Jack White at Hammersmith Apollo

Jack White

Anna Calvi

Hammersmith Apollo, 26 August 2026

I was back again to the Hammersmith Apollo (or the Eventim Apollo as it's known now) for the second time in a week, this time for a no-phones show by the always entertaining Jack White promoting his new album Frozen Charlotte, and it really was a properly rowdy rock n' roll show. 

Wilco at Hammersmith Apollo

Wilco

Hovvdy

Hammersmith Apollo, 20 August 2026

Last year Wilco played their biggest London show at the grandiose Royal Albert Hall but I was more excited to see them rock the legendary Hammersmith Apollo, a venue more suited to a rock band I think, and they certainly didn't disappoint, playing songs from pretty much every album and sounding as good as I've ever heard them.

David Byrne at Hammersmith Apollo

An Evening With David Byrne

Hammersmith Apollo, 4 March 2026

I saw him live with St. Vincent many years back but I finally got to see the legendary David Byrne headline his own show and it was quite honestly, one of the most unique, visually arresting, joyful and fun nights I've had in a long in time, filled with so many great songs, from new solo tunes to lots of classic Talking Heads hits.

Waxahatchee at Hammersmith Apollo

Waxahatchee

Merce Lemon

Hammersmith Apollo, 11 June 2015

Katie Crutchfield and her incredible band returned to London for their biggest show to date at the historic Hammersmith Apollo and wow, did she manage to fill the grandiose venue with beautiful sounds and such good feeling!

Sturgill Simpson at Hammersmith Apollo

Sturgill Simpson (as Johnny Blueskies)

Hammersmith Apollo, 1 March 2025

My third time seeing Sturgill Simpson live (this time touring as Johnny Blue Skies for some bizarre reason) and possibly the longest concert I've ever been to: three hours long! I think by the end I was more exhausted than Simpson himself, who I'm pretty certain would have carried on jamming with his band if the curfew hadn't stopped him.

Jack White at Hammersmith Apollo

Jack White
SHIRT
Hammersmith Apollo, 28 June 2018

Back in July 2001 I saw The White Stripes for the first time. It was before they had hit big, although there was a huge buzz about them - they even had articles in the tabloid papers raving about them - so they had sold out the tiny Dingwalls venue in Camden. It was one of the hottest days that year and a lot of people were sitting outside before the show started, including me and my friends. Sitting next to us with his own group of friends was a young Jack White, wearing green (this was when he only wore red and white). He was discussing the latest episode of Brass Eye (it was the infamous "cake" episode) and seemed funny, normal and down to earth. 

Eddie Vedder at Hammersmith Apollo (Night 2)

Eddie Vedder
Glen Hansard
Hammersmith Apollo, 7 June 2017

After the emotional nature of last night's show I really didn't know what to expect of Eddie's second night in London. Thankfully it was less sombre: I think a weight had been lifted from his shoulders after his difficult tribute to his friend Chris Cornell during the previous show. Obviously there were still sad moments but it was clear Vedder was using his music as a tool to heal tonight.

Eddie Vedder at Hammersmith Apollo (Night 1)

Eddie Vedder
Glen Hansard
Hammersmith Apollo, 6 June 2017

Wow, this was one sad but beautiful show. Ever since I heard about Chris Cornell's suicide these Eddie Vedder shows became so much more important to me. Not only because of the strong connections between Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam and the fact that Eddie was one of his best friends but because I knew I would be among fans who felt the same way. Whether Eddie chose to say anything about it or not, I knew - we all did - that his death would weigh heavy over these performances. It was a way for us fans to mourn together led by someone who knew and loved him well.

Cyndi Lauper at Hammersmith Apollo

Cyndi Lauper
Matt Henry
Hammersmith Apollo, 30 June 2016

I confess, although my first music love was Madonna, I haven't seen that many pop shows over the years but Cyndi Lauper, while every inch a superstar pop star especially back in the 1980s, has always felt a little bit more punk rock to me. I wasn't really keen to see her live for the first time when she was doing her dance music and blues excursions but when she announced she was releasing a country album I knew this finally was the tour for me.

Kate Bush at the Hammersmith Apollo

Kate on stage (from the tour programme)

Kate Bush: Before The Dawn
Hammersmith Apollo, 2 September 2014

I can't believe I am writing this but I just saw Kate Bush live. It was everything I hoped it would be but also nothing like I thought it would be either. And it's easily the best show I've been to this year.

Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at Hammersmith Apollo

 
Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell
Hammersmith Apollo, 9 May 2013

"People ask me all the time what Emmylou Harris is like," a rather cool-looking Rodney Crowell, in his Dylaneqsue hat, tells us. "I just tell them she has the soul of a poet; the voice of an angel; she's damn good looking and she has the heart of a cowgirl." Emmylou gives an embarrassed grin and shakes her head and although the speech is obviously rehearsed it is clear there's great affection between these two legendary country stars.

Eddie Vedder at Hammersmith Apollo

Eddie Vedder 
Glen Hansard 
Hammersmith Apollo, 30 & 31 July 2012 

Firstly, there are sadly no videos of this show up on YouTube because Eddie requested no recordings and photos (which is rare, as Pearl Jam always allow this) and people were pretty respectful of this, so the cool posters will have to do instead.

Gillian Welch at the Hammersmith Apollo

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings

Hammersmith Apollo, 23 November 2011

"I just looked around at all the stage I'm not using," quipped Gillian Welch at the start of the show and it's true that she, along with partner and musical accompanist David Rawlings, do look slight on the vast and historic Hammersmith Apollo stage. But, man, do they manage to fill it with their voices and Rawlings' amazing guitar playing. The Apollo may be far from intimate but by the end the show it certainly felt like it was.

Steve Martin at the Hammersmith Apollo

Steve Martin & The Steep Canyon Rangers

Hammersmith Apollo, 8 July 2011

A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to see Steve Martin on his first banjo tour. It was probably the most surprisingly show I went to that year because it was so good and not just the oddity a comedian playing the musician would suggest. Instead it was a fabulous mix of virtuoso banjo playing and genuinely hilarious comedy. Martin is not just a major comedy star but he's also a genuinely gifted musician, in fact it's delightfully old fashioned in a way, a star who is all-rounder, a true entertainer if you will.

Flight Of The Conchords at Hammersmith Apollo

Flight Of The Conchords
Arj Barker
Hammersmith Apollo, 17 May 2010

I must admit I've never gone to see a stand-up comedian before, let alone a comedy band. The nearest I have ever come to that is seeing Steve Martin and his bluegrass band last year, but that was "serious" music although there were jokes between the songs. At this show, however, I was getting my first taste of both a stand-up and a comedy band live and it proved to be a pretty great experience.

Iggy & The Stooges at Hammersmith Apollo

Iggy & The Stooges
Suicide
Hammersmith Apollo, 3 May 2010

Iggy Pop these days seems better known for hawking car insurance on TV than his music. Sending up his image as a wild rock and roller, he appears to have become this cartoonish figure that even non-music fans would instantly recognise. It sort of makes you wonder then, if your gran knows who the weird, rubbery old man who likes to take off his shirt is, maybe his shows have become as tame as his image seems to have. Thankfully that's not the case at all, something he blasts away with certainty the moment he jumps (literally) on stage with his old comrades The Stooges at this ATP show featuring the band playing their classic album Raw Power in its entirety.

Best Gigs Of 2008

Neil Young at Hammersmith Apollo (5, 6, 8, 9, 14 March)

Back in the UK for the first time since 2003, after Neil Young’s aneurysm I really thought I would never see him live again so I must admit I flipped out when he announced these fairly small (for him) shows at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo and I attended five out of the six shows he played there.