On Fridays (but sometimes on Thursdays too), at 12 noon at the Café Consort (Door 12, Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Gore, London, SW7 2AP) the Royal Albert Hall often features free lunchtime gigs called “Ignite” by rising (mostly jazz or folk) stars. The quality of the performances is high and in most cases you can be sure you will be listening to some great music. Aim to be there about 30 minutes earlier if you want to have a seat; some of the gigs are very popular and you could end up standing for the whole duration of the performance.
We have collected the free gigs to be held in May and June 2013 and we present them here. Enjoy!
All gigs start at 12 noon.
- May, 17 (Friday): Giacomo Smith and Robin Katz’ Club Royale Giacomo Smith (clarinetist) and Robin Katz’ (guitarist) Club Royale performing a mix of jazz music
- May, 23 (Thursday): Junior Ignite – Out of the Loop rising stars from the National Youth Jazz Orchestra
May, 24 (Friday): Peter Michaels Trio (guitar, double bass, percussion) performing jazz and Brazilian music compositions- May, 31 (Friday): Ma Polaine’s Great Decline (vocals, blues harp, a horn section, accordion, guitar, piano, double bass and drums) performing a mix of jazz and blues music
- June, 6 (Thursday): Trey and Freddie song-writing duo from Sedgehill School in Lewisham who use a mixture of folk, country and indie influences to create their sound
- June, 7 (Friday): Atonga Zimba playing the koliko (or molo), a two-stringed lute, which is used throughout the savannahs and deserts of West Africa
- June, 14 (Friday): FB Pocket Orchestra performing hot jazz, blues, ragtime and popular dances of the 1920/30s and earlier
- June, 21 (Friday): Melange performing a blend of Middle East and other world music genres
To get the full list of events and all their details in order to make plans for any future dates please scroll down to the calendar and click on the event(s) you are interested in.
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London free shows & activities 