And I thought picking just ten gigs for San Fran was tough. This list could easily have been twenty shows long. London is in for a real treat this February. Here’s ten gigs I think it would be worth taking the time to reach if you feel that way inclined…

February 4th – 2:54 – Dingwalls (£13.50)

2:54 come to SF in March alongside Honeyblood and I am already super excited. I love their diversity as a band, one song will be have gritty punk undertones while the next has more of an edgy pop sensibility. Feeling hopeful good things will come for them in 2015, so this is a good chance to see them in a fairly intimate setting. Tickets

February 5th – Tara Priya + The Equals – Proud, Camden (£3+fees)

There are a lot of Tara Priya gigs to pick from however if I had to choose just one to go to it’d be this one. The venue is a great and support comes from The Equals (who are a band every bit as awesome as Ms. Priya). Expect soul with a darker and dynamic shade of kick-ass-sass. That said, if you’re trying to save money hit the Bedford gig because that one is free (but then again this one is only £3 so it is practically free, just don’t have that third beer and you’ll be fine!). Tickets

February 6th – Kele – Islington Assembly Hall. £20.95 (+fees)

Kele’s solo music is incredibly far removed from his work with Bloc Party. Leaning more on the techno end of dance music his shows are high energy and fierce. Expect Islington Assembley Hall to be rocking and shaking under the pressure of some incredibly dominant basslines. Amazed this one has not sold out yet to be honest. Tickets

February 8th – J.Dilla Saved My Life – Scala (£6 and up… donate what you can)
I usually wouldn’t recommend a club night, however a club night in which J.Dilla is the source and/or inspiration for all the music played should lead to an event every bit as special as the legendary DJ himself. All proceeds from ticket sales go to the J.Dilla Foundation and Lupus UK. Party on! Tickets

February 12th – Rae Morris – Electric Brixton. £12 (+fees)

The selfish part of me is glad Rae Morris didn’t win the BBC Sound poll because it means you can still actually get gig tickets to see her perform. It won’t be long until the Electric Brixton turns in to the Brixton Academy for her shows so take every opportunity you can to see her play live while you still can. Tickets

February 18th – Alyusha – Hoxton Square Bar. £7.25 (+fees)

Stumbled across Alyusha after seeing some posts on Twitter and then found out she was/is a member of The Boxettes. It was upon hearing her cover of Cinematic Orchestra’s To Build A Home I realised I should be paying serious attention. Seeing her play Hoxton Square Bar should be quite special, however just don’t expect the strings… then again, you never know! Tickets

February 23rd – George The Poet – Oslo (£20ish via SeatWave)

I usually would not recommend buying tickets from the blood-sucking cretinous people over on those “marketplace seller” sites. However, George The Poet is worth selling a little bit of  your soul for to see the next wave of Spoken Word reach its potential. And at £19 it’s not actually too bad financially (just don’t ask others how much they paid). Google it, it’s against my best principles to link to one of those sites!

February 26th – PINS – Sebright Arms (£8)

After recently spending way too long checking out an exhibit on Riot Grrrl, my love for female punk has increased ten fold. PINS have strong guitar licks, stronger lyrics and a way to craft some stonking melodies. Tickets

February 27th – Jay Brown – The Waiting Room.  £7 (+fees)

Jay Brown is interesting as she has been around on the pop-folk scene for a long time. I love the way she mixes influences from all different genres in to her acoustic music. That said, the last time I saw her play was like 2009 so there may have been a lot of progression since then. However, such is Jay Brown’s talent you can be confident it will remain top notch whichever genre she attempts. It used to be all about playful and insightful lyrics over some quirky guitars… wonder if it still is. Tickets

February 28th – Faith Evans + Syleena Johnson + Teedra Moses. (£30+fees or significantly more if you wanna sit down)

The last time Faith Evans played Indigo2 she tore the house down. Throw in Syleena Johnson (who I still need to see perform live) and Teedra Moses you have one hell of a night. If all three decide to start belting out the classics this could be a very very epic night. That is all.  Tickets

And the last day of the month is the only date clash of the month. This one is freaking tough. If I were in London I would probably be tossing a coin; heads = Finley, tails = Faith Evans and co…. it landed tails!

March 1st – Mamas Gun – Jazz Cafe (£13.20)

Yes, this is March. However, knowing me I won’t post March’s update until the 2nd or so which’d be too late for checking out (IMHO) one of the best bands this country has to offer. Mamas Gun put on a tremendous live show which I highly recommend being a part of! Tickets