Singer-songwriter Hozier will take you to church. Members of fellow Irish act the Corrs will reunite on stage after a decade apart, as will British band the Libertines.Patty Griffin gives a good name to folk with a rock influence, while Jon Regen does the same for jazz and Lucinda Williams for country.These artists are all playing in Europe this January. So much for the received wisdom about the month being a traditionally quiet one on the international music scene.It is true that many new albums are released in the autumn shortly before the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holiday season; most large tours start only later with the (northern hemisphere) summer festival season. Still, this leaves less competition for those musicians who hit the road in January.Here are some picks of the best concerts in London this coming month. Many of the acts also play elsewhere in Europe, with details on their websites as below.Jon RegenJon Regen’s “Stop Time” was one of 2015’s top five best records – see the Blouin ARTINFO list here. Other critics liked it too and the album made it onto quite a few shortlists. The singer-songwriter will be showcasing its tracks, such as “I Will Wait,” and “Morning Papers” – his own take on modern life and love, matched with some catchy piano hooks. While he has won endless comparisons to Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Elvis Costello, and Bruce Hornsby, he is definitely his own man. His venues have grown with each successful record. The classy Coqs is a cabaret and jazz venue which is an ideal place to catch him.Jon Regen plays The Crazy Coqs, Brasserie Zedel, from Tuesday January 12 through Saturday January 16, 2016. Information: https://www.brasseriezedel.com/crazy-coqs/jon-regen/43956549Patty GriffinCall her country, call her folk, Patti Griffin is worth checking out either way. Her songs have been covered by artists ranging from the Dixie Chicks to Emmylou Harris. Most famously, she worked with her close friend Robert Plant in Band of Joy. Griffin is now solo again, and her album “Servant of Love” is a bittersweet reflection on relationships such as on the breakup numbers “Hurt a Little While” and “Good and Gone.” Nothing like a little heart-baring with passion and tunefulness.Patty Griffin plays the Cadogan Hall on Thursday, January 21, 2016. Her tour moves on to Belgium on January 28. Information: http://www.pattygriffin.com/tourLucinda Williams“Car Wheels on a Gravel Road” was a classic of its kind. Last year’s “Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone” was also impressive as Williams stretched herself towards double-album length. Many of the tracks exceeded the five-minute mark, with a sublime version of JJ Cale’s “Magnolia” lasting for twice that at the end.If you don’t know Williams, she is definitely worth investigation. She can be uncompromising and an acquired taste one minute, then sweetly melodious the next. If you are familiar with her work already, you will be curious to hear previews of her 2016 album, “The Ghosts of Highway 20.”Lucinda Williams plays the Brooklyn Bowl (by the O2) on January 22 and 23, 2016. She is also performing in Brussels, Berlin and Amsterdam on January 25-27. Information: http://lucindawilliams.com/tour-dates/The Corrs The Irish group – three sisters and their brother – have made a multi-million-selling career from their middle-of-the-road fusion of rock with Celtic folk. The Corrs have been strong enough to take a decade away from music as two of them raised families while other others had solo careers. Now they are back (incidentally as is Enya, yet another Irish artist sometimes put into a similar category).The Corrs play the O2 Arena on January 23, 2016. The group has other UK dates on the “White Light Tour,” including Glasgow on January 26. http://www.livenation.co.uk/artist/the-corrs-ticketsHozierThe 25-year-old Irish singer-songwriter was forced to cancel a show or two in London last year after illness. Now he is returning with three shows at the O2 Academy in Brixton. He is getting hotter and needs larger theaters.While Hozier is still best known for his feisty Grammy-nominated single “Take Me to Church,”’ there is a lot more of the same quality on his debut collection. “From Eden” and “Sedated” show particularly promise too. With his long hair and acoustic guitar, he looks like a hippy folkie but Andrew Hozier-Byrne is a man who likes many genres. The echoes of the late Jeff Buckley, Damien Rice or Al Stewart are softened with gospel leanings – Hozier was once a choirboy, don’t you know.Hozier plays the 02 Academy Brixton, Stockwell, on Friday January 29, 2106, through Sunday January 31. The dates are selling out but Hozier has many other shows including others in the UK and Madrid, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Paris and Amsterdam in January. The Paris concerts are January 22 and 23 at the Folies Bergère. Information: http://hozier.com/live/The LibertinesA simple CV might say: “This British group was first founded in 1997 and disbanded in 2004 for a decade. Vocalists Carl Barat and Pete Doherty built up a beyond-mere-cult following.”What we saw was what we got: two rivals who quarreled offstage, dueled onstage and made some spunky, punky records along the way. Their ramshackle music blended pub rock and raw chords with sharp lyrics.Now they have managed to record their first album in 11 years and so have all the more reason to be on form in the O2, one of the largest UK venues. Expect reprises of Libertine hits such as “Can’t Stand Me Now” and some material off the comeback collection “Anthems for Doomed Youth” (the name is a reference to the similarly-titled poem by Wilfred Owen.)The Libertines play the O2, Greenwich Peninsula, on Saturday January 30, 2016. The tour moves on into continental Europe, starting in Berlin on February 7, 2016. Information: http://www.thelibertines.com/PS Sadly, looking through the advance listings and invites, and I see Lemmy’s Motörhead were due to play the Eventim Hammersmith Apollo on January 29 and 30. (Saxon and Girlschool were also joining in to celebrate Motörhead’s 40th anniversary.) With the singer’s death, his gravelly voice won’t be gracing that venue or any other again. RIP.PPS While some dates are close to being sold out, it is worthwhile making inquiries in case of returns. There are often tickets available online from other agencies.
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