Upcoming concerts and festivals
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Wireless Festival, July 46, Finsbury Park, London/Perry Park, Birmingham
Kanye West recently claimed to be “on a mission from God”, which, by the standards of the man whose last album includes the song “I Am a God”, ranks as comparatively modest. Perhaps the humble servant of the divine will forgo the usual luxury backstage at the Wireless festival, preferring a simple cell with a jug of tap water and a framed picture of St Kim of Kardashian. Fellow luminaries at the three-day, two-city event include Pharrell, Drake, OutKast and Iggy Azalea. LHT
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The Libertines, July 5, Hyde Park, London
Time is a great healer, but money is even greater – specifically the “filthy amount of money” that Pete Doherty says The Libertines are getting for their Hyde Park comeback show. The infamously ramshackle band originally collapsed in 2004 when Doherty was booted out for drug addiction. A short-lived reunion took place in 2010. How far will the new spirit of amity – or windfall – take them this time? LHT
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Jack White, July 3, Hammersmith Apollo, London
Jack White follows his appearance at Glastonbury with a solo show in support of his fine new album Lazaretto. LHT
eventimapollo.com, 0844 249 4300
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La finta giardiniera, June 28-August 21, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, East Sussex
Despite its reputation as a Mozart house, Glyndebourne has never previously performed La finta giardiniera, the teenage composer’s opera buffa about a “false garden girl”, and it is taking a punt in entrusting this production to Frederic Wake-Walker of the Mahagony Opera Group. At least the musical side is in safe hands: Robin Ticciati conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, with a cast headed by Christiane Karg and Wolfgang AblingerSperrhacke. AC
glyndebourne.com, 01273 812321
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River of Fundament, June 29-30, Coliseum, London
Loosely based on Norman Mailer’s novel Ancient Evenings, this is an “operatic film” by visual artist Matthew Barney and composer Jonathan Bepler. Drawing on a diverse cast of actors and musicians, including avantgarde vocalist Joan La Barbara, the production sets out to combine “traditional modes of narrative cinema with filmed elements of performance sculpture”. The result could be spellbinding – or insufferably pretentious. AC
eno.org, 020 7845 9300
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Steven Osborne, July 2, Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham
On the opening day of Cheltenham’s music festival, the esteemed pianist promises to set the pulse racing with Beethoven’s “Hammerklavier” Sonata – the climax of a recital also featuring two little-known pieces by Schubert.
Other highlights of the festival, which runs till July 13, include a Sinatra evening with the John Wilson Orchestra in Cheltenham Town Hall and the Hilliard Ensemble’s Pärt and Tavener in Tewkesbury Abbey. AC
cheltenhamfestivals.com/music 0844 880 8094
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Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra, June 30-July 2, Barbican, London
This year’s JLCO Barbican residency opens with the glitz, power and finesse of the Jazz at Lincoln Centre Orchestra combining with the traditional instruments of Pakistan’s Sachal Jazz Ensemble. The US trumpeter is a sensitive collaborator, and the prospect of the sensual textures of tabla, sitar and dholak supported by a sheen of brass and a cushion of rhythm is mouthwatering.
The short season closes with the Orchestra on home territory, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records on a set honed by an extensive UK tour. MH
barbican.org.uk, 020 7638 4141
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Maria Gadú, June 28, Barbican Hall, London
Not tired of Brazil yet? Another of the country’s rising stars, Maria Gadú has gathered Latin Grammy nominations and critical acclaim. São Paulo’s latest heroine of Música Popular Brasileira, she blends rootsy acoustic music with samba, Afrobeat, and funk. DH
barbican.org.uk, 020 7638 4141
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