Top London Gigs

This bill pairs two wildly different but complementary energies: Tsar B brings that moody, FKA twigs-adjacent sound—Middle Eastern tribal beats meets 90s R&B, threatening violins and distorted vocals—while Gala is the Italian eurodance legend who gave us 'Freed from Desire.' Tsar B's experimental, almost ominous electronic pop will contrast beautifully with Gala's crowd-pleasing anthems; expect the Lexington to go from hypnotic to euphoric.

Altın Gün are the real deal—Amsterdam-based but deeply rooted in 70s Anatolian rock, they take Turkish folk and run it through a psychedelic funk filter with wah-wah guitars and analog organs. Think Selda and Barış Manço meets Khruangbin. Their KEXP session is a masterclass; if you like world music that actually grooves hard, this is your gig. Grammy-nominated and relentlessly hypnotic.

Dwele's been R&B's best-kept secret since the early 2000s—that Stevie Wonder-meets-D'Angelo smoothness, the guy who made Kanye's 'Flashing Lights' hit different. He's celebrating 20 years of 'Subject' and 'Some Kinda,' and he brings it live. Myron's the cult favourite opener: 90s neo-soul royalty who wrote for Dru Hill and dropped 'Destiny'—sophisticated, slept-on, the kind of bill that reminds you why soul never dies.

Ronald Langestraat is a Dutch space-jazz treasure—his 1984 bedroom masterpiece 'Searching' finally got the vinyl reissue it deserved, all Fender Rhodes, sax, and lo-fi soul that swings between salsa, jazz-funk, and astral lounge. Big Squeeze Soul are London's vinyl purists, spinning Northern Soul, Afro-Latin, and rare groove. The Jazz Cafe's the perfect room for this: cosmic jazz from the source, then a DJ set that'll keep you moving. Leftfield done right.

Andrew Wasylyk crafts these gorgeous, cinematic soundscapes that feel like wandering the Scottish coast at dawn—think Floating Points meets pastoral jazz, all hazy synths and tender piano. mui zyu (Eva Liu) brings the flip side: knotty electro-pop shot through with Cantonese instrumentation and that deadpan delivery that hits like a half-remembered dream. Together at Rich Mix you're getting two distinct moods—the contemplative drift and the surreal bounce—which makes for a properly interesting double bill.

Ashley Cooke's the real deal—Parkland-raised, Belmont-trained, and she's already got a #1 at country radio with 'Your Place.' Her sound leans into the pop-country lane (think early Kelsea Ballerini) but with enough lyrical sharpness and heart that she's not just wallpaper. Seeing her at indigo at The O2 means you're catching someone on the way up who's already shared stages with Rascal Flatts and Luke Bryan, and that Grand Ole Opry debut energy translates—she brings the big-stage polish without losing the intimacy.

Svaneborg Kardyb are that rare duo where you can hear every breath between the keys and drums—Nordic jazz at its most inviting, like Nils Frahm decided to form a two-piece with a groove. Nikolaj Svaneborg and Jonas Kardyb compose in the moment, drawing on Danish folk and Jan Johansson's 'Jazz På Svenska' tradition, and the result is intimate and hypnotic rather than noodly. The Jazz Cafe is the perfect room for them; their NPR Tiny Desk went viral for a reason—they make complex stuff feel effortless and warm.

TVAM (Joe Oxley) is Manchester's answer to My Bloody Valentine meeting Suicide in a dark room—reverb-drenched shoegaze, coldwave synths, and that industrial crunch that's landed him on BBC 6 Music and even Succession. Maria Uzor opens with her solo work—post-Sink Ya Teeth she's gone deeper into electro, trip-hop, and proto-rave, and her sets swing between deadpan cool and defiant grooves. Together it's a proper sweaty Lower Third night: brooding textures, elastic basslines, and zero compromise.

Pastel bring that Madchester-meets-shoegaze energy—reverb-drenched vocals, biblical swagger, and tracks like 'Deeper Than Holy' that land somewhere between early Verve and Oasis at their moodiest. Florentenes open with raw Bolton indie—think Arctic Monkeys meets The Libertines, recorded at Rockfield with Dave Eringa—so you're getting two of the North's most promising guitar bands for under £20.

Female-fronted alt rock with a 2005-era pop-punk heart—think Paramore's hooks with Circa Survive's edge. Dreamhouse nail that sweet spot where guitars still carry the tune and the choruses hit hard. At a tenner, it's a steal for anyone missing when bands wore their feelings on their sleeves and didn't hide behind synths.

Waldo's Gift are Bristol's answer to 'what if Radiohead met Aphex Twin in a sweaty jazz basement'—fully improvised, post-bop meets prog-metal chaos, built from a years-long residency at the Gallimaufry. Rudi Creswick brings bass-heavy UK soul-jazz, Thundercat vibes with Dilla/Madlib production chops from the Newcastle scene. The 100 Club is legendary for a reason; this double bill is genuinely boundary-pushing.

Phoebe Katis writes soulful ballads with jazz-pop arrangements and Joni Mitchell–level storytelling—she's done Glastonbury, Ronnie Scott's, and scored a BAFTA-winning film. KONL opens with toxically funky bedroom-pop from Leeds, guitar-led and laugh-out-loud witty. Two very different takes on soul and pop, but both know how to make a room feel intimate.

Seamus Fogarty is a folktronica alchemist from County Mayo who takes traditional Irish folk—banjo, fiddle, those gorgeous melodic bones—and deliberately screws it up with synths, drum machines, and found sounds. His songs have that Steve Reich-meets-Pavement tension: structured enough to hook you, weird enough to keep you guessing. A Bag of Eyes proved he's at his best when he lets the electronic dissonance breathe. MOTH Club will suit his intimate-but-unsettling vibe perfectly.

Daudi Matsiko makes modern folk that cuts deep—Nick Drake-level fingerpicking, confessional lyrics, and vocals that sound fragile until they floor you. He's toured with GoGo Penguin and Portico Quartet, and his Crypt Sessions performances are properly spine-tingling. False Idah (Jay Brown) opens with stripped-back experimental folk that whispers and occasionally screams—music that lingers whether you ask for it or not. Kings Place Hall Two is exactly the kind of room this pairing deserves.

Jonny Muir is the dreamy ukulele guy whose cover of 'Your Young Voice' lit up Sex Education—ethereal, intimate, the kind of voice that makes a room go quiet. Josh Flowers works the ambient side: long-form pieces with pedal steel, found sounds, and acoustic guitar that drift like slow-motion clouds. Together they're a double bill of contemplative, low-key magic. The Lower Third is the right scale for this—expect hushed vibes and possibly some tears.

The London Sinfonietta are one of the world's finest contemporary music ensembles—founded 1968, 470+ commissions, the lot. They don't do safe programmes: expect cutting-edge works, world premieres, and composers like Steve Reich, Harrison Birtwistle, and Pierre Boulez played with surgical precision. If you want to hear new classical music done right—no compromise, no pandering—this is the band. Southbank Centre is basically their home turf.