The UK capital is one of the world’s premier cities for live music – from rock to classical, world music to cabaret – in clubs, concert halls and stadiums.
Some call London the live music capital of the world. The sprawling British capital offers a live music experience every night of the week. Orchestras here are in rude health: of five permanent orchestras based in London, three are world-class and led by star conductors – St Petersburg’s Valery Gergiev, for example, is at the helm of the Barbican-based London Symphony Orchestra.
Jazz and world music are thriving. Young British jazzers are nurtured and funded; the average hipster could count off a handful. Musicians from Africa, Europe and elsewhere play before eager crowds. Salon-style clubs – along with burlesque cabaret – are making a comeback.
And while developers have turned the lights out at concert halls such as the late, lamented Astoria and Hammersmith Palais, rock and pop music venues are thriving thanks to access to digital music (see it online, then go to see it live) and the vast numbers of people attending shows. From rooms in pubs to refined concert halls and gigantic watch-the-screen arenas, live music in London has never been so noisy. Here are some of the best places to hear it.
Barbican Centre
Silk Street, Barbican.
+44 20 7638 8891.
02 Academy Brixton
211 Stockwell Road, Brixton.
+44 844 477 2000.
Jazz Café
5 Parkway, Camden.
+44 844 847 2514 (standing ticket line); +44 20 7688 8899 (restaurant booking line).
Kemia Bar
25 Heddon Street, Mayfair.
+44 20 7434 4040.
Koko
1a Camden High Street, Camden.
+44 844 847 2258.
The Pigalle Club
215 Piccadilly, Piccadilly.
0800 988 5470 (Toll-free UK only).
Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club
47 Frith Street, Soho.
+44 20 7439 0747.
Roundhouse
100 Chalk Farm Road, Camden.
+44 844 482 8008.
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore.
+44 20 7589 8212.
Royal Opera House
Bow Street, Covent Garden.
+44 20 7304 4000.
02 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
Shepherd’s Bush Green.
+44 844 477 2000.
Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road.
+44 871 663 2500.
Wembley Arena
Engineers Way, Wembley, Middlesex.
+44 870 739 0739.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way June 2009