P!ink wows the crowd at BST Hyde Park

WHILE it seemed half the country were at a glorious looking Glastonbury, P!nk and Gwen Stefani were conquering the crowds at Hyde Park’s BST Festival – think a constellation of sequins, stunning choreography, a Tinkerbell turn from P!nk in death defying acrobatic displays and, most importantly, crystal clear sound – let’s hope Axl Rose benefits from the same when Guns ‘n’ Roses headline tomorrow (Friday). The previous week the Arctic Monkeys performed quite possibly a superior set at the Emirates Stadium and Christine and the Queens summoned the Lords of Music as they headlined the self-curated Southbank’s Meltdown festival.

• Get down to Parliament Hill bandstand next week (Friday, July 7) for the annual Dig It Soundsystem Heath party running from 6pm, bring a picnic, dancing shoes and the whole family.

• Jamie T has gathered a strong collection of supports for his biggest ever show at Finsbury Park for his The Theory of Whatever tour tomorrow (June 30) – Idles, Kojey Radical, Biig Piig, Hak Baker and Willie J Healey are all lined up. Then, on Saturday, Wet Leg and Baxter Dury support Pulp at the Park.

• In the least secret of secret gigs of recent times, DÖGS OF WAR will play to a 450-capacity crowd at Underworld tomorrow (Friday), as announced in a press release heavily hinting at this being a pseudonym for Mötley Crüe, who play to 90,000 fans at Wembley on Saturday (July 1) – now that’s an underplay.

• Shubbak Festival, a window on contemporary Arab cultures, continues until July 9 with a wide selection of theatre, dance, music, art and much more. Upcoming musical sets come from Wael Koudaih (Rayess Bek) and Randa Mirza’s (La Mirza) Love & Revenge – electro-pop meets cinema – a DJ set over layered visuals of old Arab cinema from the 70s and 80s, at Rich Mix on Saturday; Tunisian singer-songwriter and visual artist Ghalia Benali at Kings Place on July 6; When The Night Speaks, a night of Arabic techno, hip-hop and classics blended with the voices of people with SWANA heritage at The Yard (July 7) and Lebanese-American indie rock musician Hamed Sinno, former frontman of Mahrou’ Leila, debuting solo material at Barbican on July 8.

• Actor Damian Lewis revives memories of his busking days in album Mission Creep, which he introduces to the Union Chapel on July 11.

• Talented music photographers are invited to submit entries to Abbey Road Studios’ second annual Music Photography Awards (ceremony on Sept 21) before a new judging panel including Rankin, Cat Burns and Sophie Ellis-Bextor. Emerging, undiscovered and professional photographers can enter the six open-entry categories: Undiscovered Photographer of the Year, Music Moment of the Year, Live Music, In The Studio, Underground Scenes and Hip Hop 50. Entry is free via the MPAs website.

• Mavis Staples, a proponent of freedom and peace for many decades, has marched with Martin Luther King, performed at JFK’s inauguration and sung in Barack Obama’s White House. With a voice that marks moments in history, it’s a privilege to see her in the beautiful surroundings of the Union Chapel on July 3-4.

• More upcoming gigs:

JUNE 30 – Buzzcocks, 100 Club; General Levy, The Forge; Smif-N-Wessun, Jazz Café; Laura Cantrell + Doug Levitt, Union Chapel; Guns ‘n Roses + The Pretenders + The Darkness + Larkin Poe, Hyde Park BST;
JULY 1 – Nao Yoshioka, Jazz Café; Take That + The Script + Sugababes, BST Hyde Park; Egg LDN Pride Special; Egg LDN; Chameleons + Lesley Woods (Au Pairs) – Script of the Bridge 40th Anniversary tour, Islington Assembly Hall;
JULY 2 – Blackpink, BST Hyde Park;
JULY 3 – Too Many Zooz, Jazz Café; Matters Unknown, The Forge;
JULY 4 – Gavin Fairhall Lever – live at The Harrison, Kings Cross; Danielle Nicole Band, The Forge;
JULY 4-8 – Greenwich Summer Sounds Festival; JULY 5 – Suzie Ungerleider, The Green Note;
JULY 5-15 – Flamenco Festival, Sadler’s Wells
JULY 6 – Fanny Lumsden, Green Note; Sci-Fi Rock night, The Fiddler’s Elbow; Brown Boots launch their second album Striding Out at Water Rats; BODUR, The Roundhouse;
JULY 6 + 8 – Bruce Springsteen + The Chicks + Franks Turner & The Sleeping Souls, Hyde Park BST; JULY 6-16 – Somerset House Summer Series;
JULY 7 – Billy Joel + Daryl Hall, BST Hyde Park; Age Against The Machine 10th birthday, The Phoenix; Lee Fields, Jazz Café; Classical Pride, Barbican;
JULY 8 – Bruce Springsteen + The Chicks + James Bay, Hyde Park BST; The Woodentops, The Forge;
JULY 8-9 – Blur, Wembley Stadium;
JULY 9 – Lana Del Rey, BST Hyde Park;
JULY 10 – Takuya Kuroda, Jazz Café;
JULY 10 – AUG 14 – Roxanne de Bastion residency, Green Note;
JULY 11 – Artemis, Barbican;
JULY 13 – The Harlem Gospel Travellers, The Forge.