It’s all happening down at The Strand
omerset House Summer Series is back and this year the line-up is bigger than ever. For 11 nights, the art and culture complex turns major music venue, hosting a range of artists, from massive stars such as John Legend to innovative jazz acts like Yussef Dayes. And there’s not long to wait either – the series starts on July 7.
If you are just coming to this now, happily, there are still tickets still available for most of the shows. Here we share everything you need to know about the upcoming series.
The series is just around the corner. It runs between July 7 and July 17.
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All the concerts take place at The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, situated just outside of Somerset House’s South Wing. It’s a two-minute walk from The Strand, a six-minute walk from Temple tube station, and an eight-minute walk from Covent Garden Tube station.
Yes. Tickets for John Legend, Arlo Parks, Carly Rae Jepsen and Tems are sold out, but tickets for all the other acts are still available. More info on that below.
The Somerset House Summer Series is presenting a real mix of a line-up – from Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems, to the experimental guitar band Squid, to Mercury Prize winner Arlo Parks, to grime artist Ghetts. Here’s everyone there is to see.
Unfortunately, all tickets to see Tems have now gone. The Nigerian singer broke onto the scene in 2018 after teaching herself music production skills on YouTube. Rising star doesn’t cut it – the singer has already released hit singles, won dozens of accolades and featured on tracks with Wizkid, Davido, Drake and Future. Her collaboration track Wait for U with Future went to number one on the US charts. A very exciting opening to the summer series.
Thursday July 7, sold out
Tems in 2021
Squid is an experimental five-piece band from Brighton. Their first album, Bright Green Field, was released on Warp Records, the super cool label whose artists include Aphex Twin, Brian Eno, Danny Brown, Hudson Mohawke and Yves Tumour. It shot straight to number four in the UK charts. They’re a genre-busting English guitar band whose performance promises to be energetic and fun.
Friday July 8, tickets are £31.25, buy tickets here
Squid in 2021
If you are a jazz fan, it’s likely that Yussef Dayes is very much on your radar. The drummer and producer has been making waves in the UK jazz scene over the last couple of years. In 2017 he won Jazz FM’s award for Best Breakthrough Act and since then has collaborated with Virgil Abloh on the soundtrack for the Louis Vuitton January 2019 Men’s Fashion Show, and brought out a joint album with Tom Misch in 2020.
Saturday July 9, £36.25, buy tickets here
Seeing this Colombian duo, whose band name translates to super cool party, is a sure way to have a blast of an evening. Their music, variously described as electro tropical and psychedelic cumbia, has brought them worldwide fans: in 2018 they became one of Spotify’s Top 500 most listened to artists. They’ve even been a support act for Arcade Fire. Incredibly, there are still tickets left, so if you like high-energy feel-good music, this show isn’t one to miss.
Sunday July 10, £33.25, buy tickets here
Liliana Saumet and Simon Mejia of Bomba Estéreo
Jepsen still might be best known for her 2012 mega-hit Call Me Maybe, but since then she’s gone on to act on Broadway, released several albums, has toured with artists including Katie Perry and Justin Beiber and has been nominated for numerous awards including a Grammy Award.
Monday July 11, sold out
Carly Rae Jepsen
British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks released her first album in 2021 which went straight to number three on the UK albums charts. Since then she’s had an incredibly busy year: she’s been nominated for Brit Awards, won the Mercury Prize for Best Album, and had a sold-out tour across the UK, Europe and North America – a trend that continues at this year’s Somerset Summer Series.
Tuesday July 12, sold out
Arlo Parks at Coachella 2022
Rock fans this one’s for you. Black Midi, who was nominated for the 2019 Mercury Prize, has released two studio albums, the second one with Rough Trade. Founded in 2017, their music covers the full roster of rock – from experimental to math to noise to punk to post-punk. Their next album Hellfire will be released on July 15, so seeing them down by the river is perfectly timed for you to jump on the Black Midi bandwagon.
Wednesday July 13, £31.25, buy tickets here
As if the line-up wasn’t varied enough, Ghetts will also be playing for Somerset House’s summer series. The UK rap artist has been releasing music for close to 20 years now. His latest album saw collaborations with Pa Salieu, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Giggs, Dave, Skepta, Jaykae, Emeli Sandé, Wretch 32, Moonchild Sanelly and Dizzee Rascal, showing that Ghetts has major star power. The album made the Mercury Prize shortlist.
Thursday July 14, £33.75, buy tickets here
Ghetts at the MOBO Awards 2021
SG Lewis broke onto the scene back in 2014, starting out predominantly as a DJ. In the early days, he collaborated with Disclosure and Gallant. Since then he’s cemented his place as a singer-songwriter and producer, signing to Virgin, and working with Aluna, Victoria Monet, Raye, Ray BLK, The Neptunes/N.E.R.D’s Chad Hugo, Gerd Janson and Conducta. He was also one of the producers behind Dua Lipa’s hit Hallucinate.
Friday July 15, £33.75, buy tickets here
The neo-soul singer John Legend hardly needs any introduction. His songs have garnered the singer international acclaim – he has a casual 11 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award under his belt.
Saturday July 16, sold out
The Somerset House Summer Series will close with a bang with a performance from Mabel, one of the UK’s biggest pop stars. She’s toured with Harry Styles, played around the world, won Best Female Solo Artist at the Brit Awards and has over 4.5 billion streams across the different streaming platforms. And, incredibly, there are still tickets left.
Sunday July 17, £31.25, buy tickets here
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