Andrea Boccelli, Bon Jovi and Coldplay have all played at the Emirates Palace before, but most acts of this ilk now head to du Forum or du Arena on Yas Island. The Auditorium at Emirates Palace remains active though, but is more likely to host Swan Lake than Eminem, preferring to keep things upmarket. The du Arena is a large, open-air concert pavilion adjacent to Ferrari World and has seen Linkin Park, Kings of Leon, Beyonce, Kanye West, and Prince play during Formula One weekends, while Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Eric Clapton, Madonna, Rihanna and Shakira have also performed at other times.

If you’re after something smaller, it's becoming easier to find. Chamas at the Intercontinental, Jazz Bar at the Hilton, Lemon Tree at Holiday Inn and Sax at Le Royal Meridien all have either regular house bands or nights for local bands to strut their stuff, while B-Lounge at the Sheraton has a regular open mic night. Similarly there are a few brunches now that put on a musical accompaniment including the Jazz Brunch at Oleo at St.Regis Saadiyat island, with a jazz duo, and Noche at Hilton Capital Grand with a Cuban trio.

Classical music
Although the classical concerts scene has shrunk somewhat in the last year or two, Abu Dhabi has played host to some big names in the classical music world, including Joshua Bell, Sir Simon Rattle with the Berlin Philharmonic, and Lang Lang, to name a few. The likes of Catherine Jenkins have performed more recently at the du Forum, while Brighton College is an increasingly popular venue for less well-known classical acts. The NSO Symphony Orchestra aims to regularly put performances together at various locations across the city.

Music festivals
Abu Dhabi has played host to a number of editions of the WOMAD festivals, and has its own home grown music and arts festival, the Abu Dhabi Festival. Abu Dhabi Classics held an annual winter season of classical music in venues across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, although these events seem to be becoming more sporadic. Modern tunes in the form of Creamfields are put on by FLASH Entertainment at du Forum, while Sandance festivals at Atlantis, the Palm in Dubai, attracts big crowds and equally big acts like The Killers and Jamiroquai.

Every year, Beats on the Beach takes place around the Formula 1 weekend; a free concert on Abu Dhabi’s Corniche beach that has seen acts like Ludacris, Missy Elliott and Sean Kingston perform.