Live music is often best enjoyed alongside a cool summer breeze and a lukewarm beverage, and here’s where you can enjoy that in London this summer. Credit: Benedict Priddy / Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy (Bruno Mars) Wherever there are swathes of grass or stadiums with no football to host, there will be music. That is the motto in London during the warm months, with plenty of giant live shows still left to go across the summer. This guide should hopefully help you pinpoint some of the best shows in the capital this year; concerts that have potential for a mix of sunshine and cold beverages that turn warm quickly. It could rain, of course, though it probably won’t on the day you’re planning to go. That’s the mentality we all have to go into this with. Before we get going, there are a few technicalities to iron out as to what constitutes an open-air concert as opposed to a festival. We have a whole separate roundup telling you about them. But in this roundup, you’ll find outdoor concert series that stretch over a longer period of time than your normal festival, as well as a selection of stadium shows where you can also catch the sun and feel the breeze. Hyde Park BST is a festival. All Points East is a festival. A gig at Finsbury Park is an open-air show. A gig at the London Stadium is also an open-air show. Those are my rules. Here are the shows. Bruno Mars Bruno Mars is in the middle of playing his first live headline shows in London since 2018, and has now got four more dates out of six to play in the capital. London has enjoyed some pretty toasty weather over the last month, which makes those choruses sound all the better. Read our guide to the Bruno Mars London gigs here. Somerset House Summer Series It might not boast the swathes of greenery that the London parks do for their summer festival shows, but the Somerset House Summer Series delivers a unique chance to catch outdoor music bang in the centre of the city with a beautiful riverside setting as your backdrop. This year, they’ve once again put together an eclectic bill across 11 days in July, with the following artists all headlining: Naïka (July 16) Palace (July 17) Thee Sacred Souls (July 18) Lightning Seeds (July 19) The Cribs (July 20) Agnes Obel (July 21) Black Country, New Road (July 22) Venna (July 23) Raf-Saparrra (July 24) The Flaming Lips (July 25) Benjamin Clementine (July 26) Grace Jones Ladies and gentlemen… Miss Grace Jones. Palace Bowl Presents is opening the festival like it means business with a true legend taking to the stage. Grace Jones will be running with rhythm after performances from Soul II Soul and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. 🎟️ You can still get tickets here. The Kooks Another gig series that gets going on July 31 is Labyrinth On The Thames at the Old Royal Naval College, which opens with The Kooks celebrating Inside In / Inside Out, which turns 20 this year. Before sipping your beer along to their hits such as She Moves In Her Own Way, be sure to head over early for Tom A. Smith and Circa Waves. Peggy Gou Peggy Gou by the Thames isn’t something that’ll come around very often, so you’ll need to take the chance for a boogie. Prospa and Kelly Lee Owens will also be along for the ride on the summer evening at the UNESCO World Heritage site. Masayoshi Takanaka The vibes are going to be off the charts for this one. A surfboard guitar and plenty of euphoria-inducing solos are on the menu as Masayoshi Takanaka headlines the City Pop Waves festival in the capital as part of Palace Bowl Presents. It follows his triumphant pair of gigs at Brixton Academy earlier in the year, which were the 73-year-old’s first London shows as a solo artist. Joining him for the fun will also be another icon, Himiko Kikuchi, with the keyboardist set to perform her 1987 album, Flying Beagle, in full. Overmono This may just be the pick of the bunch at the Old Royal Naval College this summer. Labyrinth On The Thames are welcoming Overmono on the release day of their next album, Pure Devotion, so it should be a celebratory show. Along with their set, the bill also includes Erika de Casier, Nick Leon B2B Verraco, Loukeman, Carista, and Leod. Roots Picnic The legendary Roots Picnic is coming to these parts for its first-ever international showing. Stepping away from Philadelphia, London’s Crystal Palace Bowl will welcome a stacked two-day bill that features the likes of Nas & The Roots playing a joint headline set, Anthony Hamilton, Sasha Keable, Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Common, and many more. 🎟️Book your space for day one here and day two here. The Weeknd We’ve seen some stunning Wembley Stadium shows in London this summer from the likes of Harry Styles, My Chemical Romance, and Bruno Mars, but it’s soon time for The Weeknd to step up for another glorious rendition of his ongoing ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ tour. He’s playing London’s biggest stadium five times in August, so any fans who didn’t catch him the last time or enjoyed it so much they need to see it again, this is your chance. MOBY MOBY with a view of the THAMES at a UNESCO World Heritage site sounds like a summer evening to envy. Labyrinth On The Thames have really delivered here. Jimmy Eat World Bleed American has cemented its status as an era-defining record, nestling nicely in between Clarity and Futures to make up a bulletproof trio of Jimmy Eat World records. It’s also the record that saw the band truly go supernova, and many will remember not being able to move for The Middle on MTV, Kerrang! TV, and the like. The record and its impact will all be celebrated this summer, as Jimmy Eat World mark 25 years of Bleed American at their biggest London show yet. Taking place at the Crystal Palace Bowl, they’ve also got a mean support bill beneath them in the form of Rise Against, The Get Up Kids, and Jay Som. 🎟️Tickets are still available here. Bon Jovi BON JOVI ARE BACK! They’re coming over for the Forever tour, which takes the name of their album from 2024 that was released in their 40th year as a band. It’s sure to be a big celebration, and given they’ve not played the UK since 2019, it’s guaranteed to be extra loud.
