Everything About Music In London

Local music shops London buy drums guitars in your area

Today we will try to fill you in on everything we know about music in London. Obviously it is a broad subject, but we will do our best.

Discussing the best musical instrument stores in London seems like a logical place to start. There will be separate lists for where to buy guitars in your area as well as the top drum shops in town.

Some may quibble about what store should go where, but we will try to differentiate them as well as we can. We aren’t sure if you are trying to buy keyboards, synthesizers, pedals, amps, or popular guitar brands like Gibson, Keisel, or Fender but a store on this page can probably help you out.

Where to get a broken instrument repaired will follow that up. There are many repair companies that can tune a piano, repair a guitar, or work on all kinds of band instruments.

After that we will pivot to music classes and lessons for kids or adults before diving into local stores for music lovers with vintage CD’s and records. You can find numerous places to enjoy live entertainment at the best concert halls and music venues in town.

Bars and restaurants with live music near you will also get their own sections too. A discussion about the London music calendar wouldn’t be complete without giving a shout out to the festivals either.

At the end we will share a map to help you find these stores or venues. The UK is a country we have discussed many times in the past.

London Musical Instrument Stores

Some of the best London musical instrument stores would be:

Yamaha Music has a three story showroom where they sell a full range of instruments in your area ranging from keyboards to drums as well as music gear, home audio, and accessories.

A unique selection of new and used acoustic and folk instruments from around the world as well as acoustic and hard to find equipment are offered at Hobgoblin Music.

Howarth of London is an instrument shop that is well known for producing some of the finest oboes, oboes d’amore, English horns, bassoons, clarinets, and saxophones as well as a full range of accessories and woodwind sheet music.

Musicroom is one of the most trusted musician’s sites for sheet music, songbooks, music exam material, instruments and accessories, tutorials, instructional DVD’s and videos, and music software.

A wide inventory of instruments and accessories from Yamaha, Vincent Bach, Warburton, and other manufacturers are featured at Phil Parker.

Rose Morris stocks top quality guitars and digital pianos from Denmark.

Where To Buy Guitars

If all you care about is guitars or guitar accessories check out:

Regent Sounds is one of the most extensive, knowledgeable, and renowned Fender and Gretsch dealers in the city carrying one of the largest boutique pedal collections along with a wide range of guitars from top brands like Music Man, Danelectro, and more.

You can buy a diverse and fascinating range of acoustic and electric guitars near you along with other instruments, amps, pedals, and accessories at GuitarGuitar Camden.

Hank’s Guitar Shop sells new, used, vintage, and rare guitars, basses, amplifiers, and effects pedals as well as music accessories.

Acoustic, electric, and bass guitars, banjos, ukuleles, and mandolins as well as other folk instruments, effects pedals, amplifiers, and accessories are available at Wunjo Guitars.

New Kings Road Vintage Guitar Emporium is one of the best local vintage guitar shops specializing in Gibson, Fender, and Gretsch instruments and amps and they even sell celebrity owned instruments as well.

Of course many of the instrument stores in our first list like Rose Morris in particular along with some other shops in different sections will have a small selection of guitars too.

Drum Shops Near You

And then there are these drum shops:

Footes has been one of the best places to buy drums and percussion instruments in your area including congas, bongos, and cajons for many years.

New, used, and vintage drum kits, guitars, amps, and cymbals are offered at Drumshack who also offers local lessons.

Rubix Drums sells drum kits, snares, cymbals, heads, percussions, parts, and accessories.

Don’t forget about Yamaha Music from our London music stores list, and plenty of other stores in different sections will sell drums in London too, they just might not have as big of a selection of the shops we mentioned here.

Instrument Repairs

Instrument repairs are available at:

Tim Ewers Woodwind Repairs fixes all types of woodwind instruments and replaces pads, springs, corks, or felts and even regulates keys to ensure smooth play.

Ben Day Todd is a multidisciplinary artist that experiments with guitar making and he also does local repairs of vintage instruments.

Music Lessons

Level up by taking lessons at a music school in your area:

Individual and group music lessons in a wide range of instruments and styles including banjo, mandolin, drumming, DJing, studio production, and songwriting are provided at Singing Lessons London.

London Music Box is an award winning private music school near you where mainstream students learn in an inclusive and friendly setting.

Remember that Drum Shack also offers drum lessons here.

CD & Record Stores

Live music lessons near you London vintage CD record stores

There will be a variety of vintage CD’s and records at these local stores for music lovers:

Reckless Records buys and sells old rare vinyl records in your area along with CD’s and cassettes from all genres including rock, pop, funk, hip-hop, soul, dance, reggae, indie, metal, punk, jazz, folk, classical, and more.

Used vinyl records and CD’s are sold at Rat Records which also offers as record cleaning services.

A vast selection of new and used records, CD’s, and DVD’s are featured at Flashback Records.

All Ages Records carries vinyl, CD’s, DVD’s, and other records in punk, hardcore, ska, metal, and everything in between as well as t shirts, fanzines, books, patches, badges, gig tickets, and much more.

Leftfield books and CD’s are offered along with art house and world cinema DVD releases at Fopp.

London Live Music Venues

Seeing a concert at London live music venues is always a good time:

Leftfield and underground groups perform every night of the week at The Windmill.

Bush Hall is a wholly independent grassroots music venue in your area that has hosted some of the biggest names in the industry.

KOKO is a concert venue and former theatre in Camden Town spanning across four beautifully built floors with live music, club nights, live streaming, and 24/7 Radio.

Many people enjoy the legendary jazz and blues music at Under the Bridge.

Village Underground hosts a diverse program of club nights, performances, visual art, and of course live music in the heart of East London.

Fun Restaurants With Entertainment

You can take a date or a group of friends to these restaurants with live music:

Live blues music, soul and  funk, and dance nights are offered along with some of the finest barbecue, burgers, and cocktails at The Blues Kitchen.

The Jazz Cafe is a 475 person capacity live music venue near you offering jazz, funk, hip hop, and electronic music seven nights a week.

You can find a whisky and oyster bar and a cigar terrace as well as fine space where artists perform live at Boisdale.

Le QuecumBar & Brasserie is a retro style Parisian brasserie dedicated to Django Reinhardt and live gypsy swing music.

Bars With Live Music

There are also some bars that play live music:

At Scarfes Bar inventive cocktails are paired with live jazz every day of the week as well as whiskies and food in clubby digs.

There’s live music, delicious food, beverages, and DJ’s as well as a hip audience at The Social.

The Underworld is a busy alternative rock venue with weekly club events in its basement.

Music Festivals In Your Area

Have as much fun as you can at these music festivals near you:

We have also written about:

Enjoy The London Local Music Scene

We tried to cover the scene as well as possible on this page. You learned about the best musical instrument stores, drum and guitar shops, instrument repair services, where to go for lessons, vintage CD & record stores, concert halls and other live music venues near you like bars and restaurants, plus the best festivals in the region.

You might just know a little bit about the local music scene yourself if you made it this far. If so tell us what we got wrong in the comments or share your own thoughts on the scene.  No matter if you are trying to buy a new instrument, wanted some live entertainment, needed a vintage CD and record, or just wanted to learn more about the London music scene we hope you enjoy yourself.

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