Jon Cleary - Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2026)

For over forty years, Grammy-winning pianist Jon Cleary has called New Orleans home— and pretty much ever since he landed in the Big Easy, he and his celebrated band (the Absolute Monster Gentlemen) have toured all over the world spreading the music of his adopted home to packed houses of rabid fans. He’s played with everyone, for everyone, everywhere.

Still, as of 2025, there was one room that this Englishman had yet to conquer… and it was a big one. The venerable Royal Albert Hall. The temple of British performance and an icon of London. A national treasure, in fact.

On June 16, 2025, this wait came to an end as Jon Cleary performed a solo piano set on the same stage that hosted names like Wagner, Rachmaninov, McCartney and Churchill. It was a blistering set that featured highlights of Cleary’s songbook and tributes to greats like Lloyd Price and Jelly Roll Morton.
“I’ve played the Hollywood Bowl, Sydney Opera House and Bertha’s Bon Ton Lounge on Basin Street but there’s nothing quite like getting down at the Royal Albert Hall in London,” Cleary says.

“Funky New Orleans music makes you feel good - no matter where you are, it just works. The Albert Hall is a big space, the show was sold out and the place was packed, but everyone was in the right mood and it only took a couple of bars to get the room feeling loose like a New Orleans jook joint- everybody in the groove’.”