The best autumn shows coming to Albert Hall

Fresh from RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, Britain’s Got Talent and Celebrity Big Brother, Danny Beard heads to Albert Hall for an evening of Broadway and West End favourites alongside the English Musical Theatre Orchestra.

Expect songs from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Little Mermaid, Rent and plenty more, with Beard joined by a 25-piece orchestra and supporting artists for a full-scale celebration of musical theatre.

A cappella country stars Home Free return to the UK with their Highways & High Seas Tour, infusing their signature blend of Nashville harmonies, quick wit and pop covers with swashbuckling maritime whimsy.

The group have built a huge following online, with their cover of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire passing 47 million YouTube views, while their latest album Challenge the Sea gives their familiar sound a nautical twist.

Two-time Grammy winner, Pulitzer Prize recipient and MacArthur ‘Genius’, Rhiannon Giddens brings her expansive take on American folk music to Manchester with a one-off show on Tue 29 Sep.

A founding member of Carolina Chocolate Drops and artistic director of the Silkroad Ensemble, Giddens has spent her career exploring the overlooked histories woven into American music. Her work stretches from folk and roots music into opera, film and theatre, and her live shows promise an equally rich journey through the traditions and stories behind the songs.

Following a sold-out UK run earlier this year, Sol & The Gang return to the road with a full national tour and brand-new original music, stopping off at Albert Hall this October.

Founded by award-winning artist and choreographer J-Sol of The X Factor fame, the hand-picked supergroup brings together singers, musicians and dancers for a high-energy trip through the decades. On the night, the audience can expect a cavalcade of Motown classics, timeless R&B and contemporary sounds, with slick choreography and commanding vocals throughout.

Dame Meera Syal brings her unmissable show Vigilauntie! to town for an evening of funny, heartfelt and candid stories from an extraordinary career in British comedy and entertainment.

Whether it’s creating Goodness Gracious Me, starring as the unforgettable Granny Ummi in The Kumars at Number 42, or becoming an acclaimed novelist, screenwriter and actor, Syal has spent decades reshaping the British cultural landscape. Now, she turns her attention to the stories behind the stardom, from growing up in a West Midlands mining village and the wisdom of her mother and aunties to her career, motherhood and changing attitudes towards women.