A new wave of artists announced!
Established in 2018, The Lens Studio within Portsmouth Guildhall platforms the best in contemporary art and culture in the heart of the city, featuring emerging talent alongside icons of their time and genre in a relaxed and more intimate setting.
The Lens Studio has developed a reputation for offering music of a wide mix of genres, the finest in stand-up comedy and theatre including an annual family pantomime from Curtain Call Productions.
And now, in a further development to the city’s creative space, Music Programmer, Adam Gilbert has joined the team.
Starting his career at Spinnaker Tower, Adam worked his way up to the position of Operations Manager before moving into the arts, where he has managed a number of small art centres and cultural hubs throughout the region. His passion for music developed at an early age, and from the age of around 16 with friends began booking bands into his local hometown of Watford.
Adam’s role with The Lens Studio is to further diversify the programme on offer to attract wider audiences. Investigating genres that have not been seen in The Lens before and working with new promoters, there is a focus on finding artists who are starting to be noticed on their respective scenes.
Programming Manager, Curt Hill said “I’m delighted to welcome Adam to the team as our Music Programmer. His passion, experience, and love for live music brings a fresh energy and vision that will be instrumental in shaping the future of our programme and diversifying the range of genres we present. Adam is already making a real impact and I’m excited to see how his influence will continue to elevate and expand the music programme at Portsmouth Guildhall.”
Already a wave of new artists can be seen in the programme for the Autumn season and into 2026. Emerging bands and performers from across the globe are set to appear including Mary Shelley supported by Cowz and Rosewater, Leveret, Deptford Northern Soul Club supported by Nic Dunnaway, Never the Bride, Summoners, Jennifer Owens, Tez, Sean Rowe, The Jins supported by Common Tongue, Oslo Twins, Will Wilde, Mimi Rae, The Amba Tremain Band, Fabiano do Nascimento and rising jazz star, Alice Milburn.
Icons including Briana Corrigan, the original voice of The Beautiful South, founding member and long-time bass player of Dire Straits, John Illsley and Martin McAloon of Prefab Sprout also feature, plus a range of quality tributes including Oasiz, Nirvanah, The Phonics, Small Fakers, Maximum Who, Red Hot Tribute Peppers, Henry Wagons – Cash: The American Recordings and Hejira.
Slimewire, an alternative club night of Nu Metal, Punk and Dark Electronic and Future Folk nights make up the musical line-up.
Of the music scene in Portsmouth Adam said, “There is a tremendous scene here which The Lens is proud to be a part of! We are very lucky to have some brilliant promoters bringing tremendous acts to the city and we also have great venues such as The Wedge and Kola who do great things, as well as recording studios like Southsea Sound and Casemates, which all create an infrastructure for bands which is so important.”
Comedy remains a staple part of The Lens programme with regular LOL Comedy nights offering a mix of comedians from the telly plus stand-up shows with Hal Cruttenden, Marcus Brigstocke, Helen Bauer, Lou Conran, Ola Labib, Stevie Martin and BBC Radio 4’s stalwart, Simon Evans.
Theatre too is featured with a whole lot of fun with Legends of Drag, plus Cougar, a play about climate change and consumption, and Bad Immigrant, an absurd and funny roller disco about immigration.
Cinderella is this year’s most magical pantomime of all time produced by Curtain Call Productions, running from 22nd – 31st December, and in a festive treat for those aged 3+, The Gingerbread Boy is a brand-new Christmas story with the chance to meet Santa!
A new Studio Pass for Students has also just been launched which offers a 25% discount on selected shows for university and local college students.
Explore the full line-up, book tickets, and sign up for a Student Studio Pass now!