We independently select everything we recommend. Buying through us may earn us a commission, which supports our work.
If you thought you were going to get a breather after the entertainment overload of the FIFA Fan Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival and Vancouver Folk Festival in July, think again.
August is shaping up as one of the busiest months for concerts this summer with a trio of sold out, or nearly sold out shows at B.C. Place and a busy schedule at the new Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre at the PNE. If the proposed new Vancouver Cultural Precinct gets built, imagine how many more live entertainment events there will be to consider for your cultural calendar?
In the meantime, here are the top 10 picks for concerts to catch this month.
Suki Waterhouse performs.
Suki Waterhouse
When: Aug. 8, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Orpheum Theatre
Tickets and info: livenation.ca
Rising pop singer Suki Waterhouse is bringing the Loveland Tour to town, hot on the heels of singles like Tiny Raisin. The tour in support of the singer’s fourth record released on Island Records on July 10, sees her building on the breakout success of Memoir of a Sparklemuffin.
Thee Sacred Souls are an American neo-soul band.
The Constellation Tour with Thee Sacred Souls, La Lom and the Womack Sisters
When: Aug. 9, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Freedom Mobile Amphitheatre
Tickets and info: livenation.ca
Every so often, a multi-band bill comes to town that leaves a permanent impression on all those who attend. This combination of San Diego’s neo-soul smooth groovers Thee Sacred Souls, L.A.-based cinematic Latin-tinged instrumental combo La Lom, and soul harmonizing sibling act The Womack Sisters, who are the granddaughters of no less than the legend Sam Cooke is going to be something special.
Yard Act English indie rock act. Credit: James Winstanley
Yard Act
When: Aug. 11, 7 p.m.
Where: The Pearl
Tickets and info: Ticketweb.ca
With the release of You’re Gonna Need a Little Music, this U.K. quartet has turned up the amps some and turned down it’s astute social commentary for a sound that is more personal and reflective than such hard-hitting tracks as The Overload. But vocalist James Smith’s biting lyricism is still as tight as ever on such new songs as Empty Pledges.
AC/DC continues its Pwr/Up Tour with a return date at B.C. Place. Postmedia
AC/DC Pwer/Up Tour
When: Aug. 13, 6:30 p.m.
Where: B.C. Place
Tickets and info: From $105.85 at ticketmaster.ca
Co-founding guitarist Angus Young still sports the latest in public schoolboy uniforms, lead screamer Brian Johnson is still in the ranks, and Angus’ nephew Stevie Young is filling in the spot of the late guitarist Malcolm Young, so AC/DC can continue rocking. A hired rhythm section rounds out the touring version of the legendary Aussie hard rockers who are dishing out lengthy career-spanning sets loaded with hits and fan favourites.
J. Cole. David Peters photo
J. Cole: The Fall-Off Tour
When: Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Rogers Arena
Tickets and info: livenation.ca
On his first headlining tour since 2021, J. Cole is hitting four continents, the U.K. and New Zealand in support of his seventh full-length studio album, The Fall Off. While the sprawling double-disc session has had mixed reviews from critics and fans alike, the highlights are some of the best songs of his career and the concerts are getting raves.
Kylie Miller of The Beaches play PNE Summer Night Concerts. Postmedia
PNE Summer Night Concerts 2026
When: Aug. 22 – Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Freedom Mobile Amphitheatre, PNE
Tickets and info: Ticketleader.ca
Everyone wanted to know what the new Freedom Mobile Amphitheatre opening might do to the PNE Summer Night Concerts series. The answer is that the larger, state-of-the-art venue enables to popular family-friendly concert series to expand its bookings to bring in such venerable favourites as openers Blue Rodeo, Canadian rock legends The Guess Who, Juno-winning Toronto rockers The Beaches and film star Cynthia Erivo performing with the VSO.
Julian Casablancas from the Strokes performs on the Coachella stage during the 2026 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Getty Images
The Strokes
When: Aug. 27, 7 p.m.
Where: Rogers Arena
Tickets and info: livenation.ca
With the new album, Reality Awaits, receiving some of the best reviews the band has ever had and ’90s nostalgia really hitting its stride, the time was right for The Strokes to mount a comeback. With Longwave frontman Steve Schlitz replacing original guitarist Nick Valenti for many dates on the tour, the band fronted by lead singer Julian Casablancas is focusing on its breakout debut, Is This It?, with a smattering of songs from across its other releases.
Noah Kahan performs. Postmedia
Noah Kahan: The Great Divide Tour
When: Aug. 28, 6:30 p.m.
Where: B.C. Place
Tickets and info: livenation.ca
Every generation needs its tender, sensitive acoustic strumming romantic balladeer and 29-year-old American singer Noah Kahan has carved out his place in this position in 2026. His fourth album, The Great Divide, broke sales and streaming records upon its release and debuted in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. It was the best selling rock/pop album in over a decade, driven on songs such as the title track and Porch Light.
A recent lineup of Guns N’ Roses. PHOTO: BANG
Guns N’ Roses
When: Aug. 5, 6:30 p.m.
Where: B.C. Place
Tickets and info: livenation.ca
While most fans of the band probably go to see them to get the live experience of songs from the incredible Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses accompanied the announcement of its latest world tour with the release of two new singles. Nothin’ and Atlas are the first new music from the group since 2023. That means there have been four new tracks since the release of Chinese Democracy, which means a new album could be arriving before the end of the decade. Maybe.
Daijo plays Soulrise Music Festival in Ambleside 2026. Credit: Courtesy of Daijo
Soulrise Music Festival
When: Aug. 29
Where: Ambleside Park, West Van.
Tickets and info: soulrise.com
While music festivals in B.C. have been folding all over the province this summer, one genre has held out as healthy and ready for expansion and that is EDM. So it comes as no surprise to see the lovely location of Ambleside Park become the home of the new Soulrise Music Festival featuring Aeden, Argy, Kevin De Vries, Korolova, Son of Son and Daijo bringing bangin’ beats to the North Shore mountains.