Five-time Grammy winning collective Snarky Puppy have announced three UK shows for April 2027, with tickets going on sale this Friday.
The dates will be the band’s first UK gigs since 2022, when the Empire Central tour took in London’s OVO Arena Wembley, Glasgow’s O2 Academy and Manchester’s O2 Apollo. That same year they also featured on the Glastonbury 2022 line-up.
Led by bassist and bandleader Michael League, they will play British Airways ARC in London on 21 April, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on 23 April and The Hall at Aviva Studios in Manchester on 24 April. Tickets go on sale at 9am BST on Friday 18 September.
Snarky Puppy have built a reputation as one of contemporary music’s most distinctive live acts, drawing on funk, rhythm and blues, hard rock, classic soul, modern gospel, fusion and jazz. League says the group “has always been a band that prioritizes the sound of the music,” while New York Times writer Nate Chinen advised listeners to “take them for what they are, rather than judge them for what they’re not.”
“Our soundscape has expanded dramatically over the years,” League says. “When the band started, we were jazzier, brainy and music oriented. Moving into the Dallas scene we became groovier, more emotional, deeper in a sense. We focused more on communicating a clear message, understandable to a listener without dumbing things down.”
In January 2025 the band reunited with the Metropole Orkest, the Netherlands ensemble known for fusing jazz, classical and popular music on a symphonic scale, for three nights in Utrecht from 17 to 19 January. The project came a decade after their first collaboration, Sylva, the 2015 orchestral suite that won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. The new record, Somni, was released in November 2025 on GroundUP Music.
“It’s by far the most ambitious project we’ve ever done … and it was one of the smoothest records we’ve ever made,” League says. “Every individual team just absolutely did their job with so much care and love, from the camera operators to our production team. The instant feedback was the warmest we’ve ever had. It was encouraging to know that after 22 years of doing what we do, the music is reaching people.”
The band’s rule for new music is blunt. “Our rule is that it can’t sound like it sounded before,” League says. “The music has to feel like it’s moving somewhere.” These April 2027 UK dates will be the first chance for British audiences to see where that next chapter is heading.
Snarky Puppy UK dates
- 21 April 2027: British Airways ARC, London
- 23 April 2027: Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
- 24 April 2027: The Hall, Aviva Studios, Manchester
Tickets on sale: 9am BST, Friday 18 September.
Image credits: Annemone Taake
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