The Best Gigs To See In London This Month: March 2020

Harry Rosehill
By Harry Rosehill Last edited 49 months ago

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The Best Gigs To See In London This Month: March 2020
GZA

By March the number of gigs in London really starts to ramp up. The post-Christmas lull is in the rear-view mirror, and there's a wave of new music being released ahead of festival season. But before music lovers decamp to muddy fields, there are tours to enjoy. Here's our pick of the best music to see in London this month, with tickets available at time of writing.

The best gigs to see in London this month

NASTY CHERRY: The brainchild of the forever incredible Charli XCX, Nasty Cherry are an extremely 2020 alt-pop girl band. Essentially Charli threw four talented ladies together into a house, and told them to go be a band — all of which was documented on Netflix's I'm With The Band. At first it was unclear if it was all a meta-joke, with the band existing just for Netflix, but the existence of live shows mean they're now a fully fledged entity that can rock your world. The Garage (Highbury), £15, 3 March

MARIKA HACKMAN: Marika Hackman music has evolved leaps and bounds over the past five years. The folk stylings are all gone, and in their place is a confident rock swagger combined with lyrics that speak frankly about female sexuality. O2 Kentish Town Forum, £20.75, 5 March

Nasty Cherry

STEFFLON DON: NME's last ever print cover star comes to Hackney, an area she's familiar with, considering she lived in the borough as a teenager. Homecoming shows always tend to be special, but this one has that extra little something as it's in aid of War Child — which means you get to pop off to Stefflon Don's signature blend of dancehall and grind feeling especially worthy. Earth (Hackney), £20, 5 March

TORRES: Ever wish you could be in three places at once? If anyone could invent some handy tech before this Thursday, please do let us know, so we don't have to choose between Stefflon Don, Marika Hackman and Torres. If you do go for the latter, just know that she's got nothing to do with Fernando and everything to do with divine guitar-led pop music. Oslo (Hackney), £13.20, 5 March

THE HOLD STEADY: Chronicling the American youth from the wild parties to the dive bars, filled with teenage burnouts and born-again christians, are The Hold Steady, rock's brilliant outsiders. The band don't do touring like most, instead taking up weekend residencies in cities. Only tickets remaining for one of their three London shows. Electric Ballroom (Camden), £32.50, 6 March

Nilufer Yanya

NILÜFER YANYA: Soaring guitars and spaced out trip-hop collide in the world of Nilüfer Yanya. This is a special one-off gig at the hauntingly atmospheric Union Chapel as part of ReBalance, a project that supports female acts in the music industry. Union Chapel (Islington), £19.25, 8 March

JAMES MASON: A pioneer of jazz-funk and one time bandmate of Roy Ayers, James Mason is experiencing a late career renaissance. Sweet Power Your Embrace is an all time great groover — that synth melody brings sheer joy to our hips — and you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't get to experience it live. Islington Assembly Hall, £30.25/£35.75, 11 March

ANAMANAGUCHI: Chiptune champions Anamanaguchi bring their bleeps and bloops to north London. If you think the best thing about old school video games are the soundtracks then this is one for you. The Garage (Highbury), £21, 11 March

King Krule

KING KRULE: There are still a few final tickets remaining for King Krule in Brixton as long as you don't mind life up in the balcony. The enigmatic south London native just released his third album — the single Alone, Omen 3 always seems to be next on my YouTube autoplay, but it's such a brilliant piece of brooding music, I don't mind. O2 Academy Brixton, £30.15, 25 March

GZA: "When I was little, my father was famous. He was the greatest samurai in the empire..." Thus begins Liquid Swords, (objectively) the greatest album that the Wu Tang Clan ever produced. And in honour of the album's 25th birthday, comes this special GZA show. One for real hip-hop heads. Electric Brixton, £30, 27 March

Best club nights in London this month

We've picked one club night per weekend, for those of you who like to party into the wee hours.

BOXED: The label Boxed have been key to Grime's recent revival, giving a platform to the producers and MCs who sit close the genres fringes. The big names are all coming out for the label's seventh birthday, we're most excited for a jungle and acid set from Amy Becker. Corsica Studios (Elephant & Castle), £10+, 6 March

Beckenham Place Park
You see that tiny white dot at the end of the park. Yeah that Georgian mansion is hosting a banging club night. Photo: Af Munyama

ORBITAL: 90s legends Orbital, named after the M25 rave scene, headline AVA's annual jaunt to London. As it's a Saturday at Printworks, this one's actually an all-dayer rather than a nighttime event, although once you step inside the former printing factory, there's no hint of that as you're completely disconnected from the outside world. Printworks (Surrey Quays), £33+, 14 March

GFOTY: Girlfriend of the Year (or GFOTY for short), hosts an extravaganza up in Tottenham. Welcome to GFOTYBUCKS, where everything is sort-of-a-joke but also not. Who cares, there will be banger after banger after banger. Five Miles (Tottenham), £11, 21 March

PARTY AT THE MANSION: Sometime who exactly is DJing takes a backseat to where the music is. Case in point Party at the Mansion, held at the Georgian beauty Beckenham Place Mansion. Soul, Disco, Jazz Funk, House, Garage and Jungle, will fill the architectural stunner. Beckenham Place Mansion, £11.30+, 27 March

Last Updated 27 February 2020