Your Guide To The Best Live Music Venues in London

London is one of the best cities in the world for live music, there’s no doubt about it. With a fantastic home grown scene and venues to attract any artist touring in Europe, there’s no shortage of gigs and amazing places to see them in the UK’s stunning capital. With so many out there, we thought we’d take the time to sort out the 10 best going in the city right now. Enjoy!

Union Chapel

This award-winning Islington venue is fantastic for intimate concerts. Interesting shows take place throughout the year in this fantastic old church building (which still functions for services).

Roundhouse

Converted from an old Victorian railway shed, Roundhouse’s high-ceilinged main room has a great atmosphere and has the nice benefit of being able to cater for a large crowd in an intriguingly-designed building.

Barbican Hall

This place is the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, which means they must certainly have their acoustics in check. The Barbican Centre’s main hall has played host to some interesting acts over the years; keep an eye on this venue for some left-field gigs!

The O2

After years of being the butt of jokes as the Millennium Dome, this place underwent a revamp and has emerged as arguably one of London’s greatest assets in terms of drawing huge stars to play gigs in the city.

Shepherd’s Bush Empire

Easily of the best venues in West London. This venue attracts a range of artists working in different genres and pretty much always has an appealing gig on its list.

Cecil Sharp House

The spot is endowed with a wealth of history as the most prestigious venue for folk acts to play in the city. Be sure to catch a gig here if folk and acoustic music is your thing!

The Jazz Club

Despite its name, this place in Camden caters to a wide variety of music styles. It’s an intimate venue with an upper section close to the stage. This place is known to have hosted plenty of wild hip hop gigs over the years!

XOYO

This is definitely one of the hottest venues in London. XOYO focuses on bringing quality, mostly up and coming acts, onto its stage and has rightly earned a brilliant reputation for being cutting edge.

Ronnie Scott’s

Ronnie Scott’s is known the world over as a premier jazz club. This Soho venue holds jazz nights every night of the week – pop in here for a mind blowing musical performance.

The Brixton Academy

Formerly a cinema, this venue was renovated in the 80s and has become a veteran location on the scene for rock gigs. Many bands have played legendary gigs at this place, lending it a special place in the history of music.