Mariah Carey, UB40 and Gregory Porter return. Bellowhead says farewell. Chvrches point to the future; Gregory Porter plays at the Royal Albert Hall and elsewhere. Muse continues its Drones tour, and Adele wraps up in the UK for now. We are not quite into festival season in April but there is a lot going on across Europe. Here are some of the top gigs to see across Europe’s capitals.Gregory PorterPorter’s many fans include classical guitarist Miloš, who persuaded the singer to lend his deep jazz-soul voice to “Let It Be” on the Beatles covers album “Blackbird.”Porter is about to follow up his own Grammy-winning album “Liquid Spirit.” The new collection “Take Me to the Alley” is out in May. Expect plenty more powerful baritone intonations onstage, and of course previews of the new material, which sounds promising.Porter plays the Royal Albert Hall, Knightsbridge, on April 4 and the Eventim Apollo in London on April 28. Information: http://www.gregoryporter.com/live/ChvrchesIf you take the history of electronic bands to be hailed as “the next big thing” by the music press, perhaps one in every 20 of these acts actually makes it for the long term. Scotland’s Chvrches is probably that one for the class of 2010 or so. The spelling says it all: the name is said as “Churches” but everything else had subtle tweaks so listeners notice and they show in search engines. The band’s tour is now ending its European leg before heading Stateside. Impressive, even if they never got the flood sorted out into the studio depicted in the “Leave a Trace” video.Chvrches plays the Columbia Halle Berlin on April 6, backed by Shura. Information: http://chvrch.es/showsSun Ra ArkestraThe combination of spacey jazz and theatrical shows sustained the Arkestra during its time with Sun Ra. The music continues, and now is a good time to check out its free-form jazz which still sounds like little else. Sax player Marshall Allen is now 91 and the band is under his direction.Sun Ra Arkestra plays the Union Chapel Canonbury, Compton Terrace, London N1 2UN on Thursday April 14. Information: http://www.sunraarkestra.com/1-main.htmlMariah CareyR&B songs about love and romance, check. Spectacular staging, check. Mariah Carey has built a long career out of the most commercial of showbiz. “Fantasy,” “Always My Baby,” and more, you know the singles score. “The Sweet Sweet Fantasy Tour” has moved from the UK to mainland Europe. Carey provides always dependable entertainment. The dates coming up include Munich, Milan, Vienna, Pars and Amsterdam before heading for South Africa.Mariah Carey is at Bercy Paris on April 21. Information: http://www.mariahcarey.com/tourBellowhead Bellowhead is one of the best good-time folk bands Britain has ever produced. See shanties and New-Year raves, tremendous fun we thought would last for a long time. Now Bellowhead is very sadly breaking up after 11 years - with its lead singer Jon Boden standing down and the others saying they can’t continue without him. The farewell tour of Bellowhead is rolling out across Britain and arrives in London this month before one final bash in Oxford. One can only hope the group keeps going in some way: in the meantime, enjoy these shows.Bellowhead is at the London Palladium 8 Argyll Street London W1F 7TF on Saturday April 23. Information: http://www.bellowhead.co.uk/liveOther showsIn previous months, we’ve mentioned Adele, who gets a few weeks off after wrapping up the European leg of her tour on April 4-5 at the O2 arena. The tour resumes on April 29 in Stockholm. Information: http://adele.com/live/europe/The Muse “Drones Tour,” highlighted last month, has a run of dates from April 11 to 15 at the 02, Peninsula Square, SE10 0DX. The progressive-rock machine rolls on, with Glastonbury yet again within its sights. http://muse.mu/tour-dates.htmThe 1975 tour, which featured last month, continues at Columbia Halle, Berlin on April 8. Information: http://www.sunraarkestra.com/1-main.htmlAfter signing off from the prospect of a long time on unemployment benefit in 1979, UB40 has now spent an even longer period as one of the most successful of reggae crossover acts. Expect a show crammed with familiar songs, from “Red Red Wine” to “One in 10.” Things have got complex with two acts using the name. For information, see http://ub40.org/ub40_live including dates at the O2 or http://ub40.global/performances.html including dates across France.As ever, some dates are sold out. It may be worth checking if the venue has returns, or if tickets are available on reputable exchange sites. Some venues ban resales and while many large events have touts outside or tickets on secondary sites, buyers should check validity and prices carefully.
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