Union Chapel's free Carols by Candlelight is Sunday 20 December at 7pm. Kate Rusby, the Unthanks and Aled Jones play too, with every date and ticket price.

Union Chapel’s free Carols by Candlelight is on Sunday 20 December 2026 at 7pm, on Compton Terrace at the top of Upper Street. Tickets are free but have not been released yet; the chapel says they are “available soon”. The rest of Islington’s Christmas music is already on sale, and the big names are at the same chapel: Kate Rusby, The Unthanks, Cara Dillon and Aled Jones with Alexander Armstrong.

Everything below was read on the venue’s own page on 6 October 2026. Union Chapel prints its prices on Gigantic, the ticket agent its pages link to, so the prices for its concerts come from there.

The quick answer

  • Free: Carols by Candlelight, Union Chapel, Sunday 20 December, 7pm (doors 6pm). Free tickets, £10 donation encouraged. Tickets not yet released.
  • Cheapest ticket: Wayne Marshall’s Christmas organ recital, Union Chapel, Wednesday 9 December, 7pm, £10, or £6 for over-65s and students.
  • Selling out first: Aled Jones and Alexander Armstrong (Monday 21 December) and both Unthanks shows (Saturday 19 December) were marked limited availability on 6 October.
  • Families: Kate Rusby’s 3pm matinee on Tuesday 22 December has £22.50 under-16 tickets; Kings Place has a family carols matinee on Saturday 12 December.

Carols by Candlelight: free, Sunday 20 December

Union Chapel’s own carol service, led by the Revd Cathy Bird with the choir Union Chapel Voices and the musical director and organist Anthony Fort. The chapel is lit by candles; the programme mixes traditional and modern carols with the Christmas story told in readings and prayer, and new pieces written for the night by Anthony Fort. Afterwards the music carries on in the bar (Union Chapel).

  • Sunday 20 December 2026. Doors and bar 6pm, service 7pm to 8.30pm.
  • Free, with a ticket. The chapel brought in free ticketing because the service is so popular. It asks for a £10 donation per person, which you can give when you book or in cash or by card on the night.
  • Tickets are not out yet. On 6 October the event page said “Tickets available soon”. This page will add the release date when there is one.
  • Arrive by 6.30pm. Ticket holders who arrive after 6.30pm lose their guaranteed seat, and people without tickets are let in after that time if there is room. The chapel says there were seats on the night last year, so it is worth turning up even if tickets have gone.

Union Chapel: the December concerts

Union Chapel, 19b Compton Terrace, N1 2UN, is a working church and a concert venue. Seating is unreserved for all of these shows, so queue early if you want a particular seat, and the bar and kiosk take cards only (Union Chapel). The prices below are the face value; Gigantic adds a booking fee, most shows carry a £2 venue restoration or facility fee, and there is a £1.50 transaction fee on each order.

Union Chapel Christmas concerts 2026. Sources: Union Chapel event pages and Gigantic, read 6 October 2026.
DateConcertTimesFace value (total with fees)
Wed 9 DecA Christmas Organ Recital with Wayne MarshallDoors 6.30pm, starts 7pm, about an hour£10 (£13.25); over-65s and students £6 (£8.75); £15 on the door
Sat 12 DecToyah's Christmas PartyDoors 6.30pm, start 7.30pm£42 (£47.25); VIP £110 (£123.75)
Fri 18 DecCara Dillon: Upon a Winter's NightDoors 6.30pm£34 (£40.25)
Sat 19 DecThe Unthanks in Winter, matinee and eveningDoors 3pm and 7.15pm£40 (£47); 16+
Sun 20 DecCarols by CandlelightDoors 6pm, 7pm to 8.30pmFree ticket, £10 donation encouraged
Mon 21 DecThe Big Christmas Sing-a-Long with Aled Jones and Alexander ArmstrongDoors 7pm, start 8pm£50 (£58.25); package £125 (£142.63)
Tue 22 DecKate Rusby at Christmas, matinee and eveningDoors 2pm, start 3pm; doors 6.30pm, start 7.30pm£42 (£47.25); under-16s £22.50 (£25.31)

Wayne Marshall is the bargain of the month: the conductor and organist plays a Christmas recital on the chapel’s organ for £10 in advance. The chapel’s café and bar are not open before this one (Union Chapel).

Kate Rusby marks 21 years of her Christmas tour, with her band and the “Brass Boys”. Both shows on 22 December sell under-16 tickets at £22.50, and under-16s must come with an adult (Union Chapel).

The Unthanks play two shows on Saturday 19 December. Both are 16 and over, and under-18s must come with an adult. On 6 October Gigantic marked both as limited availability (Union Chapel).

Aled Jones and Alexander Armstrong end their first Christmas tour together at the chapel on Monday 21 December, with carols and Aled Jones’s Walking in the Air. The £50 tickets were limited availability on 6 October; the £125 package adds extras including a photo with the pair (Union Chapel).

Cara Dillon brings the tenth-anniversary tour of Upon a Winter’s Night, her album of carols, Celtic hymns and folk songs, on Friday 18 December (Union Chapel). Toyah Willcox has the party night on Saturday 12 December (Union Chapel).

For Cara Dillon and Toyah, the chapel’s Margins Café takes pre-show dinner bookings, with doors at 6pm for diners. You need a show ticket as well, and the café’s profits go to the Margins Project, the chapel’s homelessness charity.

Kings Place: carols for curious people and Christmas jazz

Kings Place, 90 York Way, N1 9AG, by the canal at King’s Cross, has its Christmas run in Hall One. Every price below is subject to a booking fee per ticket (Kings Place).

  • Kings Place Jazz Orchestra: A Seasonal Spectacular, Sunday 6 December, 4pm, doors 3.30pm. £25 to £50. Big-band swing for Christmas (Kings Place).
  • Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People, Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December, 7pm, doors 6.30pm. £29. The Cosmic Shambles Network’s annual mix of science, comedy, music and culture (Kings Place). A family matinee is on Saturday 12 December at 11.30am in Hall Two, £17 to £23 (Kings Place).
  • The Ascension Choir, Saturday 19 December, 7.30pm, doors 7pm. £25 to £45. A collective of gospel and soul singers in a Christmas concert (Kings Place).
  • Awake Arise: A Winter Show For Our Times, Sunday 20 December, 4pm, doors 3.30pm. £22. Winter folk songs and traditions from Lady Maisery, Sid Goldsmith and Sam Carter (Kings Place).

Kings Place sells a limited number of £10 tickets to under-30s for some shows, applied at checkout once your date of birth is on your account.

Getting there and parking

Union Chapel is a couple of minutes’ walk from Highbury and Islington station, and Kings Place is a short walk from King’s Cross St Pancras. Neither has parking of its own worth planning around on a December evening. Check the tube and train times page before a late show, and see parking in Islington for street charges and the roadworks and travel page for closures.

The Christmas theatre, from the King’s Head panto to Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella at Sadler’s Wells, is on our pantomime and Christmas shows page. The London Canal Museum’s Carols and Ices evening is on its Christmas page, and the council’s town-centre festive events are on the Christmas lights switch-on page.

Still to be confirmed

  • Carols by Candlelight tickets. Union Chapel says they are coming “soon” and has not given a date.
  • Parish church carol services. Islington’s churches have not published their 2026 Christmas services yet. We will add the larger ones when they do.

Sources