From Craig Charles performing inside Coventry Cathedral to one of Britain’s biggest contemporary art exhibitions beginning its national tour in the city, Coventry has a packed seven days ahead.
There is comedy from Al Murray and Sindhu Vee, live music at The Tin, free heritage events, exhibitions, activities for families and an Ibiza-inspired night inside one of Coventry’s most recognisable buildings.
Whether you’re looking for something free, a night out or simply somewhere different to visit, here’s our guide to what’s on in Coventry from Monday, September 28 to Sunday, October 4.
Monday, September 28
Rachel Mahon gives the final free lunchtime organ recital at Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral’s free Monday lunchtime organ recital season comes to an end with a performance by its own Director of Music, Rachel Mahon.
Mahon has been Director of Music at the Cathedral since 2020. Before moving to Coventry, she became the first female organist in the 1,400-year history of St Paul’s Cathedral when she served there as Organ Scholar.
The half-hour Coventry concert offers a rather peaceful way to spend a Monday lunchtime, and there’s no charge to attend.
Where: Coventry Cathedral, Priory Street
When: Monday, September 28, 12.30pm to 1pm
Price: Free
Booking: No advance booking requirement is listed
Duration: 30 minutes
Rachel Mahon at Coventry Cathedral
Tuesday, September 29
Lavinia Blackwall and The Drone Rangers at The Tin
The Tin at Coventry Canal Basin welcomes Lavinia Blackwall on Tuesday night.
Blackwall was previously singer and arranger with Trembling Bells before launching her solo career in 2020. She has since toured across Britain and Europe, performed at Glastonbury and recorded live sessions for BBC Radio 6 Music.
Support comes from The Drone Rangers.
Where: The Tin at the Coal Vaults, Coventry Canal Basin
When: Tuesday, September 29, 7.30pm to 11pm
Price: £15.40 advance, including booking fee
Age: 14+
Under-18s: Must be accompanied by an adult
Booking: Advance tickets available
Wednesday, September 30
Three young bands take over The Tin
Wednesday provides an opportunity to see some of Coventry’s emerging musical talent.
The Illusion, New Obsession and Project Overload are performing as part of The Tin’s Live On Stage programme.
New Obsession formed through the project in 2022 and have subsequently appeared on line-ups across Coventry and Warwickshire, including Godiva Festival.
Alternative rock band The Illusion were formed through the same programme in 2024 and have already appeared at Coventry’s HMV Empire.
Where: The Tin at the Coal Vaults, Coventry Canal Basin
When: Wednesday, September 30, 7.30pm to 11pm
Price: £7.76 advance, including booking fee
Under-18 ticket: £5.54
Under-18s: Must be accompanied by an adult
The Tin’s upcoming Coventry gigs
Into The Blue Again opens at the Herbert
A new exhibition by artist David Troughton opens at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum on Wednesday.
Into The Blue Again runs for less than two weeks, from September 30 until October 10.
Where: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Jordan Well
Opens: Wednesday, September 30
Runs until: October 10
Herbert opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, and Sunday, noon to 4pm. The museum is closed on Mondays.
Thursday, October 1
Al Murray brings The Pub Landlord to Coventry
Al Murray returns to Coventry on Thursday with his latest Pub Landlord show, All You Need Is Guv!
The performance takes place at Warwick Arts Centre and begins at 7.30pm.
Where: Warwick Arts Centre, University of Warwick
When: Thursday, October 1
Time: 7.30pm
Age: 14+
Booking: Ticketed event
Mini Makers gets messy at the Herbert
Families with younger children can head to the Herbert for its latest Mini Makers: Messy Play session.
The sessions introduce children to early mark-making through sensory materials including paint, clay, chalk, glitter and even spaghetti.
Where: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Jordan Well
When: Thursday, October 1
Family friendly: Yes
Free guided bat walk at Longford Park
Coventry City Council is also running a guided bat walk at Longford Park on Thursday.
The evening walk explores the wildlife that emerges across Coventry’s green spaces as daylight fades.
Where: Longford Park
When: Thursday, October 1
Price: Free
Booking: Required
Friday, October 2
British Art Show 10 launches its national tour in Coventry
Friday brings arguably the biggest cultural event of the week.
British Art Show 10: A Chorus of Strangers begins in Coventry before travelling to Swansea, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle Gateshead.
Held every five years, British Art Show is the UK’s largest recurring exhibition of contemporary art.
More than 30 artists are included in the tenth edition, with painting, photography, sculpture, film and installation spread across the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry University and Mead Gallery.
Artists featured include Jasleen Kaur, Nnena Kalu, Alvaro Barrington, Jesse Darling, Joy Gerrard, Lindsey Mendick and Osman Yousefzada.
Coventry gets the exhibition first, with its run continuing until January 10, 2027.
Where: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry University and Mead Gallery at Warwick Arts Centre
Opens: Friday, October 2
Coventry run: Until Sunday, January 10, 2027
Herbert opening on Friday: 10am to 4pm
Herbert entry: Drop in, included with museum admission
After Coventry, the exhibition travels around Britain until June 2028.
British Art Show 10 at the Herbert
Craig Charles performs inside Coventry Cathedral
Coventry Cathedral will look rather different on Friday night.
Actor, broadcaster and DJ Craig Charles is bringing his Funk & Soul show into the New Cathedral for a live concert.
Charles will perform a 90-minute headline set, with the event running until 11pm.
It is a standing concert and is strictly for over-18s. The organisers also operate a smart casual dress code, with sportswear prohibited.
Where: Coventry Cathedral, Priory Street
When: Friday, October 2
Time: 6.30pm to 11pm
Age: Strictly 18+
Format: Standing
Dress code: Smart casual, no sportswear
Accessibility: Seating can be provided for people with accessibility needs, with access and carer ticket enquiries handled by the event organisers
Booking: Required
Craig Charles Live at Coventry Cathedral
British Art Show isn’t the only new exhibition opening at the Herbert
A second exhibition opens at the Herbert on Friday.
Coventry Biennial is presenting a display of photographer John Riddy’s Modernist Spaces.
Riddy grew up in Coventry and studied at Coventry Polytechnic, now Coventry University, in 1979 and 1980.
The display includes photographs taken around the world between 1998 and 2006, examining modernist buildings and architecture.
It runs alongside British Art Show 10 until January 10
Where: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
When: From Friday, October 2
Runs until: January 10, 2027
Booking: Drop in
Entry: Included with museum admission
John Riddy’s Modernist Spaces at the Herbert
Saturday, October 3
Find out how to volunteer at some of Coventry’s most historic places
Coventry Transport Museum is hosting a free Heritage Volunteers Fair on Saturday.
The event brings together organisations responsible for some of the city’s best-known museums and historic buildings.
Representatives from the Herbert, Coventry Transport Museum, Lunt Roman Fort, Coventry Cathedral, Historic Coventry Trust, St Mary’s Guildhall, The Weaver’s House and Coventry Charterhouse are due to attend.
Opportunities range from working with museum collections and visitors to outdoor and office-based roles.
Where: Coventry Transport Museum
When: Saturday, October 3
Time: 11am to 2pm
Price: Free
Booking: Drop in
Coventry Heritage Volunteers Fair
Tomb Tales explores the Coventry figures who helped build the city
Three men whose work helped shape Coventry are the subject of a special history event at London Road Cemetery.
Historic Coventry Trust’s volunteer researchers will tell the stories of architect James Murray, metalworker Francis Skidmore and builder Charles Garlick.
The event takes place inside the cemetery’s Anglican Chapel
Where: Anglican Chapel, London Road Cemetery
When: Saturday, October 3
Time: 2pm
Tomb Tales at London Road Cemetery
Ibiza Anthems takes over Coventry Cathedral
The Cathedral undergoes another transformation on Saturday evening as DJ and sax duo Laura & Santiago bring Ibiza Anthems to Coventry.
Formerly billed as Lovely Laura and Ben Santiago, the pair will perform a 75-minute headline set inside the New Cathedral.
As with Friday’s Craig Charles concert, this is an over-18s standing event with a smart casual dress code.
Where: Coventry Cathedral
When: Saturday, October 3
Time: 6.30pm to 11pm
Age: Strictly 18+
Format: Standing
Dress code: Smart casual, no sportswear
Accessibility: Seating is available for people with accessibility needs by arrangement
Booking: Required
Ibiza Anthems at Coventry Cathedral
Coventry’s Blitz Museum opens for the weekend
Visitors can also explore Coventry Cathedral’s small Blitz Museum on Saturday and Sunday.
The museum is tucked inside the Cathedral Ruins and contains a recreation of life in Coventry during the 1940s, including wartime memorabilia, a period schoolroom and domestic displays.
The Cathedral confirms the museum is scheduled to open over the weekend of October 3 and 4.
Where: Coventry Cathedral Ruins
When: Saturday, October 3 and Sunday, October 4
Because the museum is volunteer-run, visitors should check the Cathedral’s live listing before travelling.
Sunday, October 4
Sunday is also a good opportunity to catch several of the exhibitions that have opened during the week.
British Art Show 10 will be entering its first weekend across its three Coventry venues, while Into The Blue Again, John Riddy’s Modernist Spaces and the Herbert’s longer-running exhibitions will also be available.
The Herbert opens from 12pm to 4pm on Sundays.
Its ongoing exhibitions include Aural Histories: Listening to Historic Coventry, which explores what music may have sounded like in the city between the 15th and 17th centuries, as well as Dippy in Coventry, Warwickshire’s Jurassic Sea and Curious Creatures, Stones and Bones.
Herbert Art Gallery & Museum What’s On
Exhibitions you can visit throughout the week
Aural Histories: Listening to Historic Coventry
One of the Herbert’s newest long-running exhibitions takes visitors back hundreds of years through sound.
Aural Histories explores how music might have sounded in Coventry between the 15th and 17th centuries.
It opened earlier this month and continues until September 26, 2027.
Where: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Runs until: September 26, 2027
Dippy in Coventry
The Natural History Museum’s famous Diplodocus cast remains in residence at the Herbert.
Dippy is scheduled to stay in Coventry until February 19, 2027.
Where: Herbert Art Gallery & Museum
Runs until: February 19, 2027
Warwickshire’s Jurassic Sea
Visitors can discover some of the creatures that lived in Coventry and Warwickshire millions of years ago in another of the Herbert’s long-running natural history exhibitions.
It continues until February 21, 2027.
Something we’ve missed?
Coventry has hundreds of smaller events organised by community groups, independent venues, pubs, churches, sports clubs and local businesses, so there will inevitably be things that don’t make our weekly guide.
If you’re organising an event in Coventry, send The Daily Britain or COVBible the name, venue, date, exact start and finish times, ticket price, booking information and a photograph or poster.
We’ll be updating our Coventry What’s On coverage every week.
Event details and ticket availability can change, so always check with the organiser before travelling.
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