London music

London music

Yes, the rumours are true - Taylor Swift rented out a random London shopping centre for her latest music video. The pop superstar's 'Opalite'video, which was released last week, is set in the '90s and features cameos from Graham Norton, Lewis Capaldi, Domhnall Gleeson, Cillian Murphy and Greta Lee. Part of the video sees Taylor and Domhnall Gleeson wandering around a colourful, sparkling shopping mall. That shopping mall, ladies and gents, is Croydon's own Whitgift Centre.

London R&B singer Ella Mai broke out in 2018 with the sleeper hit "Boo'd Up," which employed its chorus, mimicking a heartbeat, to channel the kind of easygoing romance that puts a skip in your step. "There Goes My Heart," a highlight from her new album, Do You Still Love Me?, captures the more demanding somatic rhythms of a love that brings your defenses crashing down.

A new listening bar has opened in Walthamstow, bringing Japanese-inspired interiors, a carefully curated sound system and a seriously strong drinks list to the neighbourhood. The Olfa Club offers 27 wines by the glass, with prices starting from a fiver, alongside a mineralised water menu, plus a record player for guests who want to bring their own vinyl or dip into the in-house selection.

London band Sorry dropped two new songs today, "Billy Elliot" and "Alone In Cologne." The former premiered on BBC 6Music this morning, and the latter was released shortly after. Listen to both, out now on Domino, below.

As the Grammy winners took to the stage in Los Angeles on Sunday night, one common thread emerged: many had once walked the halls of a comprehensive school in Croydon, south London. British performers Olivia Dean, who won the prestigious gong for best new artist; Lola Young, who took home best pop solo performance for Messy; and FKA twigs, who won best dance/electronic album for Eusexua, all attended the Brit school in Selhurst.

When the London jazz festival ran online only in 2020, an enthralling livestreamed performance by Swiss harpist Julie Campiche's avant-jazz ensemble was a startling highlight, introducing UK audiences to a virtuoso instrumentalist and composer who was already turning heads in Europe. Campiche plucked guitar, zither and east Asian-style sounds from the harp, mingled with vocal loops, classical music, Nordic ambient jazz and more. You might call her soundscape magical or otherworldly if it didn't coexist with a campaigner's political urgency on environmental and social issues.

Opera audiences pride themselves on knowing when and how to make noise. Cries of bravo, brava and bravi have become a celebrated part of the tradition, with shouted approval seen as evidence of connoisseurship. Booing, too, has a long history, and as a brave stand-in at the Royal Opera House found out on Tuesday night, its impact may sometimes seem a little blunter.

Night-owls will have the chance to dance along to an eclectic mix of electronic and pop music under the same roof as the gallery's more than 2,300 paintings, dating as far back as the mid-13th century. If that wasn't enough, the set will be headlined by Soundcloud DJ Mia Lily, as well as RuPaul's Drag Race UK season 2 star Bimini Bon-Boulash, better known simply as Bimini.

At its peak, XOYO in Shoreditch was one of the best nightclubs in London, playing host to residencies from the likes of Benji B, Andy C, Artwork, Bradley Zero, Skream, Bicep and The Blessed Madonna. However the club struggled to maintain that level of cultural relevance post-pandemic and declined in popularity as it became a more commercial venue. At the end of last year, XOYO (along with other London venue The Camden Assembly) was acquired by the newly formed Propaganda Independent Venues group,

We've been exploring what nightlife looks like in London outside of the traditional nightclubs, and here comes the Barbican with a brand-new late-night party series. The 'anyone can dance' events will be a celebration of diaspora, community and joy, with the Level -1 foyer space turning into a dancefloor open until 3am. The series is kicking off on Fri 20th February with a night curated by Eastern Margins, a collective that celebrates alternative East and South East Asian creativity and culture.

Now we finally know when the venue will open and its opening lineup. Jazz-heads, mark your calendars for Friday February 6, which is when Upstairs At Ronnie's will open with two events. The first slot (5pm-8.45pm) will be occupied by soul and jazz singer Dana Masters, with the 'late late show' (11.15pm onward) set to be from Cuban band Viva Cuba.

The first floor of the iconic pub on Lower Richmond Road will be extended to create the new terrace, which will have a retractable roof and spiral staircase. The venue will also get new equipment to allow it to sell a better range of food, while it will undergo some internal reorganisation and redecoration. An artist's impression of the refurbished pub The Half Moon on Lower Richmond Road

"cat's oot the bag then!," wrote Robert Dallas Gray on BlueSky, confirming the reunion.

Deathcrash will release their third album, Somersaults, on February 27. The follow-up to 2023's is the London slowcore band's latest for Untitled (Recs), and they'll celebrate its release with a show in the label's New York hometown, at Night Club 101, on February 26. (Find the rest of the band's tour dates on their website.) Listen to the Somersaults title track below, and scroll down to find the album art and tracklist, which includes the recent single " Triumph."

London-based producer Bailey Ibbs returns after a year with announcing 'Notice The Silence', his fourth EP on his own imprint Night Service, out Friday 19th December. Marking a clear evolution in sound and intention, the release sees Bailey step away from the purely club-driven intensity he's become known for, instead embracing a more introspective, emotion-led approach built on tension and sincere self-expression.

Our transport is always being upgraded to make travel smoother, our neighbourhoods are always getting new homes and community spaces, and fresh cultural offerings like restaurants and theatre shows are always popping up. So naturally, 2026 will be full of new openings. We've put together a list of all of the most exciting new projects set to alter London over the next 12 months.

"I believe in supporting the very best. Students need the best teachers, and they also need the finest spaces in which to explore and extend their musical potential. I am proud to support this outstanding organisation and to contribute to the life and prospects of its students. I feel so lucky that my late husband Kristian Gerhard's extraordinary business life enables me to make this gift."

As a child he was acting opposite Beverley Knight in The Bodyguard in the West End and toured the production around China. He had a main role in four seasons of CBBC football drama Jamie Johnson and appeared on Casualty. You can see him dancing in the video to Stormzy's 2017 single Vossi Bop, a baby-faced scamp swinging a baseball bat into the camera lens.

Cirque du Soleil has performed annually at the Royal Albert Hall since 1996 and for 2026, the circus troupe is bringing OVO back to London, with a reimagined set design, reinvented music and new acrobatic acts. OVO, meaning 'egg' in Portuguese, is a celebration of the insect world, with a love story between a quirky fly and a spirited ladybug and a mysterious egg that sparks transformation at its heart.

"It's a huge, huge cultural loss for not just the current musicians, but the musicians of the future, especially working-class ones that used to have this as one of the few possibilities of getting inside the craft," she said.

In March 2025, the UK experimental music scene was pleasantly surprised when London venue Cafe Oto got a mention at the Oscars. Daniel Blumberg, who won an Oscar for the score for The Brutalist, used his acceptance speech to pay tribute to the East London venue and its community of "hard working, radical musicians, who've been making uncompromising music for many years" (the soundtrack features the likes of Seymour Wright, Evan Parker and Steve Noble).