<img src='' title='Event Category: Music' alt='' id='templ_icon_' width='' height='' /> Event Category: Music

Presented by Baluji Music Foundation

An immersive journey through the heat and beauty of the summer in India.

Experience through music the atmosphere of India’s scorching summer as expressed through the powerful medium of Indian classical music. Raag Darbari—the king of ragas created by the legendary court musician Tansen to soothe Emperor Akbar during the oppressive heat—evokes a profound sense of surrender. This is the season when people cool themselves by drinking aam panna from raw mango with mint leaves and roohafza from roses, and traditionally hung fragrant curtains sprayed with water to evaporate in the burning air.

Indian life is infused with customs and cycles that have shaped generations over millennia. Summer festivals, foods and rituals remain central to daily life, flavoured by sounds, smells, songs, dances, legends and poetry that capture the intensity of the season.

Baluji Shrivastav OBE is one of the world’s leading sitar players and composers, having performed with artists including Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Massive Attack, and Shakira. Baluji Shrivastav OBE Growing up in rural India, he experienced first-hand the rhythm of the seasons. The intense power of nature and her influence on music is encapsulated through the knowledge and imagination of this great multi-instrumentalist composer. It is a reflection of a life dedicated to the rich and boundless beauty of Indian music.

Join Los Angeles-born pianist and composer Brian Clemens and Jazz vocal star, Francesca Confortini for the Wilton’s debut of The Transatlantic Songbook. Journeying from Broadway to the West End, the programme offers a stylish trip back in time, celebrating the Great American and British Songbook through some of the most enduring music of the 20th century. From the elegance of George Gershwin to the theatrical wit of Lionel Bart, iconic songs from both sides of the Atlantic are brought to life by a roaring big band featuring some of London’s finest musicians.

Following the success of Songs of the Silver Screen, which played to packed houses at Wilton’s and toured theatres across the UK, the Brian Clemens Big Band returns with a new programme while also featuring audience favourites from the previous production, including celebrated music from James Bond and beyond. Praised by The Spy in the Stalls as “a whirlwind ride through the music world,” the concert showcases the musical chemistry between Clemens and Confortini, whose powerful vocals have been heard alongside artists such as Cat Stevens and Rod Stewart.

Now, the band returns once again to the magical hall where their journey began, for an evening of show-stopping entertainment you won’t want to miss.

Experience an evening of dazzling glitz, glamour, and exceptional music as the incomparable Christina Bianco joins the London Gay Big Band for DIVAS – Legends Live Loud!

Wilton’s Music Hall will be transformed on Friday 17 July 2026 into a shimmering celebration of the greatest divas in music history.

This spectacular concert offers a sumptuous tribute to the iconic songs of Shirley Bassey, Bette Midler, Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Cher, Kylie Minogue, Bonnie Tyler, Whitney Houston and many more. With Christina Bianco’s remarkable vocal range and her celebrated ability to capture the essence of the world’s most renowned divas, you’re in for a performance like no other.

Beloved diva anthems will be brought to life by the dynamic 20- piece London Gay Big Band, acclaimed for their vibrant sound, lush arrangements, and show-stopping flair. This promises to be an evening of opulent music, high-voltage elegance, and irresistible diva magic that you won’t want to miss.

The Fourth Choir, conducted by Jamie Powe

with Special Guest, cabaret legend Barb Jungr

Following two sold-out runs of James Joyce’s The Dead, London’s classical queer choir returns to Wilton’s to explore modern classics from the jazz and pop worlds of the ‘50s to the ‘80s.

How did queer artists express their innermost feelings at a time when just a rumour that an artist was queer was enough to destroy their careers or even lead to a visit from the police? The hit song “Have I the Right to Hold You?” sold a million copies worldwide in 1964 but do the lyrics reveal deeper meanings when we know that the writers, Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley, were both gay men? Did Bowie really release a song as early as 1966 about a trans man joining the army? Did Rod Stewart’s song about a murdered gay friend really stay in the UK charts for ten weeks in 1976? And how did queer artists respond to the AIDS crisis?

The Fourth Choir is delighted that the concert will include a guest appearance by cabaret legend Barb Jungr (“one of the very best nightclub singers in the world” Time Out, New York).

Barb and The Fourth Choir will be paying tribute to queer artists and their allies who found ways during deeply homophobic times for voices expressing queer emotions to emanate from the country’s radios and record-players, like invisible… life-enhancing… rainbows.

“Everything sounded flawless…a performance that resonated deeply” ★★★★★ Trouw (Dutch national newspaper)

Are you musically curious?

Join Steve Pretty — musician, composer and host of the acclaimed podcast Steve Pretty On the Origin of the Pieces — for an evening of live music, stories and sonic experiments that’ll help you hear, understand and enjoy music in new ways.

Best known as the leader of brass pioneers Hackney Colliery Band (“one of the greatest live bands that we have in this country” — BBC Radio 2), Steve will be joined by some very special guests drawn from across the musical map, from award-winning artists to brilliant specialists you may not have heard of (yet).

Blending live music, conversation, surprising stories, playful humour and hands-on demonstrations, this one-of-a-kind night explores where musical ideas come from, how they evolve, and why sound affects us as strongly as it does.

Whether you’re a musically curious shower singer, a seasoned musician or anything in between, this “wide-ranging and insightful” (Guardian) show will leave you “better informed and happier about the world” (WhatsOnStage).

Steve’s guests will include:

Jim Bob from Carter USM
As singer with cult indie heroes Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Jim Bob had a number one album, toured the world and headlined Glastonbury. Since Carter, Jim has released fourteen solo albums, published six novels and three memoirs and appeared in a musical. A genius and national treasure, still humble enough to admit to writing his own publicity blurbs.

The Ocean Songs Project, featuring

Lottie P (Goat Girl): Guitar/Vocals
Nic Pendlebury (Smith Quartet): viola, wine glasses
Colin Riley (composer): piano, synths
Steve Pretty: trumpet, shells, electronics

Website: www.originofthepieces.com

“Wonderful” The Wire

Award-winning performer-composers Emily Levy & Matthew Bourne’s Mercury Songs is a powerful reimagining of British folk, rooted in our country’s radical history and inspired by Julia Varley, a pioneering British activist, trade unionist, suffragette, and social reformer. She devoted her life to improving the working conditions of women and was jailed twice for her suffragist protests, leaving a legacy of tireless advocacy for the rights of working women.

A 5-piece ensemble weaves together a delicate, experimental orchestration with rich vocal textures, drawing from traditional British folk songs to tell stories of empowered women, challenging familiar tropes of tragic heroines or seductresses with bold narratives of agency and defiance.

Created for the PRS Foundation New Music Biennial, the original 15-minute piece was premiered in 2025, broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and released by NMC Recordings. This is the world premiere of the full work.

Mercury Songs is co-commissioned by Spitalfields Music and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

EMILY LEVY Composer, Voice, Electronics
MATTHEW BOURNE Composer, Piano, Cello, Synth
MICK BARDON Cello
NICK RASLE Guitar, Voice
ABY VULLIAMY Viola, Voice

“Tom Hickox is a troubadour of our times. His art is timeless, weaving magical tales and composing mesmerising tunes – Richard Hawley on one shoulder and Max Richter on the other. His sheer talent is plain to see.” Louder Than War, 2025

Singer, songwriter and composer, Tom Hickox is a musical storyteller par excellence. His rumbling baritone voice imparts heartbreaking tales of disasters at sea, unconsummated love affairs, and the quirks of British road trips. Fresh from supporting Richard Hawley on his 2025 tour, Tom returns to Spitalfields Music Festival with a mix of old favourites and new material, featuring New YVC, a vocal collective of young people from Tower Hamlets and Newham.

Tom’s links to Spitalfields Music go back to his earliest years, singing under the baton of his late father and Festival founder, Richard Hickox. We are thrilled to welcome him back as part of the celebrations of our 50th Anniversary.

Tom Hickox is one of the most talented singer-songwriters to have sprung from the UK in recent decades.

Written in Music – Orchestra of Stories: Runner Up, Album of the Year 2025

Cabaret singer Tricity Vogue shares her dream band with you – a sassy All Girl Swing Band. Join them to celebrate bad girls, wicked women, and 100 years of rebellious swing.

Boisterous rhythms, mischievous covers, and sizzling harmonies conjure the spirit of the original jazz age, as eight sparky women serve up songs you never expected to hear played by a swing band, songs dripping with vintage glamour – and sauce. This is a different kind of girl band – lording it up in top hats and tailcoats, radiating wit, attitude and musical firepower. It’s more than a gig, it’s a full-on cabaret show.

Joining Tricity and her banjo ukulele is trumpeter Becca Toft, leading a scorching three-part horn section with Alyson Cawley on tenor saxophone and Stephanie Dyer on trombone. Andrea Vicari (piano), Emily O’Hara (guitar), Amy Baldwin (double bass) and Michèle Drees (drums) form the powerhouse rhythm section.

This hotly-anticipated annual extravaganza has been the band’s favourite gig for over a decade — and become a firm audience favourite at Wilton’s.

“Tricity Vogue is a totally commanding performer and hot stuff as a bandleader. She has the chat. She has the voice. And she has the band. They are monster musicians and irresistible entertainers. And they don’t half swing. You’ll be blown away.” George Hinchliffe, Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

“My favourite night out. I’ve taken my parents and they love it. You can’t go wrong with an evening with Tricity and the girls.” Ria Lina, Comedian

Facebook: TricityVoguesAllGirlSwingBand 
Instagram: tricityvogue/ 

Join us to celebrate 10 years of Music and Storytelling at Wilton’s Music Hall as OneTrackMinds returns to where it all began.   

On May 20th – ten years to the day of our very first show – we’ll be bringing an all-star lineup of six storytellers, featuring old friends of the show as well as brand new guests, all sharing stories of the songs that changed their life.

An engaging cross between Desert Island Discs, TED Talks and The Moth, OneTrackMinds asks a selection of six guests to tell a story about one song that has changed their life – before we play that song to the audience. 

Previous guests have included: Sir David Suchet, Katie Melua, Jane Horrocks, Harry Hill, Peter Tatchell, Inua Ellams, Tom Basden, Jessie Buckley, Deborah Frances White and Chris Difford.    

“This show is like stepping into a warm bath” – Vanessa Kisuule 
“A London institution waiting to happen” – Erica Buist 

WINNER – Audience Award – Bitesize Festival 2024  

Echoes of Albion
Finzi Clarinet Concerto with Julian Bliss

Edward Elgar Serenade for Strings
Gerald Finzi Clarinet Concerto
Freya Waley Cohen Talisman
Benjamin Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge

Tess Jackson Conductor
Julian Bliss Clarinet

Chromatica Orchestra is a brilliant new ensemble of outstanding early-career professional musicians working with the best emerging conductors. They bring a richly expressive and lyrically radiant evening of English music that will soothe, stir and surprise, shifting in mood from pastoral calm to magically mysterious.

Edward Elgar Serenade for Strings
Written in his later years, Elgar’s Serenade for Strings is tender and luminous, and a testament to the composer’s gift for melody. It is the sound of a soft dusk settling over England, as evening light fades through the trees. The music is full of warmth and grace, suffused with a gentle nostalgia that lingers long after the final note.

Gerald Finzi Clarinet Concerto
Finzi’s Clarinet Concerto emerged in the post‑World War II blossoming of his music. At times ardent and dramatic at others plaintive and playful, the clarinet sings with a clear, unguarded voice while the orchestra responds with pastoral warmth and shimmering radiance. Evoking the English countryside in sound, this music finds a perfect soloist in Julian Bliss whose exceptional technical finesse and thoughtful interpretation will illuminate every phrase

Freya Waley-Cohen Talisman
Talisman conjures the magic and meaning we imbue in everyday objects — the stories they carry and the rituals they shape. Textures shimmer and harmonies glow, while rhythms pulse with a subtle energy, creating a spell of sound that is both mysterious and enchanting.

Benjamin Britten Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge
Britten’s Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge is an affectionate musical portrait of a much-admired teacher; full of wit and creative ingenuity. The theme arrives serenely, then is re-imagined, at first robust then introspective, quirky and exultant until the variations coalesce into an energetic and jovial finale.