The best London gigs and concerts in September

Alright lads, it’s time to dig out the Uniqlo anoraks. Autumn is just beginning to rear up its grey, drizzly self. And actually, there’s something quite nice about starting the day on a cooler note, or not feeling the pressure to be ‘out’ all the time because of the incessant sunlight. Instead, you can shelter from the random downpours and occasional heatwaves this month often throws at us, with a nice dose of live music. September is bringing the capital all kinds of exciting shows, from stadium rock to underground rap by way of bratty pop stars and angsty groups of emo manchildren. Enjoy!

Georgia is a freelance contributor to Time Out’s music section. She's heading to America for a month in September so can't actually make any of these – but insisits you buy a ticket for at least one gig and raise a Diet Coke to her. 

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For parent-friendly anthemic rock 

Lewis Capaldi

Scottish singer, songwriter and all-round ‘nice guy’ Lewis Capaldi is back on top form. Following a triumphant – surprise – Glastonbury appearance, the ‘Someone You Loved’ hitmaker is taking over The O2 armed with classic pop crooning and a few fresh tunes, including his huge new single ‘Survive’. Definitely one for when your parents are in town. 

The O2 Arena, SE10 0DX. Sept 16-18, 6.30pm. From £98.01.

Suede

This really might be the smallest place you’d ever see Suede. The legendary 90s band are heading to Walthamstow to do a very intimate show with Rough Trade. Tied into the release of their new album, Antidepressants, there’s a guarantee that you’ll hear loads of new stuff, peppered with a few of the old bangers that’ll make you proud to be alive in the age of the Britpop renaissance, if you weren’t around the first time.

Signature Brew Blackhorse Road, E17 5QJ. Thur Sept 11, 7pm. From £16.50.

For the c*nty pop princesses 

PinkPantheress 

PinkPantheress has always had a knack for making earworms out of snippets of samples she’s found in the crevices of the internet. Just look at the success of her breakout Sweet Female Attitude-sampling single, ‘Pain’, which not only did the rounds on TikTok but catapulted the then-anonymous star to number 35 on the charts. Her second mixtape, Fancy That, came out earlier this year, with the (frustratingly catchy) ‘Illegal’ an instant classic. See if you can match her signature vocal tones when seeing her live in Brixton. Basically, just channel your inner Bubbles from The Powerpuff Girls. 

O2 Academy Brixton, SW9 9SL. Thur Sept 18 and Fri Sept 19, 7pm. From £42.25.

St Vincent 

St. Vincent is making her BBC Proms debut this September. A rather unusual performance for the art-pop provocateur, the night will see Vincent performing with Jules Buckley and his orchestra, offering listeners a whole new load of symphonic arrangements of tracks from her eclectic back catalogue. Join the six-time Grammy Award winner for an unforgettable night that’s very different from her usual kind of pop performance.

Royal Albert Hall, SW7 2AP. Wed Sept 3, 7pm. From £61.60.

Lady Gaga

Mother Monster is bringing the Mayhem Ball to the capital, and honestly, it’s an exciting excuse to pull out your Halloween costume early. Join Gaga in Greenwich this month for a series of epic live spectacles that promise plenty of claws in the air, TikTok-ready dance moves and impressive vocal flips. Last time she played London, there were 40-foot flames, so let’s see if she can beat that at The O2. 

The O2 Arena, SE10 0DX. Sept 29- Oct 4, 6.30pm. From £89.85.

New-gen rap superstars

Jim Legxacy

It’s safe to say that Jim Legxacy’s debut Black British Music has come to be one of the year’s definitive albums. Providing an essential voice for London’s underground scene, he’s a vivid chronicler of the modern Black British experience. Verses, like that on the standout single, ‘father’ (‘I'm tryna come up off the roads on my own two / I never had a (father) / She said she grew up all alone, had no (father) / She's independent, wanna spend my my money on her’), bounces over complex yet sensitively-created experimental beats. This is a rare opportunity to catch the artist before he really blows up. 

EartH Hall, N16 8BH. Sat Sept 27 and Sun Sept 28, 7.30 pm. From £24.98.

Kneecap

They’re one of Ireland’s most exciting (and controversial) exports of late. And given all of the headlines and court appearances, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Kneecap, first and foremost, are actual musicians. With their no-fucks-given attitude, bars spat in their native Irish language and bass-heavy beats, the trio of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí are set to blow the roof off their biggest London gig yet. Revisit their film if you know what’s good for you.   

OVO Arena Wembley, HA9 0AA. Thur Sept 18, 6pm. From £39.25.

Angsty male rockers

Gorillaz

The joint project of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett has been dominating Stratford’s Copper Box Arena for almost a month now. And to celebrate the final days of ‘House of Kong’, Gorillaz will be doing a series of very special one-off shows. Paying homage to the band’s 25-year legacy, 2-D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel Hobbs will be doing 2001’s Gorillaz, 2005’s Demon Days and 2010’s Plastic Beach in full, followed by ‘Mystery Show’. Sound like your kind of thing? Nab the last remaining tickets and enjoy a night of nostalgia. 

Copper Box Arena, E20 3HB. Aug 29, 30 and Sept 2 and 3, 7pm. From £80.

Basement

British band Basement released their magnum opus, Colourmeinkindness, in 2012, right in the midst of a twee indie movement. Offering anxious teenage boys the chance to scream along to emo-adjacent ballads like ‘Covet’, in which frontman Andrew Fisher sings, ‘When I'm with you/ I don't want to be with you,’ it’s the kind of music you blast at full volume and forget about the effect it has on your eardrums. 

O2 Forum Kentish Town, NW5 1JY. Fri Sept 19, 7pm. From £36.55.

For kicking a door in

Michael Cera Palin

Don’t be fooled by the silly name, Michael Cera Palin are one of emo’s most idiosyncratic voices. Formed in Atlanta in 2015, the trio released their debut EP, Growing Pains, followed by their 2018 sophomore release, I Don't Know How to Explain It, to widespread praise from the blogosphere. While mainstream success hasn’t quite reached them yet, they’ve got a dedicated fanbase that’s sure to welcome curious listeners in with open arms, should you choose to check them out (as they play their second album in full) at The Lexington this autumn. 

The Lexington, N1 9JB. Thur Sept 25, 7pm. From £7.68.

Uncle Junior

Blasting out of the Brit School with music that sounds like Shellac, Uncle Junior are a band that simply needs to be on your radar. Fed on noise rock and post-punk that’s synonymous with south London – hello Black Midi, Black Country, New Road and the likes – they’re crafting their own visceral take on razor-sharp rock music. It makes perfect sense for them to be playing in Jack White’s Third Man Records, imo. Just give their single ‘Sardines’ a listen to see what you’re in for.  

The Blue Basement, W1F 9BA. Thur Sept 11, 7pm. From £9.27.

The new wave of shoegaze

DIIV

Sometimes you just want to lose yourself in a swell of guitars, you know what I mean? DIIV is the kind of band whose robust guitars and vocal layering provide a sense of catharsis when you’re under heavy light beams, helping you forget the world outside. Hit singles like ‘Doused’ and ‘Under The Sun’ are sure to provide you with some sense of solace when they come to life at this LED-heavy live performance at Outernet. 

HERE at Outernet, WC2H 8LH. Wed, 3 Sept, 7:00 pm. From £30.86. 

Turnover

Turnover’s 2015 album Peripheral Vision is one that I’d always recommend if you need a good cry. Twisting their pop punk style into a kind of wistful indie, it’s full of pulse-quickening drum rolls, purposefully bleak heavy guitar riffs and Robert Smith-informed self-pitiful vocal delivery. There’s a beautiful dizziness to it all that makes it even more remarkable when heard live, making this performance of the full album an absolute must. 

O2 Forum Kentish Town, NW5 1JY. Sun Sept 14, 7pm. From £46.33. 

NewDad

Gen Z’s obsession with shoegaze isn’t a trend many of us saw coming. But it has produced some amazing new bands, and that’s something we can all be excited about. NewDad is one of these emerging acts that has a really exciting future ahead of it. The Irish four-piece from Galway oozes a kind of teenage angst with cynical yet meaningful songwriting; with heavily visual components and messages about coping with painful formative experiences. Songs like ‘Angel’ and ‘Sickly Sweet’ are particularly poignant.

Rough Trade East, E1 6QL. Sun Sept 14, 5pm. From £18.

Just Mustard

Fellow new-wave shogaze group Just Mustard will also be playing in London this September, treating you to a suitably autumnal night out with their woozy dream-poppy sounds. They are, like NewDad, from Ireland (Dundalk in County Louth, to be exact), and make music that conjures up images of misty moorlands. Their unsettling yet ethereal sound channels shoegaze, goth, industrial, trip-hop and noise rock, which can all be heard on their 2022 album Heart Under. 

Hoxton Hall, N1 6SH. Thur Sept 25, 7pm. From £24.48.

Something to get you dancing 

Vybz Kartel 

Jamaican artist Vybz Kartel is helping you pretend you’ve gone back to peak summertime with his electrifying brand of dancehall. His long-awaited return to the international stage was marked by an appearance at Drake’s three-day Wireless takeover back in July, and now his debut arena tour, ‘The Worl’ Boss Tour’, promises to continue where he left off. Taking inspiration from Ninjaman and Buju Banton and American rappers like Will Smith and KRS-One, the artist has a signature, sexy sound that’s sure to get your hips moving. 

The O2 Arena, SE10 0DX. Thur Sept 4 and Fri Sept 5, 6.30pm. From £77.60.

Kokoroko

Music doesn’t get more joyous than what Kokoroko is making. The London-based septet plays a fusion of funk and highlife, led by Sheila Maurice-Grey and Onome Edgeworth. Off the back of a successful performance at the BBC Proms and support from public figures like Giles Peterson, the group released their second album, Tuff Times Never Last, earlier this summer. Expect to hear this alongside dance-ready rhythms and exciting improv at this O2 Academy Brixton show. 

O2 Academy Brixton, SW9 9SL. Thur Sept 25, 7pm. From £38.95.

Dance music oddballs

Hot Chip

Who doesn’t love a little nostalgia? Two decades and eight albums in, Hot Chip has released Joy In Repetition, an anthology of their finest works, which includes tracks from each of their albums as well as the brand-new song, ‘Devotion’. Head on over to this massive night at Troxy to see why the band was dubbed ‘the greatest British pop group of their generation’ by The Guardian. The album’s title alluded not only to one of Hot Chip’s biggest anthems, but also the band’s fascination with rhythm, over and over and over and over and over.

Troxy, E1 0HX. Fri Sept 5, 7pm. From £58.86.

Aya

One for the freaks, this. Huddersfield musician and producer aya makes avant-garde, horror-esque hard dance that’s just downright scary at points. Her brilliantly icky album Hexed! (I dare you not to squirm at the artwork), utilises techno beats and the splicing of steel knives, peppered with high-pitched nonsensical vocal deliveries, as the track Off to the ESSO exemplifies. This night, fittingly set at the ICA, is a collab with German light artist MFO to present ‘an audiovisual performance interweaving nerved confessional with rave got dark’, whatever that means.

ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts), SW1Y 5AH. Sat Sept 6, 7.30pm. From £25.

Loraine James

Electronic music producer Loraine James is hosting a very special live presentation at the Barbican this month, performing her ambient-inspired Whatever The Weather project. This is a rare chance to see the Hyperdub signee as she uses sound to trace emotional temperature and texture, through collage-like ambient soundscapes and field recordings that sound like they’ve been pulled from your phone’s voice memos.

Barbican Centre, EC2Y 8DS. Sat Sept 6, 7pm. From £15.

Ebbb

This trio mixes gabber, techno, ambient pop and folk to make music that’s (probably) unlike anything you’ve heard before. The group’s weird, shapeshifting soundscapes, as documented on the 2024 EP All At Once, are best experienced live, as their otherworldly influences collide to create a sense of ecstatic raving. Maybe it’s all a load of nonsense, or maybe it’s one of the most interesting things you’ll see this year  – really, that’s for you to decide. 

Windmill Brixton, SW2 5BZ. Thur Sept 25, 7.45 pm. From £7.

Relaxed indie vibes

Blondshell

American indie rock singer Sabrina Mae Teitelbaum, best known as Blondshell, has become a darling of the twinkling underground indie scene. Her music comes rooted in a kind of ‘90s sensibility, mixing elements of dream pop harmonies and saturated guitars, often splintering the noise with shards of noise or the occasional passionate vocal outburst. The new(ish) album, If You Asked For A Picture, is a little bit more mellow, maintaining Blondshell’s signature melodic, pop-leaning indie rock, just with a few more moments to catch your breath. See it come to life in Brixton this month, and you’ll understand the hype.

Electric Brixton, SW2 1RJ. Thur Sept 11 and Fri Sept 12, 6.30pm. From £27.30.

Christopher Owens

What my editor calls ‘akin to Christian rock’, I call comforting soft rock. However you look at it, Christopher Owens’ solo material is pretty dreamy. The former Girls frontman has faced his fair share of tribulations (addiction, deaths, growing up in a cult – Google it!), which naturally feed into his tender nine-year travelogue, the album I Wanna Run Barefoot Through Your Hair. Channelling folk, rock and gospel on the standout single ‘I think about heaven’, he documents his past nine years with an overarching sense of optimism. It’s sure to sound absolutely lovely live.

EartH Theatre, N16 8BH. Sat Sept 6, 6pm. From £27.04.

American rap superstars

Lil Baby

Lil Baby rose to prominence with his blistering 2017 mixtapes Harder than Hard and Too Hard, the latter kick-starting his chart success with lead single ‘My Dawg’. What soon followed was collabs with the likes of Drake on the top ten single ‘Yes Indeed’ and the mixtape Drip Harder with fellow breakout and Georgia native Gunna. With a distinct mumble-rap style, synonymous with the Soundcloud generation, Lil Baby has come to define modern trap, so he’s well worth seeing if you’re a fan of Quavo, Young Thug and the likes. 

The O2 Arena, SE10 0DX. Sat Sept 27, 6:30pm. From £59.25. 

Clipping

Halloween’s coming early, as Clipping brings their horrorcore style to Koko’s main room this September. The trio have really made a name for themselves by crafting shudder-inducing raps that detail grisly murders and gory scenes like that of a grindhouse feature. Expect to hear sinister electronic soundscapes made from smashed glass, ripping chainsaws, and blood-curdling screams, as frontman Daveed Diggs delivers intense tongue-twisting verses.

Koko, NW1 7RE. Sun Sept 21, 7pm. From £31.04.

To do some god damn good for once in your life

Together for Palestine

Brian Eno has banded together an Avengers-style line-up for this epic Palestine fundraiser. With performances from *inhales* Bastille, Brian Eno, Cat Burns, Damon Albarn, Greentea Peng, Hot Chip, James Blake, Jamie xx, King Krule, Mabel, Obongjayar, Paloma Faith, Rachel Chinouriri and Sampha. Plus, several Palestinian artists will also take to the stage, including Adnan Joubran, Faraj Suleiman and Nai Barghouti. Together for Palestine aims to raise millions of pounds to help charity Choose Love and its partner organisations in Gaza to provide desperately needed food, medical supplies and other support. Nab a spot while you can, it’s your good karma for the month. 

OVO Arena Wembley, HA9 0AA. Wed Sept 17, 5.30pm. From £70.75.