Ariana Grande has captured the hearts and minds of the masses by her unique ability to turn darkness into lightness. In an unparalleled move (as far as we know) by releasing two albums back-to-back before a tour, the Sweetener + Thank U, Next Tour is generating demand like no other. After a three-day concert series at the O2 already in August, Live Nation (the promoter) booked Grande in for two additional dates in October, in their words "due to phenomenal demand".

18:00 Tue 15 Oct, 18:00 BST Wed 16 Oct at the O2, London,
Tickets range £66.45-£124.75, browse tickets here >>

London's own Bombay Bicycle Club has reunited after a hiatus and an era of solo projects. These North-Londoners are an essential part of our early-2010s-indie-wave-era playlists that we had to make ourselves on iTunes because it was before Spotify even was a thing. A new album has been announced to come out in January 2020, so if you're excited to hear what's coming – Brixton will be where it's at.

19:00 Fri 08 Nov at O2 Academy Brixton
Tickets are £38.10, find here >>

Only for the initiated, Gary Numan is playing Camden's legendary Roundhouse. This is for the person who doesn't just love 80s synths, but the original 80s synths as Numan has a fair claim to being the first electro-pop superstar influencing the likes of Prince, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Depeche Mode and many more. He's closing his 40th anniversary Revolution tour so expect some moody bangers and eccentric attire, not just from those on stage but the attendees as well.

19:00 Thu 24 Oct, Fri 25 Oct at Roundhouse
Tickets range from £29.70-£49.50, browse here >>

George Ezra is like, yet another guy with a guitar but he does it so well. His songs are so happy and catchy and if you're ever in a bad mood just go find yourself all of his clips from the Glastonbury set which he slayed – or better yet, see him in person at the Royal Albert Hall.

18:30 Wed 25 Sep Royal Albert Hall
Tickets range from £33-£77, see tickets here >>

Kanye West's masterpiece My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album performed in full by an orchestral collective known as Re:imagine at the iconic XOYO club in East London. Yes they do the rap bits. Yes, it's good. They also do these live orchestral renditions of iconic soundtracks, albums and artists including but not limited to the best of Destiny's Child/Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, Dr. Dre and Daft Punk. But Kanye. Damn.

19:00 Tue, 29 Oct at XOYO London
Tickets are £17.16, see here >>

Hozier captured the world's stage with 2015 Grammy-nominated Take Me To Church. His soulful style translates to a magical experience on stage, where people often walk out feeling like indeed they have been taken to church. As a relatively new artist with a pretty rapid rise to success, Hozier seems excited to perform on stage and interacting with his audience live. A true performer and artist par excellence.

19:00 on Mon 30 Sept, Tue 01 Oct, Thu 03 Oct, Sat 05 Oct at the London Palladium.
Tickets range from £40.15-£62.15, browse tickets here >>

John Mayer may be a bit of a throwback for some, but tell us who writes more beautiful songs. We'll wait. If you haven't cried in your kitchen over Daughters or been equally disappointed in yourself as Mayer is waiting for the world to change while waiting for the bus are you even alive.

18:00 Sun 13 Oct, Mon 14 Oct at The O2
Tickets range from £53.65-£97.60, browse tickets here >>

Julia Michaels, or as we dubbed her back in the day as the idol of your idols is a force of nature. Today's hitmakers including Selena Gome, Justin Bieber, Britney Spears – idolise her on account of her exceptional knack for writing hits. By the time she transitioned into being an artist in her own right the industry was already in love with her, she got a Grammy nomination for her first-ever release, a 5 track EP, and has toured the world with the likes of P!NK and Niall Horan. Her sound? Confessional, introspectional, and dare-we-say-it, millennial.

19:00 Tue 17 Sept, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire
Tickets are £26.80, find tickets here >>

Yours truly first came across Khalid in the live arena, when he opened for Lorde on her Melodrama tour at Alexandra Palace in North London. Without any knowledge of his music, he totally won me over with his charm, sultry beats and catchy melodies. He's very young, only 21 years old, but already has two full-length albums out with Grammy nominations and RIAA accolades to spare. Started on SoundCloud as many of his generation have and now has over 55 million monthly listeners on Spotify.

18:30 on Tue 17 Sep, Wed 18 Sep, Sat 21 Sep at the O2,
Tickets range from £42.25- £57.75, browse tickets here >>

If you only go to one of these, please go see Lizzo. Her trajectory is so interesting, her album Truth Hurts went to number 1 in the US two years after it was initially released. Her almost uncomfortably frank manner is so irresistibly charming, her songs are bops and her stage presence is mesmerising. Ask Glastonbury. Ask the VMAs, ask whoever you want – see Lizzo on this tour, because on her next one she'll be selling out arenas.

19:00 Wed 06 Nov, Thu 07 Nov at O2 Academy Brixton
Tickets are £40.90, find here (and take me with you) >>

If you love electronic-funk-indie-pop-rock and haven't seen Metronomy live already, you're in for a treat. Their live show in Brixton in 2017 gave the fans what they wanted, packing as many of their songs into the set as possible before getting cut off by the strict London curfew. The Line of The Best Fit review from the night put it very simply: "Metronomy are just a really cool live band." after expressing how it is a band that simply "excels at live shows". I was there and I agree.

19:00 Thu 07 Nov, Fri 08 Nov at the Roundhouse
Tickets are £31.72, find here >>

Muse is known as one of the best live bands in the business, it's that simple. This is confirmed by going to experience them live in person and the collection of industry awards for Best Live Act including from NME, the Q Awards, and the Vodafone Live Music Awards. If you've been to a Muse concert you already know this and if you haven't, maybe it's time to go.

18:00 Sat 14 Sept, Sun 15 Sep, Tue 17 Sep
Tickets range from £51.50-£137 and there are VIP packages available, see here >>

Of Monsters and Men, most known for their mega-hit Little Talks which can still be heard on the radio and in American shopping malls, are back with a new album and a subsequent tour. One could call them emblematic of the Mumford & Sons-esque era of heys and hos and joyful guitar slamming and happy harmonies. It's impossible to not smile, or getting a bit closer to your date during these Icelanders' live performance.

19:00 Tue 29 Oct at Eventim Apollo
Tickets are £34.39, see here >>