During the rest of the year, there is no shortage of good gigs and concerts to go to in London, with something available for everyone. During the holidays, however, there are slim pickings and the long Easter weekend is no exception. So if you’re a music gig junkie, or have friends and family visiting who are, we’ve compiled a guide to the top music events happening this Easter weekend.

What day is Mother’s Day in the UK? For every husband, daughter, or son, the crucial date is Sunday 14th March 2010. But for Marie Curie Cancer Care, they decided to celebrate Mother’s Day a good 24 hours early on Saturday, with their Music for Mums charity gig.

Yeasayer is an indie band from Brooklyn, New York, that burst onto the rock scene in 2007 and since then have gained respect for their breath of fresh music into the rock genre. As part of the Shockwaves NME Awards series in 2010, they were invited to cross the Atlantic to show music fans in London what the fuss about them is all about. We went and reviewed the concert, and here is our take.

It would be irresponsible to write about catwalk trends, fashion week exhibitions and the fashion team’s favs until at least Monday, but the sights and sounds of London Fashion Week are crying out for attention. From Aldwych to Bloomsbury to Covent Garden, catwalks have been set up at several historic venues.

With a debut album due for release this month and singles that have already been memorised by her fans, Marina and the Diamonds could be joining the likes of La Roux and Florence and the Machines as names to continue to have your eyes on in 2010. She stole the show with her set at Dingwalls, Camden, leaving fans eager for more and new dates for 2010 have since been announced to keep them on their toes.

London Fashion week runs from Friday 19th – Wednesday 23rd February. This year’s presentation of the fall/winter collections promises to be one of the bests. With Pop-up shops gaining in popularity and much needed attention and focus being paid to the way in which the fashion industry can be fairer and more ethical, the fashion team at the London Insider are looking forward to bringing you a series of articles about London Fashion Week 2010.

Now that winter is hopefully coming to an end, its time to venture out of the warm comforts of the pub to explore London! And with the credit crunch, free is always welcome. While the vast majority of events we write about are all fun fun fun, there are some free educational and enlightening events in London too, like free lectures & talks at the London School of Economics by noteworthy people in the field of economics and finance.

A unique opportunity to enjoy music from different parts of the world in the centre of London, free of charge. SOAS (University of London) hosts a Concert Series to show both students and visitors how exciting and varied the London music scene is. During the academic year from September to May, the Department of Music at SOAS offers music performances from countries like Cuba, Zimbabwe, Bulgaria, Japan, Turkey, India and many more from around the world!

With the opening of their new Medieval & Renaissance gallery, the Victoria & Albert Museum threw a massive renaissance ball on the last Friday of January. We were there to enjoy the new gallery, but the ball itself was a quasi-exhibition in itself with lots of fancy costumes and masks on display!

The first Vincent van Gogh exhibition in London in more than 40 years proves he wasn’t just a painter who had brushes with insanity and creative genius. The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and His Letters, on show now until 18 April at the Royal Academy of Arts, pairs 65 paintings and 35 of his letters to suggest he was just as apt with a pen as a paintbrush.