With Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen at the helm, a 2024 blockbuster with live music beckons. The Mail's music critic Adrian Thrills takes us through the best performances…
Taylor time
After all the mind-boggling stats and rave reviews, the Eras tour is finally coming to these shores in June. Taylor Swift's three-hour pop performance is the kind of marathon show you'd normally associate with veteran rockers like Bruce Springsteen or The Cure – and none of them need to perform choreographed dance routines in sparkly outfits.
Taylor Swift's three-hour pop performance is the kind of marathon show you'd normally associate with veteran rockers like Bruce Springsteen
Taylor opens at Murrayfield, Edinburgh on June 7th before heading to Liverpool, Cardiff and Wembley Stadium, where she will play eight nights. The number of tickets is extremely limited (with resale through official agents being the safest bet), although the Eras concert film is available to rent on Apple TV+, Sky and Prime Video (taylorswift.com).
Stadium superstars
Swift isn't the only big name on the street. After postponing his U.S. dates in the fall while being treated for a stomach ulcer, Bruce Springsteen is back with the E Street Band.
He starts a UK tour on May 5th at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff (livenation.co.uk).
After postponing his U.S. dates in the fall while being treated for a stomach ulcer, Bruce Springsteen is back with the E Street Band
The same South Wales venue will also host the return of P!nk's Summer Carnival tour, starting June 11 (ticketmaster.co.uk), as well as a one-off show from pianist Billy Joel on August 9 (aegpresents.co. UK). ).
Arena fans
To celebrate the life of their former bandmate Sarah Harding, who passed away in 2021, Girls Aloud have reunited as a four-piece and will deliver a nostalgic show when they begin their tour at the SSE Arena in Belfast on May 20 (ticketmaster.co .United Kingdom).
Now a trio consisting of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, Take That will attempt to make light of the departures of Robbie Williams and Jason Orange by kicking off a tour at Sheffield's Utilita Arena on April 13th . Britain's most mature boy band in recent times have released a new album, This Life, but will rely heavily on crowd favorites such as Shine and Rule The World (gigsandtours.com).
To celebrate the life of their former bandmate Sarah Harding, who passed away in 2021, Girls Aloud have reunited as a four-piece and will deliver a nostalgic show at the SSE Arena in Belfast at the start of their tour
Bedroom pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo begins her Guts tour at a new £365m Manchester venue, Co-op Live, on May 3 (livenation.co.uk), while Paul Weller plays gigs in April (seetickets .com).
The Pet Shop Boys are touring in June and Texas has announced a fall tour starting September 5th at The O2 in London (both axs.com). Barry Manilow is also returning for what is believed to be his “final” UK tour. He opens at the Co-op Live in Manchester on May 19th, before bringing the spirit of Copacabana to the London Palladium – a venue where he first performed – for nine nights from May 23rd (ticketmaster.co. United Kingdom).
Flashbacks from the eighties
The stars of the decade when shoulder pads and mullets were the epitome of cool are back in action.
Simple Minds, with founding members Jim Kerr and Charlie Burchill at the helm, begin their biggest tour since 1985 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on March 15th. They also play two gigs in their hometown of Glasgow (gigsandtours.com).
Simple Minds, with founding members Jim Kerr (pictured) and Charlie Burchill at the helm, embark on their biggest tour since 1985
Squeeze are also returning to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The South Londoners play 36 shows in the autumn, opening at Sheffield City Hall on October 4th (gigsandtours.com), while The Pretenders begin a tour at The Glasshouse, Gateshead on February 24th and play two nights at the London Palladium (Ticketmaster) . co.uk).
soul girl
With her sixth album, The Glorification Of Sadness, due out in February, Paloma Faith begins a tour on April 3rd at The Hexagon, Reading, and Joss Stone, who co-wrote the West End musical The Time Traveller's Wife with Dave Stewart , headlines Royal Albert Hall on July 8 (both ticketmaster.co.uk).
With her sixth album “The Glorification Of Sadness”, due out in February, Paloma Faith is starting a tour at The Hexagon, Reading on April 3rd
Jess Glynne is also back. The soul siren, whose last album was 2018's Always In Between, kicks off a summer tour at the Open Air Theater in Scarborough on June 15, while Ellie Goulding performs her greatest hits with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in April will be reinterpreted 11 (both live on nation.co.uk).
Indie idols
The Killers topped the charts this month with the career-spanning Rebel Diamonds compilation, but it will mark the 20th anniversary of another album – their 2004 debut Hot Fuss – which saw the Las Vegas band on their first arena tour since will celebrate six years. Brandon Flowers and Co. open on June 18th with the first of four nights at Co-op Live, Manchester (ticketmaster.co.uk).
The Killers topped the charts this month with the career-spanning Rebel Diamonds compilation, but it will mark the 20th anniversary of another album – their 2004 debut Hot Fuss
Another group celebrating their 20th anniversary next year is Keane, whose BRIT-winning debut Hopes And Fears also came out in 2004. The East Sussex band play seven shows in the UK, starting on May 3rd at the First Direct Arena in Leeds (Ticketmaster). co.uk). And The 1975 start a tour at OVO Hydro, Glasgow on February 8th (livenation.co.uk).
Dance and rap
Hot on the heels of the opening of BBC's Sports Personality Of The Year, DJ Pete Tong and conductor Jules Buckley are back on tour with their Ibiza Classics extravaganza, adding orchestral stylings to classic dance tunes.
DJ Pete Tong (pictured) and conductor Jules Buckley are back on tour with their Ibiza Classics extravaganza
They play outdoor shows next summer before starting a winter tour at P&J Live in Aberdeen on December 4th (gigsandtours.com).
Becky Hill, twice named best dance act at the BRITs, kicks off her autumn tour at the OVO Hydro, Glasgow (livenation.co.uk) on October 12, while rappers Nicki Minaj and Doja Cat are also on tour. Minaj kicks off her Pink Friday 2 tour on May 25th at Co-op Live in Manchester. Doja Cat kicks off her Scarlet tour on June 11th at OVO Hydro in Glasgow (both livenation.co.uk).
Happy glampers
The Glastonbury line-up for June is still a secret – Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Springsteen are listed as headliners – but other festivals have already announced, including Duran Duran, London Grammar and Rick Astley at Latitude in July (latitude festival.com) . and Lana Del Rey, Liam Gallagher and Raye in Reading and Leeds in August (reading andleedsfestival.com).
The line-up for Glastonbury in June is still a secret – Coldplay, Dua Lipa and Springsteen are named as headliners – but other festivals have already come forward
The Prodigy, Green Day and Suede play the Isle of Wight in June (isleofwightfestival.com), and Robbie Williams and Andrea Bocelli are top of the bill at BST Hyde Park in July (bst-hydepark.com). Of the smaller events, Nocturne Live at Blenheim Palace in June features an impressive female line-up including Chaka Khan, Sister Sledge, the Sugababes and Mel C (nocturnelive.com).