Upcoming concerts and gigs in Hong Kong and Macau

Essex alt-rock outfit Nothing But Thieves arrive in Hong Kong as part of their Under My Skin tour to promote their self-titled debut album. Barely four years in the business, the new group have a tight sound that is more than worth catching!

Always one of our highlights of the live music calendar, H2 Music Festival (formerly Handover Hallelujah) sees more than 80 local bands and music acts take the stage at The Wanch in one hectic week of pure live euphoria. Best of all? It's completely free, every night. Head down as many nights as you can and support Hong Kong live music!

Performing for two days at the prestigious Cultural Centre Concert Hall, the Hong Kong Philharmonic is celebrating the iconic film score of the original Star Wars. Catch the popular sci-fi film with a live orchestral accompaniment throughout the screening and appreciate John William’s Academy Award-winning film scare in a whole new light. 

While the final instalment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy The Rise of Skywalker won’t be in cinemas until Christmas, you can re-watch what is arguably the best film of the series The Empire Strikes Back with live orchestral accompaniment by the Hong Kong Philharmonic. You’ll appreciate John William’s iconic film score in a new light and find yourself humming The Imperial March all day long.

Part of Clockenflap’s new series of live shows to lead up its annual festival in November, Canadian indie band Alvvays are back, following their rousing performance at Clockenflap 2018, to help kick things off. Known for their glorious, alternative guitar pop, catch them up close and personal at This Town Needs this July. 

The super Irish pop group, who has sold over 55 million records worldwide and holds the Guinness World Record as the only band to achieve seven consecutive number one singles in the UK. Though they disbanded back in 2012, Westlife has gotten back together last year to much fan frenzy and released their first single (and instant chart-topper), Hello My Love, in eight years. But if you can’t wait for more new tunes, worry not because the boyband is bringing their The Twenty Tour to Macau celebrating their 20-year career of hits including Swear It Again, Flying Without Wings, You Raise Me Up and Unbreakable, as well as performing some of the newer tracks. 

Unlike the Tupac hologram at Coachella back in 2012, Japanese virtual singer Hatsune Miku has become a music sensation in Japan and have gone to have a sell-out global tour and boasting 2.5 million followers on IG. People have been going wild for this computer-generated blue-haired teenage girl, thanks to some incredible 3D graphics and a repertoire of pop hits. Celebrating the five year anniversary of her international shows, Miku is bringing “her” live band, electrifying dance moves and instant costume changes – because, you know, it’s not real – to Hong Kong for the first time. 

Nearly 20 years after taking the emo scene by storm, American Football are finally coming to Hong Kong. The indie group set the standard for emo bands with their self-titled debut and then immediately went on a 15-year hiatus. They eventually returned in 2016, and just this March they released a third critically acclaimed album, LP3, featuring eight reverb-drenched tracks driven by lush, droning melodies.

You would think blending dance, pop, hip-hop and indie would be a complete mess but that's roughly an approximation of what American duo The Chainsmokers do – and they largely pull it off. Many people clearly agree with this sentiment considering the fact that since their breakthrough in 2014, they've been nominated for numerous awards and are certified platinum. Back in Hong Kong for their World War Joy tour, the pair will most likely perform their annoying earworms like Roses and Something Just Like This.