What's On in London

Grace Jones - Crystal Palace Bowl (London) — If there is one event this Friday that demands to be witnessed, it is this one. Grace Jones — icon, force of nature, arguably the most compelling performer alive — takes the stage at the magical open-air Crystal Palace Bowl at 5:00pm, where the trees and the sky become part of the show. At £65 this is a splurge, but when will you next get to say you watched Grace Jones perform in a park as the summer evening folds in around you?

Virtuoso Piano by Candlelight - feat. Flight of the Bumblebee — Tuck yourself inside the exquisite St Mary Le Strand at 6:00pm for an evening of bravura solo piano performed entirely by candlelight — an atmosphere that turns great music into something genuinely spine-tingling. Flight of the Bumblebee is the headline showpiece, but the whole programme promises the kind of technical fireworks that make your jaw quietly drop. Tickets run from £30 to £48, and the setting alone is worth every penny.

LINX feat DAVID GRANT + Phil Fearon & Galaxy — Soul, funk, and pure 80s brilliance descend on the breathtaking Union Chapel in Islington at 7:00pm, with British R&B legends LINX headlining alongside the irresistible Phil Fearon and Galaxy. This is the kind of night where everyone in the room ends up grinning and slightly sweaty, and the soaring chapel acoustics will make every bass line feel like a religious experience. Grab a ticket for £35 before it sells out.

EVRIX X LUMOS - On the Thames P2 — Part two of what sounds like an unmissable series, this live music event boards from Blackfriars Pier on Victoria Embankment at 6:30pm and takes you out onto the Thames itself — the city glittering on both banks as the music plays. At £20 to £30, it is one of the most original settings of the night, and there is something deeply romantic about London seen from the water as the evening begins.

School's Out | Rollernation — The summer holidays have arrived and Rollernation is ready to celebrate with a full-on family skate session from 1:00pm — think flashing lights, brilliant music, and the pure, wobbly joy of finding your wheels. At £16 it is a genuinely fantastic way to burn off some of that end-of-term energy, and frankly the adults will have just as much fun as the kids.

Brixton Fridays: Hip Hop, Afrobeats & R&B 'til 3AM — When the rest of the night has wound down, The Blues Kitchen in Brixton is just getting started — doors at 8:00pm and the party runs all the way to 3:00am with a relentless soundtrack of hip hop, Afrobeats, and R&B. At just £4 to £8, this is one of London's great Friday night bargains, and the crowd energy in this room is the kind that makes you forget you have anywhere else to be.