Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra touch down at O2 Apollo, Manchester, on 17 December 2026. Pianist, composer and bandleader from south-east London, Holland first came to notice with Squeeze before shaping a long-running live project centered on his piano and a big-band line-up. On stage his playing leans into boogie-woogie, blues and swing, with quick right-hand runs, rolling left-hand patterns and a close dialogue with the rhythm section. Around him, a full brass section and tight arrangements carry the music from jump blues to early rock’n’roll with an easy groove.

The set typically mixes instrumentals, rhythm and blues standards and pieces drawn from across his albums, reworked for a large ensemble with space for solos and call-and-response with the horns. The Orchestra has toured widely in the UK and Europe, and that road craft shows in the balance between uptempo shuffles and slow blues, always with the piano upfront. If you know him from Later… with Jools Holland, this is that same musical world channelled into a live, big-band format built for an evening of rhythm and melody.