Concerts in London/UK: buy pop/rock/jazz/classical/opera tickets

	Study, work or travel in the UK. British culture and life.
Homepage	Search	A-Z index	Message Board	Contact us
Britain	Course	Life	Work	Links
English	Prepare	Personal	Travel	Ideas





< Up	Life / Entertainment / Concerts
UK concerts


Sections:	Introduction
	Free concerts in London
	Pop/rock
	Jazz
	Classical music
	Opera
	Further information
	Links

INTRODUCTION

Watch concert performances in the UK.

Back to top

FREE CONCERTS IN LONDON

(1) Free outdoor concerts

Below is a list of some of the free outdoor concerts in London's parks and open spaces at weekends during summer 2008.
For events in parks, people often bring a rug and a picnic. Deckchairs are available at some locations (a fee may be charged).
Make sure that you wear suncream if sitting out in the sun. For safety reasons do not carry bottles or other glass objects.
Please make sure that you check the website link shown to check the location and times (sometimes concerts may be cancelled).
Further details about some of the larger events and about some concerts for which you need to pay entrance charges can be found in the Ideas/Events section.

Regent's Park bandstand

Concert in Regent's Park

Deckchairs

JUNE 2008
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Wed 4 Jun	5-7pm	Emma Cons Garden	Thai musicians and dancers	click here
Sun 8 Jun	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Royal College of Music	click here
Sun 8 Jun	1-8pm	Trafalgar Square	Korea Sparkling Summer Festival (Korean)	click here
Sun 8 Jun	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Ensemble from the Trinity College of Music	click here
Wed 11 Jun	5-7pm	Emma Cons Garden	Steel pan and calypso	click here
Sat 14 Jun	1-7pm	Bernie Spain Gardens	Pulse (Central/Eastern European)	click here
Sun 15 Jun	2-7pm	Bernie Spain Gardens	Celebrating Sanctuary	click here
Sun 15 Jun	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Royal College of Music	click here
Sun 15 Jun	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Ensemble from the Trinity College of Music	click here
Wed 18 Jun	5-7pm	Emma Cons Garden	Spanish Flamenco dancers and musicians	click here
Sat 21 Jun	11am-6pm	Leicester Square	West End Live (West End shows)	click here
Sat 21 Jun	10am-midnight	South Kensington	Exhibition Road Music Day	click here
Sat 21 Jun	12-7pm	Bruce Castle Park	Tottenham Carnival (includes Carnaval Latino del Norte)	click here
Sun 22 Jun	12-6pm	Leicester Square	West End Live (West End shows)	click here
Sun 22 Jun	12-6pm	Hampstead Heath	Festive India Family Day	click here
Sun 22 Jun	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Guildhall Brass Ensemble	click here
Sun 22 Jun	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Jim Mullen Organ Trio (jazz)	click here
Wed 25 Jun	5-7pm	Emma Cons Garden	Cuban band Tumbao Tivoli	click here
Sat 28 Jun	12-9pm	Southwark Park	Carnival de Cuba (Cuban)	click here
Sat 28 Jun	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Regent Brass	click here
Sun 29 Jun	12-8pm	Southwark Park	Carnival de Cuba (Cuban)	click here
Sun 29 Jun	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	The Ladies Palm Court Orchestra	click here
Sun 29 Jun	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Kew Wind Orchestra	click here
Sun 29 Jun	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Ensemble from the Trinity College of Music	click here
Sun 29 Jun	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Julian Stringle’s Dreamband featuring Jacqui Hicks (jazz)	click here

Rise 2007: The Noisettes ...

... and Jamelia

JULY 2008
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sat 5 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Brackley and District	click here
Sun 6 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Jaguar Band	click here
Sun 6 Jul	1-7pm	Bernie Spain Gardens	London Bossa Nova Festival	click here
Sun 6 Jul	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Redbridge Brass Band	click here
Sun 6 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Belvedere Concert Band	click here
Sun 6 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Empirical (jazz)	click here
Sat 12 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Ipswich and Norwich Band	click here
Sat 12 Jul	1-9pm	Hyde Park	Diaspora London Music Village (worldwide)	click here
Sat 12 Jul	12-8:30pm	Landseer Park	Landseer Music Festival	click here
Sun 13 Jul	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Welwyn Garden City Band	click here
Sun 13 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	East London Brass Band	click here
Sun 13 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Bromley Concert Band	click here
Sun 13 Jun	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Manteca (jazz)	click here
Sun 13 Jul	1-9pm	Hyde Park	Diaspora London Music Village (worldwide)	click here
Sun 13 Jul	12-8:30pm	Finsbury Park	Rise: London United	click here
Sat 19 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Camberley Youth Wind	click here
Sun 20 Jul	1-7pm	Bernie Spain Gardens	Colombianamente (Colombian)	click here
Sun 20 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Kibworth Band	click here
Sun 20 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Greenwich Concert Brass Band	click here
Sun 20 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Stan Sulzmann Quintet featuring Kenny Wheeler (jazz)	click here
Sat 26 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Amersham Band	click here
Sun 27 Jul	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Bristol East & Kingswood Band	click here
Sun 27 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Chinnor Silver Band	click here
Sun 27 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Waterbeach Brass Band	click here
Sun 27 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Alex Garnett’s “Jazz Ambassadors” (jazz)	click here

Paprika Balkanicus (from the Balkans) ...

Fuerza Vallenata (Colombia)

... at Diaspora London Music Village 2007

AUGUST 2008
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sat 2 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Invicta Band	click here
Sun 3 Aug	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Cobham Band	click here
Sun 3 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	City of Southampton Albion Band	click here
Sun 3 Aug	3-9pm	Burgess Park	Carnaval del Pueblo (Latin American)	click here
Sun 3 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Fulham Band	click here
Sun 3 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Bryon Wallen Trio	click here
Sat 9 Aug	1-9pm	Jubilee Park	Canary Wharf Jazz Festival	click here
Sat 9 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Kidlington Band	click here
Sun 10 Aug	1-7pm	Jubilee Park	Canary Wharf Jazz Festival	click here
Sun 10 Aug	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Northfleet Brass Band	click here
Sun 10 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Yorkshire Co-op Band	click here
Sun 10 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Liane Carrol (jazz)	click here
Sun 10 Aug	12-8pm	Gunnersbury Park	London Mela (Indian/South Asian)	click here
Sat 16 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Avon Fire and Rescue Service Band	click here
Sat 16 Aug	12-8pm	Richmond Riverside	On The Edge	click here
Sun 17Aug	2-3.30pm	Kensington Gardens	Tilbury Brass Band	click here
Sun 17 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Second Wind	click here
Sun 17 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Suffolk Phoenix Band	click here
Sun 17 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Samara (jazz)	click here
Sun 17 Aug	12-8pm	Richmond Riverside	On The Edge	click here
Sat 23 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Watford Band	click here
Sat 23 Aug	7-10pm	Haggerston Park	Proms in Haggerston Park	click here
Sat 23 Aug	12-9:30pm	Hyde Park	Panorama (Caribbean: steel drums)	click here
Sun 24 Aug	11am-7pm	Notting Hill	Notting Hill Carnival (Caribbean)	click here
Mon 25 Aug	11am-9pm	Notting Hill	Notting Hill Carnival (Caribbean)	click here
Mon 25 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Garden Opera	click here
Sat 30 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Thundersley Brass Band	click here
Sun 31 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Milton Keynes (Broseley) Brass Band	click here

Sumaya perform gypsy music near Richmond Bridge

... and Brecha play Cuban-style music at On The Edge 2007

SEPTEMBER 2008
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sat 13 Sep	12-10pm	South Bank	Thames Festival	click here
Sun 14 Sep	12-10pm	South Bank	Thames Festival	click here
Sun 14 Sep	12-6pm	Trafalgar Square	Simcha on the Square (Jewish)	click here

Notes:
- The 2008 Bowl Festival (which usually takes place in Crystal Palace Park) has been cancelled. See: http://www.thebowl.org.uk
- There are some free jazz concerts as part of the Greenwich Riverfront Jazz Festival (18-29 September 2008). See: http://www.riverfrontjazz.co.uk

Bowl Festival at Crystal Palace Park ...

... Ashok performing on stage

Military bands

Military bands can be seen during events such as Changing the Guards at Buckingham Palace (daily during the spring/summer, every other day during autumn/winter), Trooping the Colour (see: Ideas/Album/TroopingTheColour), the Lord Mayor's Show (see: Ideas/Album/LordMayorsShow) or at Remembrance Sunday (see: Ideas/Album/RemembranceSunday).

Street musicians

Buskers often perform on the streets around Leicester Square and Covent Garden, and in Tube stations. You can watch them for free, but they will ask for voluntary donations.

(2) Free indoor concerts

Students from the music colleges in London give free concerts:
Royal Academy of Music: http://www.ram.ac.uk/events/index.html.
Events usually take place in the college buildings on Marylebone Road, near to Baker Street underground station (map).
Royal College of Music: http://www.rcm.ac.uk (select Events and then London lunchtime concerts).
Musicians from the Royal College of Music perform each Wednesday in the Central Hall of the National Gallery (on the north side of Trafalgar Square; map) from 6-7.30pm (to check this, see: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/what/calendar).
Royal Albert Hall: http://www.royalalberthall.com/ignite/ignite.aspx
Free concerts in the Café Consort during the summer on Friday lunchtimes.

Free concerts are also often performed inside churches. For example:
St James' Church, Piccadilly: http://www.st-james-piccadilly.org (see: map)
If you enjoy listening to choirs or organ music, you may wish to attend an evensong service or an organ recital in a church or cathedral. At Christmas you can enjoy carol services.

There are regular free events (including both jazz and classical concerts) along the South Bank:
South Bank Centre: http://www.southbanklondon.com
Free events sometimes take place in the Barbican:
Barbican: http://www.barbican.org.uk

Many pubs put on free concerts on certain evenings.

Back to top

POP/ROCK

You can use the following links to book tickets for UK pop/rock concerts (gigs):
- Ticketmaster (pop/rock)
- TicketSwitch (pop/rock)

In London some of the main rock venues are:
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Arena
Apollo Hammersmith
Shepherd's Bush Empire
Brixton Academy
The O2 Arena

For more information about British pop/rock music, see: Britain/Music/Pop

Back to top

JAZZ

You can use the following links to book tickets for UK jazz concerts:
- Ticketmaster (jazz)
- TicketSwitch (jazz)

In London well-known venues for jazz concerts include:
Ronnie Scotts
Pizza Express Jazz Club
A monthly listing of jazz events in London can be downloaded from this link: http://www.jazzinlondon.net

Back to top

CLASSICAL MUSIC

You can use the following links to book tickets for UK classical music concerts:
- Ticketmaster (classical music)
- TicketSwitch (classical music)

In London some of the main classical music venues are:
Royal Albert Hall
South Bank Centre: Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room
Wigmore Hall
Barbican Hall (home of the London Symphony Orchestra)
Cadogan Hall (home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra)
Concerts are also performed in many churches/cathedrals, for example in St Martin-in-the-Fields.

For a list of classical concerts, see: http://www.concert-diary.com or http://www.bachtrack.com/event-calendar

The Royal Albert Hall (near Knightsbridge)

(c) BBC Proms. Photo: Chris Christodoulou

Inside the Royal Albert Hall

The BBC Proms are a series of classical music concerts each evening between mid-July and mid-September at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Some of the concerts are shown on BBC television (BBC1 or BBC2) and most are broadcast on the radio (BBC Radio 3). You can also listen online even if you are not in the UK. These concerts have taken place since 1895 and have become a popular British tradition. The most famous concert is the Last Night of the Proms in mid-September. The traditional ending of these concerts includes Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major", Wood's "Fantasia on British Sea-Songs", Elgar's arrangement of the hymn "Jerusalem" and Britten's arrangement of "The National Anthem". It is an occasion famous for its patriotic atmosphere. For full details, see the BBC's Proms website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms or the Royal Albert Hall's website: http://www.royalalberthall.com

To be able to apply for tickets for the Last Night you usually need to buy tickets for 6 or more tickets for other Proms concerts. It is easier to buy tickets for a similar concert at the same time known as Proms in the Park. This takes place in Hyde Park (opposite the Royal Albert Hall) and in some other parks across the UK.

The Proms are so called because some of the audience stands in the 'promenade' area of the hall. About 500 cheap standing tickets are sold each day in the Arena (in the middle, close to the orchestra), and 350 standing tickets are sold high up in the Gallery (there are different queues for each of these). In 2006 these cost 5 pounds each (payable in cash only). They can be bought by anyone (not just students). These tickets start to be sold one and a half hours before each performance, but it is better to join the queue earlier, especially for a popular performance.

Last Night of the Proms (2 CDs)
Artist: The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Date: July 2007

Last Night Of The Proms 2000 (DVD)
BBC Symphony Orchestra/Chorus
Studio: Opus Arte Media Productions
Date: July 2001

OPERA

You can use the following links to book tickets for opera in the UK:
- Ticketmaster (opera)
- TicketSwitch (opera)

The main locations for or opera (or ballet) in London are:
Royal Opera House
Sadler's Wells
London Coliseum

The most famous annual opera festival in the UK is at Glyndebourne (near Lewes, East Sussex BN8 5UU; map)

Back to top

FURTHER INFORMATION

"Time Out" is a detailed weekly guide to what's on in London.
Click here to subscribe online to: Time Out magazine

Back to top

LINKS

Monthly guide to events: Ideas/Events
Proms concerts: Ideas/Album/Proms
British music: Britain/Music

Home page: Home

Back to top

© UK Student Life 2002-2009

* Search this website (www.ukstudentlife.com) or the web: