li, a Melbourne-born multi-instrumentalist now tearing it up in London's jazz scene. His music weaves together jazz, funk, soul, samba, and Brazilian influences into something irresistibly groovy — his debut 'Welcome' got love from BBC, NTS, KEXP, and Worldwide FM, and his follow-up 'Don't Forget To Have Fun' lived up to its name. He's got a new album coming on Mr Bongo Records, which tells you exactly the calibre we're talking about. Expect heavy improvisation and a band that knows how to make a room move.

A powerhouse pairing of two Australian-born, London-based musicians pushing jazz into soulful new territory. Audrey Powne is a trumpeter, vocalist, and producer whose debut 'From the Fire' on BBE Records channels Herbie Hancock, D'Angelo, and neo-soul into something cinematic and deeply personal — she wrote, arranged, and produced the whole thing herself. Myele Manzanza is a drummer's drummer, the son of a Congolese percussionist, whose broken-beat style fuses West African rhythms with J Dilla-influenced grooves. He's played with everyone from Hiatus Kaiyote to Theo Parrish. Together at Notting Hill Arts Club, this should be special.

Opal Ocean are a Melbourne guitar duo who fuse flamenco technique with prog rock and psychedelic arrangements on nylon-string guitars — imagine Rodrigo y Gabriela colliding with Dream Theater. Their concept album 'The Hadal Zone' features Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater and has been called one of the most daring acoustic guitar albums ever made. Their viral track 'J.A.M.' hit 30 million views across social media, and they've toured everywhere from Canada to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix. Pure technical wizardry in a small venue setting.

Central Line are British funk royalty — their 1981 single 'Walking Into Sunshine' is one of those tracks that never stopped being a dancefloor staple, especially after Larry Levan's legendary remix turned it into a Paradise Garage anthem. The band were at the heart of London's early-'80s funk and boogie scene, running what they called 'a central line of funk and soul.' Seeing them at The Jazz Cafe, a venue built for this kind of groove, is about as good as it gets for a funk night out.

Junk Drawer are Belfast's most decorated indie band — three Northern Ireland Music Prize wins including Best Live Act, and co-signs from KEXP, Stereogum, and Brooklyn Vegan. They pull from krautrock, post-punk, and West Coast psych in a way that recalls Pavement and Television but sounds entirely their own. Their second album 'Days Of Heaven' landed in 2025 to serious acclaim, and they've opened for Built To Spill, Superchunk, and Mclusky. Leigh Arthur adds another layer — she's a Dublin scene veteran (Sissy, Extravision) now doing radically stripped-back solo material in London. At £10 in The Shacklewell Arms, this is a no-brainer.

I Patagarri are a five-piece gypsy jazz quintet from Milan who went from busking in street markets to finishing third on X Factor Italia 2024. Their style is irresistibly fun — imagine Django Reinhardt meets Paolo Conte with a dash of New Orleans brass band energy. All five members trained at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory, so the musicianship is legit even when they're clowning around on stage. Their breakout single 'Caravan' is a blast of smoky, danceable jazz that's been streaming like crazy. Catching them at Dingwalls should be a proper party.

Yttling Jazz is the jazz side-project of Björn Yttling, best known as the bassist and producer behind indie favourites Peter Bjorn and John. It's a proper jazz band, not a vanity project — their 2007 debut 'Oh Lord, Why Can't I Keep My Big Mouth Shut' showed real chops, and now they're back with a new album 'Illegal Hit' featuring a remake of a Tallest Man on Earth track. Yttling's production pedigree (Lykke Li, Franz Ferdinand, Primal Scream) gives the project a polished, ear-catching quality. At The Jazz Cafe this should be a stylish, slightly off-kilter jazz night.

St. Barbe are a jazz-fusion trio of Guildhall graduates who inject alt-rock energy into their jazz — think complex time signatures, post-rock dynamics, and serious guitar shredding. They've twice sold out Ronnie Scott's and opened for legendary guitarist Mike Stern, which is no small feat for a young band. Their recent single 'Pinch' features Mercury Prize-shortlisted corto.alto and got picked up by BBC Radio 6 Music. At £12 in The Black Heart, this is a steal for the kind of musicianship on offer.