The O2 empire of music venues stretches from the vastness of The O2 in London to the intimacy of venues like the O2 Academy Liverpool and O2 Academy Manchester. Here’s our pick of the 10 gigs we don’t want to miss this summer.
We already picked 10 great gigs for you earlier this year but the schedules have filled up since then and we’ve picked another set of unmissable gigs for you. Our selections will take you through a summer of music into winter from classic acts like Duran Duran to UK hip-hop from Devlin and heads-down rocking with Queens of the Stone Age…
20 May: Queens of the Stone Age @ O2 Academy Glasgow
Josh Homme returns to Queens of the Stone Age after stints with supergroup Them Crooked Vultures and behind the mixing desk producing Arctic Monkeys. Expect hits like No One Knows and Feel Good Hit Of The Summer as well as new songs from the band’s forthcoming and as yet untitled new record.
24 May: Brother @ O2 Academy Manchester
The jury is out on British music’s new rent-a-gobs. Brother have the swagger and big guitars of early Oasis and have been both championed and panned by NME, often in the space of a few pages. Check the most anticipated tour of the summer out for yourself in Manchester.
27 May: Devlin @ O2 Academy Liverpool
One of the hottest UK rappers to emerge in 2010 with his Bud, Sweat and Beers album, Devlin has come to even more prominence thanks to his performances with hotly tipped BBC Sound of 2011 winner Jessie J. Rest assured, Devlin definitely does it like a dude.
27 May: The Mountain Goats @ O2 Academy Manchester
If the hip-hop sounds of Devlin don’t appeal in Liverpool, hop over to Manchester for The Mountain Goats. Lead goat John Darnielle is widely considered one of the best lyricists working today and you can expect a wide range of sounds from him and whatever configuration of The Mountain Goats arrives in the North West from acoustic thrash to gentle piano.
28 May: Duran Duran @ The O2
Looking surprisingly youthful and on the road again, Duran Duran have an absolute treasure trove of hits to choose from, stretching back to their debut single Planet Earth and encompassing the yacht rock perennial Rio and Bond theme A View To A Kill. The band will be playing selections from across their 33-year career.
07 July: Death Cab for Cutie @ O2 Brixton Academy
The American indie rockers return to Britain to promote their upcoming album, Codes and Keys, which frontman Ben Gibbard promises is “much less guitar-centric than we’ve ever made before”. If that worries you, fear not: the band will be playing songs from across their catalogue with old favourites getting plenty of stage time too.
01 August: Blondie @ O2 Academy Liverpool
Blondie’s chief blonde Debbie Harry is still going strong and will be belting out the classics as the post-punker careen across the UK playing all the hits you’d expect. Call Me and Heart Of Glass are certain to get an airing along with later tracks such as Maria alongside songs from their forthcoming album.
05–06 August: Iron Maiden @ The O2
True giants of rock, Iron Maiden will bring Eddy and all their pryrotecnic thrills to the big stage at The O2 for about, oh, two nights. The second date was recently added due to the level of demand so if you want to catch them you’d better not run for the hills and head to The O2 website and get booking instead.
25 September: Adele @ O2 Academy Glasgow
Touring her second album 21, Adele has reached new levels of success on the back of the stunning single Rolling In The Deep. Expect good levels of banter and a seriously emotional performance.
14 October: Chase and Status @ O2 Brixton Academy
The drum and bass champions are massive, both in their own right and as remixers (check out their take on The Prodigy’s Invaders Must Die). They’ll bring a big show to O2 Brixton Academy with plenty of strobe, sweat and massive beats.
Hit the comments and let us know what gigs you’re looking forward to…
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