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

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UK concerts


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

INTRODUCTION

Watch concert performances in the UK.

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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 2010.
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 2010
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sun 6 Jun	3pm	Parliament Hill	Grimsdyke Brass (Brass)	click here
Sun 6 Jun	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Steel All Stars (Steel)	click here
Sat 12 Jun	10am-1:30pm	St James's Park	Trooping The Colour (main ceremony: 11am-noon)	click here
Sun 13 Jun	2-7pm	Bernie Spain Gardens	Celebrating Sanctuary	click here
Sun 13 Jun	3pm	Parliament Hill	Life on Venus (Pop/Jazz)	click here
Sun 13 Jun	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Chalk Farm Band of the Salvation Army (Brass)	click here
Sat 19 Jun	11am-6pm	Leicester Square	West End Live (West End shows)	click here
Sat 19 Jun	12-7pm	Bruce Castle Park	Tottenham Carnival	click here
Sat 19 Jun	12-10pm	Victoria Park	Paradise Gardens Festival	click here
Sun 20 Jun	12-6pm	Leicester Square	West End Live (West End shows)	click here
Sun 20 Jun	10am-10pm	South Kensington	Exhibition Road Music Day	click here
Sun 20 Jun	12-10pm	Victoria Park	Paradise Gardens Festival	click here
Sun 20 Jun	3pm	Parliament Hill	The Flying Chaucers (Folk)	click here
Sun 20 Jun	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Candide (Pop)	click here
Sun 27 Jun	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Royal College of Music	click here
Sun 27 Jun	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Bachus Wind Band	click here
Sun 27 Jun	12-6pm	Parliament Hill	City of London Festival – Festival Family Day (Folk)	click here
Sun 27 Jun	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Guildhall School of Music (Wind)	click here
Sun 27 Jun	3-6:15pm	St James's Park	Regents Brass	click here

Rise 2007: The Noisettes ...

... and Jamelia

JULY 2010
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sat 3 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	A.D.Concert Band	click here
Sat 3 Jul	1-9pm	Victoria Park	Music Village	click here
Sun 4 Jul	1-9pm	Victoria Park	Music Village	click here
Sun 4 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Camberley Youth Wind Orchestra	click here
Sun 4 Jul	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Royal College of Music	click here
Sun 4 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Wantage Band	click here
Sun 4 Jul	3pm	Parliament Hill	Guildhall School of Music (Samba)	click here
Sun 4 Jul	3pm	Golders Hill Park	The Saxophone Band (Jazz)	click here
Sun 4 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Anita Wardell (Jazz)	click here
Sun 4 Jul	2-6pm	Whittington Park	Big Day Out (Holloway Arts Festival)	click here
Sat 10 Jul	1-7pm	Canary Wharf	City of London Festival @ Canary Wharf	click here
Sat 10 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Staines Brass	click here
Sat 10 Jul	1-9pm	Hyde Park	Music Village	click here
Sun 11 Jul	1-9pm	Hyde Park	Music Village	click here
Sun 11 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Tilbury Brass Band	click here
Sun 11 Jul	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Royal College of Music	click here
Sun 11 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Beckenham Concert Band	click here
Sun 11 Jul	3pm	Parliament Hill	Balkantics (Balkan Jazz/Brass)	click here
Sun 11 Jul	3pm	Golders Hill Park	The Sentinels of Rhythm (R&B/Swing)	click here
Sun 11 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Stan Tracey Quartet	click here
Fri 16 Jul	7:30-9:30pm	Shoreditch Park	Proms in Shoreditch Park	click here
Sat 17 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Aldbourne Concert Band	click here
Sat 17 Jul	1-7pm	Shoreditch Park	Shoreditch Festival Day	click here
Sat 17 Jul	11am-7pm	Brockwell Park	Lambeth Country Show	click here
Sun 18 Jul	11am-7pm	Brockwell Park	Lambeth Country Show	click here
Sun 18 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Redbridge Brass Band	click here
Sun 18 Jul	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Essex Concert Band	click here
Sun 18 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Adur Concert Band	click here
Sun 18 Jul	3pm	Parliament Hill	Harrow Concert Band (Wind)	click here
Sun 18 Jul	3pm	Golders Hill Park	TJ Johnson and his band (Jazz/Blues)	click here
Sun 18 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Allison Neale	click here
Sat 24 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Ipswich & Norwich Co-op Band	click here
Sun 25 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Friary Guildford Brass Band	click here
Sun 25 Jul	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Milton Keynes Band	click here
Sun 25 Jul	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Lewisham Concert Band	click here
Sun 25 Jul	3pm	Parliament Hill	Five go Jiving (Jive)	click here
Sun 25 Jul	3pm	Golders Hill Park	The Flying Chaucers (Folk)	click here
Sun 25 Jul	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Femi Temowo	click here
Sat 31 Jul	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Surrey Yeomanry Band	click here

Paprika Balkanicus (from the Balkans) ...

Fuerza Vallenata (Colombia)

... at Diaspora London Music Village 2007

AUGUST 2010
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sun 1 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	The Cobham Band	click here
Sun 1 Aug	3-9pm	Burgess Park	Carnaval del Pueblo (Latin American)	click here
Sun 1 Aug	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Waterbeach Brass	click here
Sun 1 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Belvedere Concert Band	click here
Sun 1 Aug	3pm	Parliament Hill	East London Brass (Brass)	click here
Sun 1 Aug	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Harrow Concert Band (Wind)	click here
Sun 1 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Lillian Boutte (Jazz)	click here
Sat 7 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Brackley and District Brass Band	click here
Sun 8 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Lofthouse 2000 Brass Band	click here
Sun 8 Aug	1-8:30pm	Gunnersbury Park	London Mela (Indian/South Asian)	click here
Sun 8 Aug	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Hertfordshire Concert Band	click here
Sun 8 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Greenwich Concert Band	click here
Sun 8 Aug	3pm	Parliament Hill	Jimmy Beckley Trio (Jazz)	click here
Sun 8 Aug	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Crystal Palace Band (Brass)	click here
Sun 8 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Gareth Lockrane Big Band (Jazz)	click here
Sat 14 Aug	1:30-9:15pm	Jubilee Park/Canada Square Park	Canary Wharf Jazz Festival	click here
Sat 14 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	East London Brass	click here
Sun 15 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	The Jaguar Band	click here
Sun 15 Aug	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Kew Wind Orchestra	click here
Sun 15 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Gravesend Borough Band	click here
Sun 15 Aug	1-7:30pm	Jubilee Park/Canada Square Park	Canary Wharf Jazz Festival	click here
Sun 15 Aug	3pm	Parliament Hill	Undercover (Rock)	click here
Sun 15 Aug	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Tziganka (Russian/Gypsy)	click here
Sun 15 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Jandira Silva (Jazz)	click here
Sat 21 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Sandhurst Silver Band	click here
Sat 21 Aug	12-8pm	Richmond Riverside	On The Edge	click here
Sun 22 Aug	12-8pm	Richmond Riverside	On The Edge	click here
Sun 22 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Becontree Concert Band	click here
Sun 22 Aug	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Amsersham Band	click here
Sun 22 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Bromley Concert Band	click here
Sun 22 Aug	3pm	Parliament Hill	The Ugly Guys (Rock)	click here
Sun 22 Aug	3pm	Golders Hill Park	‘Celli Babies (Classical)	click here
Sun 22 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	Christin Tobin (Jazz)	click here
Sat 28 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	Bourne Concert Band	click here
Sun 29 Aug	3-6.15pm	St James's Park	The Averley and Newham Brass Band	click here
Sun 29 Aug	2-5pm	Kensington Gardens	Thundersley Band	click here
Sun 29 Aug	2-5pm	Greenwich Park	Northfleet Brass Band	click here
Sun 29 Aug	3pm	Parliament Hill	The New York Café Band (Jazz)	click here
Sun 29 Aug	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Jacques Café Band (French)	click here
Sun 29 Aug	12-7pm	Notting Hill	Notting Hill Carnival (Caribbean)	click here
Sun 29 Aug	2:30-5pm	Regent's Park	The London Horns (Jazz)	click here
Mon 30 Aug	12-7pm	Notting Hill	Notting Hill Carnival (Caribbean)	click here
Mon 30 Aug	3pm	Parliament Hill	Ginny Brown Band (Country)	click here
Mon 30 Aug	3pm	Golders Hill Park	Covent Garden String Quartet (Classical)	click here

Sumaya perform gypsy music near Richmond Bridge

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

SEPTEMBER 2010
Date	Time	Location	Description	Website
Sun 5 Sep	1-5pm	Regent's Park	Klezmer In The Park (Jewish Klezmer)	click here
Sat 11 Sep	12-10pm	South Bank	Thames Festival	click here
Sun 12 Sep	12-10pm	South Bank	Thames Festival	click here

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) in the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, National Theatre and other venues along the South Bank:
South Bank Centre: http://www.southbanklondon.com
The Scoop: http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=71

Free events sometimes take place in the Barbican:
Barbican: http://www.barbican.org.uk

Many pubs put on free concerts on certain evenings.

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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

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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

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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
English National Opera
(the English National Opera has a discount scheme for students or people under 30: http://www.eno.org/explore/access-all-arias/access-all-arias.php)

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

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FURTHER INFORMATION

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

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LINKS

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

Home page: Home

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