Press room

Today (9 July) the Barbican and Associate Producer Serious announce the third wave of performances for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival. New artists today include Dhamaal (Shri Sriram) and Anthony Joseph. They join previously announced acts: aja monet, Hermeto Pascoal, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Hiromi’s sonicwonder plus a celebration of Serious’ pioneering Take Five programme featuring Camila George and Shabaka which goes on sale this week.  

The annual London-wide jazz festival returns once again to the Barbican from Friday14 – Sunday 23 November 2025 alongside 60+ other venues across London. Now in its 33rd year, the festival spotlights some of the very best in global and local jazz talent and, for 10 days and nights, musicians from all over the world will come together to perform boundary-pushing music that showcases jazz and its influence across genres and cultures. 

Jazz transcends borders, blending various musical traditions around the world and bringing together diverse communities through the shared language of music. The EFG London Jazz Festival has always embraced collaborations between musicians from all over the globe with jazz and its surrounding genres’ openness to diversity, creativity and unity, while continuing to evolve and inspire musicians and audiences worldwide. 

Future announcements this summer will detail the rest of the programme at the Barbican Hall and Milton Court Concert Hall as well as the longstanding free-to-attend FreeStage performances in the Barbican’s Level G foyers. 

Artists announced today: 

• Dhamaal (Sunday 16 November 2025, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
• Anthony Joseph: Rowing Up River to Get Our Names Back  (Monday 17 November 2025, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm) 

Full details for all performances follow below. As more  performances and details are announced in later waves, all EFG London Jazz  Festival events at the Barbican will be visible here. 

To view the full EFG London Jazz Festival line up, click here. 

The EFG London Jazz Festival 2025 is preceded by the Barbican and Serious’s Summer Jazz Series running through June and July 2025. For more information about the Summer Jazz Series 2025, click here. 

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Dhamaal   

Sunday 16 November 2025, 7.30pm  

Milton Court Concert Hall  

Tickets from £25 plus booking fee  

Award-winning composer, musician and producer, Shri Sriram and Drum The Bass bring their latest project Dhamaal to Milton Court Concert Hall as part of EFG London Jazz Festival 2025.  

Shri Sriram began his musical life as a classical tabla player before expanding into electric bass, Indian flute, and live electronics. His work spans Indian classical, jazz, electronic and drum ’n’ bass. He was awarded a British Composer Award in the Brass Band category by BASCA (now The Ivors Academy) for his earlier work in this area. His trademark instrument is one he designed and built himself – a fretless bass guitar adapted for his distinctive technique, including playing the instrument with a bow.  

Dhamaal brings together musicians from British brass band, jazz and South Asian traditions for a performance that draws on these overlapping influences. Line-up includes Shri Sriram - electric bass, tabla, Indian flute, fx, Pete Wareham - saxophones, fx, Max Hallett - drum kit, Matthew Bourne - piano, moog, roli, Dennis Rollins – trombone, Amersham band - brass band + special guests  

Produced by the Barbican in association with Serious  

Part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2025  

Find out more  

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Anthony Joseph: Rowing Up River to Get Our Names Back 

Monday 17 November 2025, 7.30pm 

Milton Court Concert Hall 

Tickets from £25 plus booking fee 

Trinidadian singer-poet Anthony Joseph joins the line up for this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival at the Barbican, presenting his acclaimed album Rowing Up River to Get Our Names Back. The performance takes place in Milton Court Concert Hall on 17 November.  

The album, produced by acclaimed multi-instrumentalist Dave Okumu and born from a 20-year-old Afro-futurist book by Joseph titled The African Origins of UFOs, is a dynamic and compelling reflection on identity and Black musical heritage. Fusing P-Funk, Funk soul, dub, free jazz, jazz, Afrobeat and blues, Anthony and Dave have shaped a form of afro-futurism with a fluid aesthetic and limitless scope. Anchored in this desire to revive all roots, their exploration is combined with another quest leading to lost names. 

Known for his previous boundary-pushing albums and poetic work, Anthony Joseph is a poet, novelist, musician and lecturer described as ‘the leader of the black avant-garde in Britain’. Together with Dave Okumu, celebrated for collaborations with artists such as Amy Winehouse and Tony Allen, they offer a powerful collaboration committed to reclaiming lost histories and reviving ancestral echoes through sound. 

Audiences at the Barbican can expect an exceptional, groove-filled performance driven by Joseph’s immersive poetry and Okumu’s dynamic soundscapes. 

Produced by the Barbican in association with Serious 

Part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2025 

Find out more 

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On sale this week:  

The Evolution of UK Jazz – 20 Years On   

Wednesday 19 November 2025  

Barbican Hall 

Tickets from £20 plus booking fee  

Celebrate 20 years of Barbican Associate Producer Serious’ pioneering Take Five programme with a one-night-only concert at the Barbican Hall, as part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2025. Featuring new commissions, collaborations and premieres, the celebratory evening will feature standout UK Jazz artists including Shabaka, Camilla George, Jason Yarde, and more - tickets are now available. 

Produced by the Barbican in association with Serious 

Part of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2025 

Find out more 

EFG London Jazz Festival 2025 performances at the Barbican announced to date: 

• aja monet with guests (Fri 14 Nov 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• We Exist! The Dee Dee Bridgewater Quartet (Sat 15 Nov, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Hermeto Pascoal & Grupo (Sun 16 Nov 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Dhamaal (Sun 16 Nov 2025, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
• Anthony Joseph: Rowing Up River To Get Our Names Back (Mon 17 Nov 2025, Milton Court Concert Hall, 7.30pm)
• The Evolution of UK Jazz – 20 Years on ft Camilla George and Shabaka (Wed 19 Nov 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Hiromi’s Sonicwonder (Fri 21 Nov 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Tortoise (Sat 22 Nov 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Japanese Jazz (Sun 23 Nov 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm) 

Other performances you might be interested in this year: 

• Take Me To The River All-Stars: Memphis Soul Revue (Summer Jazz Series) (Sat 12 Jul 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Herbie Hancock (Summer Jazz Series) (Thu 24 – Sat 26 Jul 2025, Barbican Hall, 8pm)
• ganavya: Daughter of a Temple (Thur 4 Sep 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• Balimaya Project x Discos Pacífico All Stars (Sat 27 Sep 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm)
• GoGo Penguin + special guest Daudi Matsiko (Wed 3 Dec 2025, Barbican Hall, 7.30pm) 

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