The Best Gigs In London This Week

By Londonist Last edited 109 months ago
The Best Gigs In London This Week

Looking for some top live music tips in London this week? Want to catch a gig but not sure what’s happening, or just need some suggestions? Jen Long, Music Editor at DICE, gives us her top tips which you can pass off as your own ideas and impress your friends.

See the UK’s best new bands

From the perfect, heart-bursting pop of Brighton’s Fickle Friends who play The Waiting Room on Tuesday 24 February and the indie perfection of London’s Gengahr who play there two nights later on Thursday 26 February, to the ramshackle vibrancy of Manchester’s Spring King who take on The Lexington that same night, this week is packed with chances to catch your new favourite bands.

The best gigs to wear a flannel shirt at

If you didn’t fall in love with last year’s Lost In The Dream, you might want to check your pulse. The War On Drugs play Brixton’s O2 Academy on Tuesday 24 February while on Thursday 26 February Fleet Foxes’s Father John Misty takes to the stage at Village Underground playing songs from his hugely acclaimed new album I Love You, Honeybear. Across town on Friday 27 February the incredible and incredibly prolific Ryan Adams hits the Eventim Apollo.

One show that’s about nothing but the music

The must-see gig of the week: Boston three-piece Krill play The Old Blue Last for a rare UK show.

On first listen, you can’t help but think this Boston trio wouldn’t have sounded out of place on an SST split with someone like Minutemen. You can practically smell the tour van. Krill bring their noisy idiosyncrasies to London for a rare show, on Wednesday 25 February at The Old Blue Last. This is not one to miss.

Best gig to discover something incredible

No matter how you feel about the Blur comeback, you’ve got to give it to Damon; he has incredible ears. Discovering Songhoy Blues through his Africa Express project, they performed across the UK this summer bringing their euphoric and rhythmic indie to festival stages. They play Camden’s Barfly on Monday 23 February.

The best show to dance and Snapchat at

Canadian wonderkid Ryan Hemsworth hasn't stopped moving for the past 18 months. In between producing for the likes of Tinashe, Sinead Harnett and Tory Lanez, the self-confessed internet addict has toured from hemisphere to hemisphere, sharing line-ups with the likes of Kanye West and Outkast. Be in the crowd at XOYO on Wednesday 25 February.

Best place to have a big one this weekend

Having helped launch the likes of Clean Bandit, Rudimental, Gorgon City and Kidnap Kid, London-based record label Black Butter has established itself as one of bass music's spearheads. On Friday 27 February they takeover Birthdays in Dalston, showcasing some of the label's up-and-coming talent with Jaded, Sly-One, NVOY and the Spread Love DJs all taking to the stage.

Best gigs to see two bands who smash it live

You've got to see Pond live — it's an unforgettable show.

As much as we love listening to records, some bands you’ve just got to see in the flesh. On stage, Pond flail, fall and flaunt their vibe-high psych-rock fun and put on one heck of an exhilarating show. Catch them at Camden’s Electric Ballroom on Wednesday 25 February. Manchester’s Pins deliver a fierce, abrasive and intense set that will leave you destroyed every time. See them at the Sebright Arms on Thursday 26 February.

This article was created in partnership with mobile ticketing app DICE, which supplies tickets without booking fees. Which makes sense to us, because it seems unfair to charge booking fees for an electronic ticket. You’re free to buy your tickets from wherever you like, of course.

Last Updated 23 February 2015