They’ve given love a bad name, and now you have the chance to have your heart broken by these classic rockers when Bon Jovi plays Copenhagen this June. They’ve been around for four decades, and their momentum hasn’t slowed one bit. What About Now, their 12th studio album, was released earlier this spring to mixed reviews, averaging about three stars out of six. But the negativity hasn’t got these rockers down: they’ve kept their fan base pleased with tracks that echo their old classics, while trying something a bit more derivative. Either way you spin it, Bon Jovi have classic anthems that were made to sing along to. Go and get a taste of bad medicine when they play Parken on 6 June. Tickets are going for 167-815kr at billetnet.dk.
He put a limit on love, but James Blake is sure to be loving his fans when he graces Copenhagen in October. And fans certainly love him. Blake’s musical stylings walk the seemingly impossible line between sentimental crooner and electronica, and he manages it without so much as a trip. The 24-year-old Englishman has two studio albums to his name, and the last, Overgrown, came out recently in April. With it, Blake’s sound has matured into the ephemeral, moody soundscapes that elevate rather than dictate. Songs like ‘Retrograde’ and ‘Voyeur’ feel injected with soul and are enhanced by skillful electro layers that seem just as soulful as his swooning voice. Don’t miss this show at Falconer Salen on 6 October. Tickets are 315kr through billetnet.dk.
This London group are beaching here shortly! Noah and the Whale have been around since 2006, garnering credit amongst the indie-folk crowd with their light and bright sound. Reminiscent of the atmosphere created by the likes of Arcade Fire with a bit of the energy of MGMT, Noah and the Whale are coming off the well-received release of their fourth album, Heart of Nowhere. UK music journal NME called the album a “record of rare precision”, and the group really has narrowed in on their image and style. They’re fun, they’re young and they’re fresh. See them on 9 June at Lille Vega. Tickets are being sold at billetlugen.dk for 170kr.
If you’re looking for a more straightforward singer-songwriter, John Mayer is bringing his tour to Europe and stopping over to play one night at Forum on 16 October. This Grammy-winning, multi-platinum artist has released a handful of albums, and his fan base continues to grow. ‘Your Body is a Wonderland’, off his first album, Room for Squares, is either loved or mocked by fans for its awkward sexual metaphors, but it certainly helped his rise to fame and won him a Grammy. His last album, Born and Raised, was released a year ago and is his third album to be at the top of the United States’s ‘Billboard 200’ charts. You might find him sleazy, but he owns his brand of sensual songwriting. If you’re keen, you might be able to scrounge some tickets on billetnet.dk for 470kr.
With a kitschy spin on the underground hip-hop artist Aesop Rock, A$AP Rocky has a flair for the subversive. This New York rapper has been on the scene for a while, but his debut album, Long.Live.A$AP, was released just this January. In 2011, Rocky decided to stop his lifestyle in drug dealing and focused on rapping exclusively, and he has become an underground rap favourite. He has amassed a handful of nominations for his albums, but he’s yet to actually take home an award. He’ll be making a scene at Falconer Salen on 11 June. Snap up your tickets soon and be ahead of the curve; you can still get them for 350kr at billetlugen.dk.
Maybe something a bit more funky is to your palate. Robert Randolph & the Family Band made it big with their hit ‘Ain’t Nothing Wrong with That’, a jivey, toe-tapping number that is bound to get a crowd dancing. Led by Randolph, who has created a sound centred on the use of a pedal steel guitar, the band haven’t released an album in a while, but their music is still jumpy enough to keep up their tour. Get some soul in your bones on 30 June at Amager Bio. Tickets are 292kr at billetnet.dk
If quieter, jazzier nights are something that speak to you, stop by Jazzhus Montmartre to hear American pianist Christian Sands. His musical prowess got him some attention a few years ago even when he was a student at the Manhattan School of Music, but he has since then taken on wings. With three solo albums under his belt, Sands has worked his way towards piano perfection. He has had two Grammy appearances and was a special favourite of the late, great Oscar Peterson, a jazz icon who has inspired the young Sands immensely. Two Danes, Thomas Fonnesbæk on bass and Axel Riel on drums, join him on stage where he is sure to blow you away. There are two chances to see him on 4 and 5 July. Buy tickets for 350kr at billetlugen.dk.
