Know Your Artist: Blue and Russell Peters lead a packed UAE weekend and then some

Clear your calendar and charge your phone, because the UAE’s stages are about to get very busy. This week brings a jazz crooner, a Russian-pop heartthrob, a comedy giant, and a boyband that refuses to retire. Sunday is so stacked you may need to clone yourself.

Bobby Valchev: Romantic jazz night

Bobby Valchev is a singer and pianist who performs alone at the keys, turning the great romantic standards into intimate, jazz-tinged performances that feel like they’re just for you. The setlist is full of love songs, including The Way You Look Tonight, My Funny Valentine, All of Me, and My Way, reworked with the warmth and spontaneity of live jazz. If you’ve been meaning to plan a proper date night, this is it.

When: Friday, 23 October · Doors 7:30 PM · Show 8:00 PM
Where: Theatre of Digital Art (ToDA), Dubai
Tickets: From Dh180

Valery Meladze: World Tour 2026

Valery Meladze is one of the most beloved voices in Russian-language pop, a refined romantic with a catalogue that spans generations. You’ll recognise his songs from the first note. After a sold-out 2025 anniversary tour, he’s back with a brand-new show that mixes the classics fans know by heart with premieres of new songs, all under a high-tech light show. Expect big emotion and a crowd that sings along to every word.

When: Sunday, 25 October · Doors 6:00 PM · Show 8:00 PM
Where: The Agenda, Dubai
Tickets: From Dh400

Russell Peters: One Night Only

Russell Peters is a global comedy icon. Rolling Stone named him one of its 50 Best Comics of All Time, and he was the first comedian to sell out Madison Square Garden, London’s O2, and Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. Fans know him from specials like Outsourced, Red, White and Brown, Almost Famous, and Deported. Expect razor-sharp jokes about culture, family, relationships, and life on the road. A friendly warning: His crowd work is legendary. If you sit in the front row and say you’re “in finance,” you only have yourself to blame.

When: Sunday, 25 October · Doors 6:30 PM
Where: Etihad Arena, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: From Dh275

Blue: 25th Anniversary Live

Dust off the frosted tips, find your shiniest shirt, and practise your synchronised stool-standing, because Blue are back. Antony, Duncan, Lee, and Simon have been at it for 25 years, collecting three consecutive UK number one albums, 11 Top 10 singles, and two BRIT Awards along the way, which is more than most of us have achieved in the same period. They’ll be belting out All Rise (and you’ll be rising), One Love (you’ll be feeling it), and Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (they said it, not us). There are new tracks too, including One Last Time and Waste My Love, from their new Reflections album. Despite the title, we suspect this won’t really be one last time. Boybands never truly leave. They just go on tour.

When: Sunday, 25 October · Doors 6:30 PM · Show 8:00 PM
Where: The Jubilee, Jubilee Park, Expo City Dubai
Tickets: From Dh299