Alexandra Palace's Biggest Year of Music Continues as it Celebrates 150th Anniversary

Alexandra Palace continued its 150th anniversary programming this weekend (10 & 11 November) with the blockbuster return of north London's own, the acclaimed rapper Little Simz, across two sold out nights. Having won the Mercury Prize in 2022, Little Simz performed her biggest shows to date in support of her album No Thank You. 

Autumn at Ally Pally began with an epic five night residency from Fred Again.., and has also welcomed Sheffield metalcore band While She Sleeps, pop artist Cavetown, indie royalty The National, singer, songwriter and producer James Blake, and British pop-rock band McFly.

Still to come at the North London venue in November/December are garage legends The Streets, disco icon Jessie Ware, electronic dance band The Prodigy, pop disruptor Ashnikko and punk and hip hop duo Sleaford Mods.

Simon Fell, Alexandra Palace's director of events and festivals said: “It's been an unbelievable year for live music at Ally Pally. The number and profile of artists playing here has been mind-blowing, and it's been brilliant to offer such varied and diverse programme to fans. Since the 60s the venue has built a reputation as a go to place for music, but over the last decade in particular things have gone to another level. It's no exaggeration to say that this is the biggest year for music in our history. And it goes without saying, we're planning next year to be even bigger.”

2023 has already seen artists including Four Tet, Fatboy Slim, Avril Lavigne, Carly Ray Jepsen, Pendulum, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and Badly Drawn Boy taking over the North London venue, while the Palace's outdoor series in July saw triumphant open-air performances from Bastille, Hozier and Ben Howard against the backdrop of panoramic views of London's skyline.

Meanwhile, this year the venue has once again been home to the iconic Later…with Jools Holland, which has recorded its last four series in the Palace's Victorian Theatre. Jorja Smith, Take That, Nitin Sawhney, Romy and The Last Dinner Party, are just a few of the acts to perform on the latest series, which is currently broadcast this November on BBC 2 and iplayer.

There's much more to come in 2024, with a huge joint-headline performance from Manic Street Preachers and Suede in Alexandra Palace Park on 18 July 2024. Other highlights coming next year include indie-rock stalwarts Bombay Bicycle Club, singer-songwriter-producer Sampha, post-punk mainstays The The and far beyond.

This year Alexandra Palace also named DICE, the live events discovery platform, as their primary ticketing partner. With DICE's fan-first approach to ticket sales, this partnership allows Ally Pally to expand its programme of events and community activities in the future, and develop its services for customers with the audience experience placed at the heart of everything it does. The unique ‘Waiting List' function gives fans the extra chance to attend sold out shows without participating in the secondary resale market.