Lightroom's Bowie Nights: A Summer Celebration of David Bowie in King's Cross
Lightroom in King’s Cross is hosting a summer programme dedicated to celebrating the iconic artist David Bowie. The programme will include live performances, pitch-black album listening sessions, an outdoor concert, and a book launch exploring Bowie’s record collection. Running alongside the immersive production "David Bowie: You’re Not Alone," the events will continue until October, with evening screenings extended into January, culminating in a special celebration on 8 January 2027, which would have been Bowie’s 80th birthday.
Renowned cellist and composer Peter Gregson will present six concerts at Lightroom on 3, 4, and 5 September, with performances at 7pm and 9pm each evening. These shows, inspired by Bowie, Brian Eno, and their contemporaries from the Berlin era, will combine live music with bespoke visuals from "David Bowie: You’re Not Alone" and live camera work. Gregson’s programme will feature a new arrangement of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, recomposed Bach Prelude, and newly written pieces, along with a selection of Bowie covers.
Pitchblack Playback will host two sessions in complete darkness featuring Bowie albums "Let’s Dance" on 4 August and "Earthling" on 11 August, both at 7pm. The albums will be played in full through Lightroom’s spatial audio system, followed by a screening of "David Bowie: You’re Not Alone." Additionally, on 13 August, Bowie Nights will kick off King’s Cross Summer Sounds with a free outdoor concert at Coal Drops Yard from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, featuring artists like Ashaine White and Jack Kaye, who will include Bowie covers in their sets.
On 25 September, former Bowie publicist Alan Edwards will interview Bowie’s friend Geoff MacCormack and co-author Jérôme Soligny about their new book, "David Bowie Music Lover," which delves into Bowie’s inspirations through his personal record collection. The immersive production "David Bowie: You’re Not Alone," directed by Mark Grimmer and Tom Wexler, uses footage from the David Bowie Archive to revisit iconic performances, reconfigured for Lightroom’s spatial audio system by sound designer Gareth Fry. The production is fully authorised by the David Bowie Estate.
Lightroom’s chief executive Richard Slaney expressed excitement about the Bowie Nights programme, highlighting the unique opportunities it offers to celebrate Bowie’s influence through live shows, album listening sessions, and immersive productions. Tickets for Bowie Nights and "David Bowie: You’re Not Alone" are available on Lightroom’s website.