live gig guide

london is a fantastic city for clubbing and live music and while the northwest may be the source of much of britains amazing musical heritage, almost all the bands that have ever taken the world by storm have ultimately been lured by the bright lights and sheer diversity of london's gig scene. so as mr bowie said, throw your homework onto the fire and explore - check out this weeks live gig listings, browse through the latest tour dates, find a live venue near you or go spend your pocket money on some fresh vinyl - this is london.

popular

the scala in kings cross has introduced a number of artists on the way to more mainstream success in 2005, notably john legend who played there in january with no ticket to be found, while high on the list for atmosphere and accoustics are the shepherd's bush empire and the forum kentish town, who have had rufus wainwright (posing) and de la soul as recent visitors. moving up in terms of size are the hammersmith apollo (formerly the odeon and featured on dave pearce's intro to public enemies legendary it takes a nation of millions to hold us back) and nme favourite the brixton academy, both of which offer a step up in terms of capacity at the expense of the things that make the shepherds bush empire and forum such favourites.

experimental

whether you're into roots or reggae, indie or pop, there are venues of all shapes & sizes to cater for every taste you can imagine. and if you can't find a place that does, give them a shout. places like the rhythm factory in whitechapel and the luminaire in kilburn both have an open welcoming approach to new forms of musical experimentation. there are open mic nights at the barfly, cd remixing at plastic people, world & folk at spitz, a fusion of sound and vision at ica - here's a quick glance of what you can find on the london live music scene.

indie rock

camden town is indie central with more live venues clustered into a postcode playing all kinds of indie rock & metal, from the nightly stages at the pub/venue dublin castle to gigs & nme club nights at koko and the essential step in all indie diaries - checking out the up and coming talent at the barfly. up north, the garage and it's little sister upstairs at the garage host indie rock and metal most nights, while the regular artrocker nights introduce up and coming indie hopefuls at the buffalo bar. down the northern line, the bedford in balham is a large pub with a dedicated section available for musicians most nights of the week.

r'n'b hip hop & dance

with r'n'b holding it's place in the mainstream in recent years, you're likely to see established artist such as craig david, destiny's child etc at the mainstream london venues. more experimental shows can be found at the jazz cafe in camden where a world influence mixes with intimate shows from big name artists, while cargo host anything and everything from hip hop/dance cross overs to leftfield world artists such as trinidadian poet roger robinson. also keep an eye out on the weJamming club listings for mc contests & events that take place at herbal, plastic people and the dj bars in brixton

jazz, roots & blues

london has a renowned world jazz scene and while you may not get the crowds or collection of artists at the new orleans mardi gras or montreal jazz festival, you can certainly see top jazz artists play at legendary jazz soho institution ronnie scott's, presenting jazz music of international standard. tickets cost between £20 & £25 (£10 student entry monday to wednesday). other venues include the pizza express jazz club at 10 dean street as well as the barbican and royal festival hall. the jazz cafe in camden is a bit of a misnomer though as you're more likely to hear hip hop & r'n'b there than jazz

roots & blues may not be as well represented but there are two excellent venues worth going along to - the 12 bar club just across from rays jazz cafe that hosts up to four bands a night 7 days a week, and the ain't nothing but blues bar that showcases live blues every night, with free entry on sundays and weekdays, a late license and an intimate up for it crowd!

world

the first place that comes to mind when looking for visiting bands from far off places is spitz with their active policy of encouraging quality sounds from the far seas to londoners, and definitely worth checking out the gig listings for. other notable venues are the barbican with their diverse artistic policy and the royal festival hall on the south bank, while the borderline is highly regarded as the first stop for americana/alternative american country and often the first place such bands play in the uk courtesy of americana aficionado borderline promoter barry evans

 

any tips or suggestions? feel free to contact us with your ideas

bookmark the live gig guide /sign up to the weekly newsletter