It seems that these days going along to see some live music in London is either rather easy and really good value…or difficult to get tickets for and rather expensive!
There’s so many live music venues in London that it’s hard to list them all (although we’ll try), but you’ll find live music in numerous small venues across London. Tickets for these concerts can be pretty cheap, or sometimes there’s just a small entry fee – especially when there’s a showcase night, and numerous new bands are on the bill. This kind of live music is only really enjoyable to see – think hot new bands (hey, you might be seeing a Coldplay or Ed Sheeran in the making) in an intimiate venue, which makes for a really fun night out.
On the flip side, London is also home to many large concert venues where top name artists play. These days, The O2 often hosts many of the top pop and rock concerts in London – it would probably be easier to name anyone that hasn’t played there in recent years, but acts such as Bon Jovi, Rihanna, Foo Fighters, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, Arcade Fire, NKOTBSB (yes, even them!) have all appeared there in recent years. Some hate the venue and think it’s all corporate with little atmosphere – but you can’t deny that the people behind it have taken a once much maligned site (the Millennium Dome) and turned it into a pretty decent entertainment complex. I personally have no problem attending events there – I’d rather see my favourite bands and singers than not!
Getting cheap music concert tickets for these big name artists can sometimes be quite difficult, not to mention ridiculously pricey. Tickets for most of these concerts normally go on sale on online ticket agencies such as Ticketmaster, See Tickets and Gigs and Tours.
Depending on how popular the gig you want to go to is, you could also try Ebay. Sure, more often than not, tickets for the really popular stuff are sold at many times their actual price. But not always – I’ve actually managed to get some tickets for UNDER face value, so it’s certainly worth a look.
Live music venues in London
Check out the websites of the following venues to see what’s on and when.
Brixton Academy (Underground: Brixton)
Shepherd’s Bush Empire (Shepherd’s Bush)
The 100 Club (Tottenham Court Road/Oxford Circus)
Bush Hall (Shepherd’s Bush Market)
Hammersmith Apollo (Hammersmith)
Koko (Mornington Crescent)
Royal Albert Hall (South Kensington)
Cadogan Hall (Sloane Square)
The O2 and indigO2 (North Greenwich)
Wembley Arena and Wembley Stadium (Wembley Park)
XOYO (Old Street)
The Troubadour (Earls Court)
