Midge Ure, born James Ure, is a Scottish musician, singer-songwriter, and producer known for his work in various bands and as a solo artist. He gained prominence in the 1970s and 1980s, particularly with the bands Slik, Rich Kids, Visage, and most notably, Ultravox. Ure is also recognized for his co-writing and production of the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and his involvement in organizing Band Aid, Live Aid, and Live 8.

Emeli Sandé is one of Britain’s most successful living songwriters. Her debut album Our Version of Events, which sold over 5.4 million copies to date, was the biggest selling album in the UK of 2012, the second biggest selling of 2013, and is certified platinum eight times in the UK and Ireland. Emeli followed it with critically acclaimed Long Live The Angels in 2016, the Kingdom Coming EP in 2017 and Real Life in 2019. With 19 million singles sold including 3 x UK No. 1 singles, 6 million albums and four BRIT awards (including Best Female twice), Emeli received an MBE for Services to Music in 2018 and in July 2019 she became the University of Sunderland’s Chancellor. In between her own records, she has recently collaborated with UK rap and grime giants, including Bugzy Malone’s ‘Welcome to the Hood’ and Ghett’s ‘Sonya’, featured on his Mercury Prize-nominated record Conflict of Interest. Other collaborations that span Emeli’s career include Kendrick Lamar, Giggs, Loski, Wretch 32, Wiley, Jools Holland, Nile Rodgers and many more.

Cuban pianist and composer Roberto Fonseca follows this philosophy: “express more with fewer notes”. It’s a solid foundation for his music, which pulls from reggaeton, bossa nova and Afrobeat. Dubbed "the most exciting pianist in Cuba" Fonsesca’s percussive yet fluid performances are not to be missed. Whether you are familiar or not with the moves and steps of the Mambo, Rumba or Bolero, the urge to sway to the melodies played by an artist considered to have breathed a new life into Cuban music, will be irresistible. Presented by Serious. 5+. Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.

Iconic American musician, storyteller, and two-time Grammy winner.

Roberto Fonseca 'one of a new breed who can transcend musical boundaries through sheer quality'.

Clear your diary, because you’re invited to the most swell party of the year, Cole Porter’s, High Society. Hot on the heels of Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate, this summer’s most eagerly anticipated production delivers another glorious dose of Golden Age musical theatre escapism at the Barbican. Helen George (Call the Midwife, The King and I) stars as glamorous socialite Tracy Lord and is joined by Felicity Kendal (Rosemary and Thyme, Anything Goes), alongside a full size orchestra, delivering a score overflowing with the best of Cole Porter’s songbook including Just One Of Those Things, Let’s Misbehave, I Love Paris, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?, Well, Did you Evah, True Love and many more. Join the 28-strong cast for this lavish new production as plans for the society wedding of the year descend into chaos, with old flames and new flames vying for attention as a sharp-eyed tabloid reporter hunts for scandal at the waterfront estate. Brought to life by a multi award-winning creative team, including Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographer Anthony Van Laast Cole Porter’s High Society declares the summer season officially open!

Age Recommendation 8 and over Performance Dates 19 May 2026 - 11 July 2026 Performance Times Mon – Sat 7.30pm, Tues, Thurs & Sat 2.30pm Content Warning TBC Run time 2 hrs 30 mins (no interval) Venue Barbican Theatre Clear your diary, because you’re invited to the most swell party of the year, Cole Porter’s High Society. Hot on the heels of Anything Goes and Kiss Me, Kate, this summer’s most eagerly anticipated production delivers another glorious dose of Golden Age musical theatre escapism at the Barbican. Helen George (Call the Midwife, The King and I) stars as glamorous socialite Tracy Lord and is joined by Felicity Kendal (Rosemary and Thyme, Anything Goes), alongside a full size orchestra, delivering a score overflowing with the best of Cole Porter’s songbook including 'Just One Of Those Things', 'Let’s Misbehave', 'I Love Paris', 'Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?', 'Well, Did you Evah', 'True Love' and many more. Join the 28-strong cast for this lavish new production as plans for the society wedding of the year descend into chaos, with old flames and new flames vying for attention as a sharp-eyed tabloid reporter hunts for scandal at the waterfront estate. Brought to life by a multi-award-winning creative team, including Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographer Anthony Van Laast, Cole Porter’s High Society declares the summer season officially open!

La Línea Festival presents: Las Poderosas - Colombian Queens. An inspiring evening of Colombian female voices, celebrating music, heritage, and activism. Headlining this exciting double bill is Adriana Lucía, one of Colombia’s most beloved and distinctive voices, celebrated for blending Caribbean rhythms such as cumbia, porro, and vallenato with contemporary pop influences. Co-headlining is Nidia Góngora, the Pacific coast’s iconic voice and guardian of Afro-Colombian heritage. As lead singer of Canalón de Timbiquí, the Latin GRAMMY-nominated singer brings ancestral marimba traditions to global audiences. Opening the show is La Muchacha. Her guitar-led folk and protest-rooted songwriting addresses justice, gender, and community, resonating across Latin America. Presented by La Linea Festival 5+. Under 14s must be accompanied by someone aged 16 or over.

Aldous Harding is a rare artist who defies conventions and categorisation, creating lush, off-kilter indie pop. Shapeshifting vocals transform with every track, tilting and changing mood and atmosphere, while delicate guitars and soft percussion add a shimmering intensity. Live, Aldous Harding is an intense performer, a mesmerising and theatrical presence, that captivates her audience.

Saxophonist, producer and singer-songwriter Laura Misch’s one-woman show fuses jazz and progressive electronic genres by exploring the space between analogue and electronically-manipulated sound.

Find tickets and full event details for Nourished by Time live in the UK, including venues, performance dates, and accessibility information.

Is there a more influential drummer on the jazz circuit? No one would dispute the fact that Billy Cobham is a legend in the jazz scene, whose work with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with Mahavishnu Orchestra rose him to the pedestal as one of, if not the greatest drummer of the jazz fusion genre. Now in his 80s with an undeniable zest for performing live, it's our pleasure to be taking the one-and-only Billy Cobham to Barbican Hall for a full live band performance, following many incredible past shows with us. Presented by Columbo Music. This is an 18+ event.

If you had the power over life and death, what would you do? This summer, the hotly anticipated world premiere of Death Note: The Musical, arrives at the Barbican for 50 performances only from 30 July to 12 September. With over 30 million copies sold worldwide, the legendary manga phenomenon by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata is a global sensation that has captivated audiences for almost twenty years, including multiple sell-out seasons of the musical in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Now, boldly reimagined for the London stage in close collaboration with the original Japanese producers, HoriPro, this new musical features an electrifying score by Tony, Grammy and Emmy nominee Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Jack Murphy and a book by Ivan Menchell. Death Note: The Musical is set to be the theatrical event of the summer. When brilliant student Light Yagami discovers a notebook with the power to determine who lives and who dies, his mission to reshape society quickly spirals out of control and attracts the attention of the elusive and ruthless detective L. What begins as justice descends into obsession and forces both Light and L to confront the limits of morality itself. Write a name. Change the world. BSL INTERPRETED: Saturday, 29th August, 2:30pm AUDIO DESCRIBED: Tuesday, 1st September, 7:30pm (touch tour at 6pm) CAPTIONED: Saturday, 5th September, 2:30pm

The Barbican Presents Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith + London Contemporary Orchestra The electronic music composer and synthesist invites us to experience new music alongside key moments from across her catalogue, in a setting designed for intensity, scale and close listening. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith brings us a special performance that traces the evolving language of her electronic and compositional practice. This show offers a rare opportunity to experience new material alongside key moments in her work. She is joined by the London Contemporary Orchestra, conducted by Robert Ames, for a show that reflects both on her creative trajectory and on the more rhythm focused direction her work has been moving towards in recent years. Over the past decade Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith has developed a distinctive body of work that moves fluidly between experimental electronics, contemporary classical writing and immersive sound design. With collaborations spanning Patti Smith, Four Tet, Danny Elfman and more, she continues to expand the possibilities of electronic composition while maintaining a deeply personal sonic signature. Presented by The Barbican. 5+. Under 14s must be accompanied by someone aged 16 or over.

The Delines debut album Colfax surprised fans and critics alike. The band had only been together a week when they went into the studio and cut the record. Uncut gave it 9/10 stars and praised its widescreen romanticism, calling it the richest collection of songs Vlautin has written. Evoking the feel of a beat-up Dusty Springfield or a weary Rickie Lee Jones, Colfax made a dozen top ten records of the year lists and the Delines sold out venues in the UK, Ireland, and had successful tours in the Europe and Australia.

Modern pianist who fuses classical compositions with hip-hop and electronic energy, reintroducing timeless melodies through a bold, genre-blending lens.

Eight years after Blue Maqams, Anouar Brahem returns with a new poignant project, titled after a line of verse by poet Mahmoud Darwish, which asks “Where should the birds fly, after the last sky?” Graceful chamber pieces for oud, cello, piano and bass subtly address the metaphysical question and its broad resonances in a troubled time. While drawing upon the traditional modes of Arab music, Brahem has consistently sought to engage with the wider world, too, and found inspiration in many sources from different cultures. It is in this spirit of openness that, to bring this project-both intimate and universal-to life, Anouar Brahem gathered an international and intergenerational quartet. Centered around his oud are the refined piano of British musician Django Bates, the powerfully lyrical cello of Anja Lechner, and-especially for this tour-the fluid yet earthy double bass of the great Norwegian master Mats Eilertsen. The deep mutual listening among the four musicians imbues the program’s pure melodies beautifully enhanced by arrangements that emphasize the complementary dialogue between cello and oud-with a profoundly moving emotional and expressive power. Presented by Serious. 5+ under 14s must be accompanied by an adult

Coltrane 100 (100%) Joe Lovano, Melissa Aldana, Nduduzo Makhathini, Linda May Han Oh, Jeff "Tain" Watts (100%) Both Directions at Once (75%) 2026 marks the centennial of the birth of iconic saxophonist John Coltrane. Coltrane 100 brings together saxophonists Joe Lovano and Melissa Aldana, pianist Nduduzo Makhathini, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts for a collective tribute reflecting Coltrane’s enduring influence across generations, geographies, and musical traditions. Joe Lovano, a central figure in modern jazz for more than three decades, brings a deep connection to the post-Coltrane saxophone lineage. Melissa Aldana contributes a distinctive contemporary voice shaped by close engagement with the jazz canon and a focus on narrative and identity. Nduduzo Makhathini draws on South African musical and spiritual traditions, as well as the legacy of McCoy Tyner, to articulate a highly personal pianistic language. Linda May Han Oh adds a globally informed perspective as a bassist whose work spans ensemble writing, film, and collaborative performance. Jeff “Tain” Watts brings decades of experience and rhythmic authority forged alongside many of the defining artists of modern jazz. Joe Lovano states, “This quintet will honor Coltrane’s compositions as a springboard to explore and express ourselves. We do not seek to recreate, but rather to create in the spirit of Coltrane.” Presented by Serious. 5+ under 14s must be accompanied by an adult

anyone can dance. Our late-night party series travels the world through local diasporas in the UK, and this next chapter with Love In The Endz honours the originators and innovators shaping the future of South American contemporary music. The label family will be in full force as they’re joined by Bogotá’s Brenda, Bolivia’s Sofy Suars, and London-based Colombian/Nigerian collective Baile Ijo (with more names to be announced). Love In The Endz is a London-born, global collective and label, rising from Brixton’s Reprezent Radio, championing bold, boundary-breaking sounds via interpersonal connection. Rooted in the spirit of the bairros, or “Endz”, our program celebrates hometown pride and authentic musical identity. Every track, every set, is about representing where you’re from and amplifying voices that deserve to be heard. Following tours across Europe, Brazil, and the USA and support for Rosa Pistola, Vhoor, and Mu540, they return to London with a star-studded lineup Presented by The Barbican. This is an 18+ event

Join ORII COMMUNITY in celebrating Pan-Africanism through a multi-disciplinary club experience, featuring DJs, live musicians, dancers channelling the ancestral spirit of togetherness through sound. Presented by The Barbican. This is an 18+ event

Join DAYTIMERS, the collective celebrating the sounds, stories and voices of the South Asian diaspora, for a late-night dance experience rooted in community and culture Presented by The Barbican. This is an 18+ event

A cult all-vinyl clubnight of obscure records and underground club sounds from Beirut, the SWANA region and beyond - expect Arabic funk, Lebanese disco, Dabke, Belly Dance and psychedelia Presented by The Barbican. This is an 18+ event