It’s undoubtedly a thrill to shuffle in from the streets into a small venue, but there’s just something about live music outdoors when the breeze and the sun are balanced in harmony. London always offers up a fantastic selection of places to sip on lager in the sun and enjoy live music, so 2026 is no different.
Before we get going, there are a few technicalities to iron out as to what constitutes an open-air concert as opposed to a festival. We have a whole separate roundup telling you about them. But in this roundup, you’ll find outdoor concert series that stretch over a longer period of time than your normal festival, as well as a selection of stadium shows where you can also catch the sun and feel the breeze.
Hyde Park BST is a festival. All Points East is a festival. A gig at Finsbury Park is an open-air show. A gig at the London Stadium is also an open-air show. Those are my rules. Here are the shows.
Gorillaz
Gorillaz are back, and after releasing their new album, The Mountain, earlier this year, they’re primed and ready to play a ginormous stadium show in the capital this summer. Damon and co. last played shows in London in 2025 with a residency at the Copper Box Arena, but they’ll be swapping the more intimate (for them) setting for the open-air football stadium gig.
Take That
The Circus is coming back to town! The famous tour is returning with Take That playing a trio of nights in London. If you’ve had tickets for ages and your Patience is wearing thin, there’s not long to go now.
In just over a month, Kneecap will follow up the release of FENIAN by playing the biggest headline show of their careers thus far! One-upping their Wembley Arena show last year, they’ll be joined by the likes of The Mary Wallopers, Fat Dog, Biig Piig, Gurriers, and Madra Salach.
🎟️ You can still find tickets for the show here.
Tottenham Hotspur’s home is set to be transformed into one big dance at the end of this month. Fresh from his gargantuan Super Bowl halftime show, Bad Bunny is coming to bring the reggaeton party to the capital for two packed-out summer dates. You can only hope for blazing sunshine for this one.
If it’s going to be a pop punk summer for you, then it’s time to get to Crystal Palace Park at the very end of June. Dexter Holland and co. will be busting through their back catalogue with a mean supporting cast of The Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, PUP, and Destroy Boys.
🎟️ You can still find tickets for the show here.
Time to join in unison by ambling over to North London and saying ‘MON THE BIFF. They’re always spectacular live, but when paired with the great outdoors and the finest overpriced lager you can get your hands on, Biffy Clyro will hit the summer sweet spot.
One hand in my pocket and the other one looking up directions to Crystal Palace Park. Alanis Morissette is playing a giant gig in the great outdoors this summer after her triumphant Glastonbury Pyramid Stage headline show in 2025. Expect to hear the hits from Jagged Little Pill and much more in July. British legends Skunk Anansie will be joining her for the ride, so it’s going to be an evening for the ages.
The world’s biggest metal band are back for another pair of stadium shows, and they’ll play two entirely different setlists on each night, with Pantera, Knocked Loose, Pantera, and Avatar joining them as support.
BTS are back for their first shows in the capital in seven years, playing as part of their grand worldwide comeback. They’ll take to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in July for their only UK shows on the run.
It’s been 20 years since we first heard When I was… A Young Boy… and subsequently couldn’t move for it. The music video for that and Teenagers certainly had viewers of Kerrang! TV in a chokehold, and now My Chemical Romance will celebrate The Black Parade era in their ‘Long Live…’ tour this summer.
It might not boast the swathes of greenery that the London parks do for their summer festival shows, but the Somerset House Summer Series delivers a unique chance to catch outdoor music bang in the centre of the city with a beautiful riverside setting as your backdrop. This year, they’ve once again put together an eclectic bill across 11 days in July, with the following artists all headlining:
- Naïka (July 16)
- Palace (July 17)
- Thee Sacred Souls (July 18)
- Lightning Seeds (July 19)
- The Cribs (July 20)
- Agnes Obel (July 21)
- Black Country, New Road (July 22)
- Venna (July 23)
- Raf-Saparrra (July 24)
- The Flaming Lips (July 25)
- Benjamin Clementine (July 26)
Through A Grand Don’t Come For Free, The Streets did the often insurmountable task of being a worthy follow-up to a truly seminal debut album. They’re playing the record in full this summer across the UK, and two of these nights will come in London in the middle of July. Empty Cans all over the shop and not a dry eye in the house by the time the set finishes.
Ladies and gentlemen… Miss Grace Jones. Palace Bowl Presents is opening the festival like it means business with a true legend taking to the stage. Grace Jones will be running with rhythm after performances from Soul II Soul and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
The vibes are going to be off the charts for this one. A surfboard guitar and plenty of euphoria-inducing solos are on the menu as Masayoshi Takanaka headlines the City Pop Waves festival in the capital as part of Palace Bowl Presents. It follows his triumphant pair of gigs at Brixton Academy earlier in the year, which were the 73-year-old’s first London shows as a solo artist. Joining him for the fun will also be another icon, Himiko Kikuchi, with the keyboardist set to perform her 1987 album, Flying Beagle, in full.
The legendary Roots Picnic is coming to these parts for its first-ever international showing. Stepping away from Philadelphia, London’s Crystal Palace Bowl will welcome a stacked two-day bill that features the likes of Nas & The Roots playing a joint headline set, Anthony Hamilton, Sasha Keable, Musiq Soulchild, Floetry, Common, and many more.
Bleed American has cemented its status as an era-defining record, nestling nicely in between Clarity and Futures to make up a bulletproof trio of Jimmy Eat World records. It’s also the record that saw the band truly go supernova, and many will remember not being able to move for The Middle on MTV, Kerrang! TV, and the like.
The record and its impact will all be celebrated this summer, as Jimmy Eat World mark 25 years of Bleed American at their biggest London show yet. Taking place at the Crystal Palace Bowl, they’ve also got a mean support bill beneath them in the form of Rise Against, The Get Up Kids, and Jay Som.
🎟️Tickets are still available here.
FEATURED IMAGE CREDITS: A写_アザーカット(Masayoshi Takanaka); Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Global Citizen (Metallica/James Hetfield); Chris Graythen/Getty Images (Bad Bunny); Kevin Winter/Getty Images for FYF (Grace Jones).
