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Olivia Dean review – pop-soul singer proves she was born for big stages

Delicately sipping a Red Stripe and accompanied by a seven-piece band, the Brit School grad loosens up her Mercury prize-nominated album with radiant star power

Sault review – utterly astonishing debut show by UK soul enigmas

Joined by string sections, choristers and teams of dancers, the eclectic collective – including Cleo Sol, Little Simz and Michael Kiwanuka – lead an electrifying immersive event

Isaiah Collier: Parallel Universe review – an inspired homage to the giants of jazz and soul

Recorded in single-take live performances, the Chicago multi-instrumentalist deftly throws funk, gospel, soul and his own fine voice into the mix

Sampha: Lahai review – how to make an existential crisis sound sublime

Six years after the Mercury prize-winning Process, Sampha Sisay’s follow-up is jittery with anxiety and indecision, yet poised and luscious

Gabrielle review – hip shakers, soulful sunshine and Dreams

The singer has survived many traumas, but her songs carry less melancholy these days and her voice delivers joyful excitement

Jamila Woods: Water Made Us review – tracing a relationship’s painful arc

Blending genres restlessly, the Chicago musician and poet examines the sweet and sour of love with unflinching insight

End of the Road festival review – all killer no filler in a truly magical setting

Wilco and Future Islands share the same zealous audiences as newcomers Fat Dog and the Last Dinner Party in a carefully curated weekend of constant surprises

Hozier: Unreal Unearth review – turning the emotion up to 11

(Island)The Irish singer-songwriter draws on some classic literary sources for his entrancing but overlong third album

Jon Batiste: World Music Radio review – safety-first global pop from a jazz superstar

The Grammy winner has amassed an array of international guest stars – reggaeton rappers, Lana Del Rey, Kenny G – for his vision of global pop, but the bland effect is more amiable than eclectic

Gabriels: Angels & Queens review – sensational second chapter from the retro-future soul trio

Proud and seductive, part two of the UK-LA band’s debut album is a wonder from start to finish

Anohni and the Johnsons: My Back Was a Bridge for You to Cross review – intense emotion and captivating soul

The New York singer’s voice will make you shiver as it soars over simple guitar, bass and drums on her most approachable album since the mid-00s

Olivia Dean: Messy review – hackneyed British soul tropes do singer a disservice

This debut album is strongest when going off-kilter – hopefully next time she’ll explore her experimental side

Bettye LaVette: LaVette! review – a formidable soul survivor

Every morsel of gravel is audible in the septuagenarian’s voice as, backed by a stellar band, she proves the thrill is far from gone

Jessie Ware: That! Feels Good! review – 21st-century disco packed with personality

The retro mood of Ware’s brash pop never feels like a costume, as her tight melodies, killer choruses and dry humour wear vintage details with style

Dave Okumu & the 7 Generations: I Came from Love review – spirituals, soul … and Grace Jones

Okumu’s imaginative ‘collaboration’ with his ancestors and successors is a genre-switching journey through an extensive lineage of Black experience

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  • Danish String Quartet review – captivating performance from a world-class group
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  • St Vincent review – majestic orchestral transformations of jagged art-pop
  • BBCNOW/Bancroft review – conductor takes final bow in imaginative programme of vivid colours and emotions
  • Krishna review – the mystery of John Tavener’s ‘mystic pantomime’ is why it has been staged
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  • Hourglass album review – Simone Dinnerstein gives Glass room to breathe
  • Lizzo: Bitch review – a spirited star who just can’t rediscover her groove
  • Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas Vol 1 album review – fresh-as-a-daisy performances from a duo with a gift for storytelling
  • Mike D review – ex-Beastie Boy’s first UK gig in two decades, in a Tyneside bingo hall, is uproarious fun
  • Saint Levant review – Palestinian pop star makes Australian debut to an ecstatic, sold-out crowd
  • Vespers review – haunting clash of cultures conjures Vivaldi’s Venice
  • Jack White review – former White Stripe’s art is like a 12-year-old visiting Tate Modern for the first time
  • Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu review – superstar soprano unleashes her inner Valkyrie
  • Orlando review – a confident romp through Handel’s flimsily plotted opera
  • Take That review – stadium redux of Circus tour has maximal razzle-dazzle
  • Hampson and Sidorova review – style over substance with a whiff of the cruise ship
  • Matías Aguayo: Anenoa review – the funkiest, freest singer in the business hits the dancefloor
  • Violet Grohl: Be Sweet to Me review – alt-rock arriviste aces the part
  • Dvořák: Symphony No 9 album review – Shani brings a natural freshness to a familiar work
  • La Traviata review – gripping and genuinely moving staging opens Garsington’s summer season
  • Colin Matthews: Seascapes album review – the songs teem with detail
  • Iceage: For Love of Grace & the Hereafter review – Danish punks ace sixth stellar album on the trot
  • La Fanciulla del West review – insightful staging reveals the power of Puccini’s maverick masterpiece
  • 125th anniversary gala concert review – back to 1901 as Wigmore celebrates birthday playing to its strengths
  • Sugar review – Bob Mould’s reunited band still in a sweet spot between noise and melody
  • Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane review – at 83, his gift for melody still astounds

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