The next 12 months are looking like a good time for live music
Looking back, 2024 was a truly stonking year for big-ticket music gigs in the UK. We had Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, obvs, but there were also arena and stadium shows from the likes of Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Doja Cat, AC/DC, Sam Fender, Bruce Springsteen, Girls Aloud, The Killers, Charli XCX and Troye Sivan. Whatever your taste, there was a major tour for you in 2024.
So, how’s 2025 looking? Well, somehow, even bigger. Again, it looks like the nation will be captured by one or two all-conquering tours (Oasis and Coldplay, all eyes on you), but there’ll also be shows of all sorts, from legends like ELO, Robbie Williams and Usher to the planet’s biggest contemporary stars – Lana Del Rey, Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter, to name a few.
On top of all that, rumours aswirl over potential dates yet to be announced by Adele and Beyoncé. If you’re after major tours in the UK next year, here’s what you’ve got to look forward to.
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Hell yeah. The reunion we thought would never happen, is finally happening: Liam and Noel have put their 16-year spat to one side (bet mum is relieved) to bring us what promises to be the tour of 2025. We’d recommend ticket insurance, just in case.
Dates: July 4-August 17
Locations: Cardiff, Manchester, London, Edinburgh, Dublin
Chris Martin and co. are bringing their signature brand of colourful stadium-filling rock ‘n’ roll to a city near you. We bet even the hardest geezer will shed a tear when hearing ‘Fix You’ IRL at the Music of the Spheres World Tour.
Dates: August 18-September 8
Locations: Hull and London
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Was O-Rod your top gig of 2024? Brace your eardrums for even more teenage screams as the angsty Gen Z pop star returns to UK soil for a headline show at London’s BST Hyde Park. We can’t wait.
Dates: June 27
Locations: London
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The queen of melodramatic pop is back in the UK for some of her largest shows to date. Having already sold out London’s Wembley Stadium, she’s added an extra show and announced that her new album, The Right Person Will Stay, will be released in May. How lucky are we?
Dates: June 23-July 4
Locations: Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool and London
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The ‘king of the north’ has announced a handful of massive stadium shows for summer 2025. Sam Fender is billed for the London Stadium (his first UK stadium show outside Newcastle), alongside not one, but three stadium shows in the Toon.
Dates: June 6-15
Locations: London and Newcastle
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Funny to think that Theresa May (remember her) banned Tyler from the UK exactly 10 years ago. Enjoy rubbing it in her face as he brings his widely acclaimed new album Chromakopia to venues across the country.
Dates: May 17-30
Locations: Birmingham, London, Manchester, Glasgow
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After years toiling away in the background, in 2024 Sabrina Carpenter took off big time – she’ll arrive in UK arenas in spring 2025 armed with some of the past year’s biggest hits like ‘Espresso’, ‘Please, Please, Please’ and more.
Dates: March 6-14
Locations: Birmingham, London, Glasgow, Manchester
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The boys! All of them! In one show! The noughties’ favourite British boybands are uniting for a series of ‘face-off’ joint shows, with ‘ringside’ seats and all.
Dates: September 16-October 21
Locations: Everywhere, pretty much
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It’s not all about the pop stars. Heavy metal legends Iron Maiden are doing a huge UK tour in 2025. Make sure to get the neck exercises in now ahead of a night of head banging and hair whirling.
Dates: June 21-30
Locations: Birmingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow
Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra return for one last hurrah, with three dates – including one in his native Birmingham and a final bash at London’s BST Hyde Park.
Dates: July 5-13
Locations: Birmingham, Manchester and London
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Fresh from a triumphant Glastonbury headline set in 2024, Dua Lipa’s Radical Optimism Tour is touring the globe in 2025 and arriving in the UK in June.
Dates: June 20-25
Locations: London and Liverpool
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The Boss is back. Longtime fans will be well versed in Springsteen’s epic three(ish)-hour sets by this point – but that doesn’t make them any less exciting. He’s a man who just can’t seem to stop touring, so if you love music, you have to see him at least once. That’s the rule.
Dates: May 17, 20 and June 4, 7
Locations: Manchester and Liverpool
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Usher announced a few shows at London’s O2 back in March 2024 and, after astonishing levels of demand, kept adding more gigs. He’ll now take over the capital’s biggest indoor arena for 10 (yep, 10!) shows in March and April 2025 – as well as two May dates, for good measure.
Dates: March 29-April 11, May 6 and 7
Locations: London
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Fresh from the release of 2024 album Hit Me Hard and Soft, Billie Eilish is taking the record on tour in summer 2025 – with no less than six nights in London and four in Manchester.
Dates: July 7-23
Locations: Glasgow, London, Manchester
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Jake Shears, Babydaddy and Del Marquis (but, crucially, not Ana Matronic) will reunite for the band’s first shows in 12 years.
Dates: May 16-27
Locations: Nottingham, Glasgow, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Leeds, Birmingham, Belfast
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One of this century’s most iconic hit-makers will be hitting 11 UK dates in 2025 with her Tension Tour.
Dates: May 16-June 2
Locations: Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, London, Nottingham, Birmingham
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Pop rockers Imagine Dragons are bringing their LOOM World Tour to the capital next summer, alongside support from Declan McKenna. Catch the ‘Radioactive’ hitmakers do a decade-spanning set at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (and potentially further afield) this July.
Dates: July 25 and 26
Locations: London
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The Sugababes’ comeback continues – with, that is, the group’s original lineup of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy.
Dates: April 8-19
Locations: Leeds, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast
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Fresh off the back of completing a marathon 10-year residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden, the piano man is doing a selection of European shows next year. Catch him on his victory lap to find out exactly how he managed to secure such a long gig in the first place.
Dates: June 7 and 21
Locations: Edinburgh and Liverpool
Fresh from a biopic where he’s represented by a CGI monkey – yep, really – Robbie has lined up several huge gigs in 2025, including one at the inaugural Come Together festival in Newcastle.
Dates: May 31-June 13
Locations: Edinburgh, London, Newcastle, Manchester and Bath.
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We’ve had Taylor’s Eras Tour. We’ve witnessed Madonna’s Celebration Tour. Now it’s time for Katy Perry’s Celebrations Tour, promising a similarly career-spanning show.
Dates: October 7-13
Locations: Glasgow, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham and London
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The Welsh rockers are responsible for some of the biggest British rock bangers this side of the millennium, and you can expect to hear ’em all at the aptly-named Stadium Anthems Tour. The Cardiff dates, in particular, will be pretty special.
Dates: June 5-July 12
Locations: Belfast, Huddersfield, Glasgow, London and Cardiff
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Nu-metal legends Linkin Park have a new lead singer, a new record out, and in 2025 they’ll spend pretty much the entire year on tour – including one date at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Dates: June 28
Locations: London
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Over the summer Adele told audiences in Germany that she’d be stepping away from music for ‘an incredibly long time’, yet in November the Mirror reported that industry insiders hinted she was in talks to play Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium in 2025. Which will it be? Only time will tell.
Dates: Unknown
Locations: London (rumoured)
At time of writing, Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter shows in the UK are still yet to be announced. Like Adele, Queen Bey has been rumoured to be playing the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – with five nights supposedly booked, according to The Sun.
Dates: Unknown, five shows (rumoured)
Locations: London (again, rumoured)
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