It’s not even the end of January, but already 2018 is shaping up to be one of the biggest years for live music that Courier Country has experienced in a long time.
Excitement reached fever pitch on Tuesday morning following a string of huge gig announcements, with music icons including Noel Gallagher and Lionel Richie confirming shows in the region.
We’ve put together a list of the biggest acts heading our way in the coming months. This article will be updated as and when further acts are announced.
Lionel Richie
US singer Lionel Richie will perform to thousands of fans at McDairmid Park, Perth on June 3. Tickets for the gig will go on sale online at 10am on Friday, February 2. Richie is the biggest star to play the stadium since Elton John more than a decade ago.
Very excited to announce that I will back in the UK this summer to perform for you all again! Tickets on sale – Fri. 2 Feb. at 10am GMT – For full list of dates & ticket info: https://t.co/HKd2jTpxtQ #AllTheHitsUK pic.twitter.com/KMbLF1avIZ
— Lionel Richie (@LionelRichie) January 30, 2018
Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds
The former Oasis man will be the headline act at the BBC’s Biggest Weekend festival at Scone Palace on May 26. The guitarist and singer-songwriter, who penned some of the most famous songs of the 1990s, will perform with his High Flying Birds band.
Just announced… NGHFB's will headline @BBCRadio2 #BiggestWeekend at Perth's @SconePalace on the 26th May! Head over here for line up and ticket info ? https://t.co/VpM2G82FSm pic.twitter.com/KnktEyKll3
— Noel Gallagher (@NoelGallagher) January 30, 2018
Rita Ora
Music superstar Rita Ora is another big name added to the Slessor Gardens concert list.
She will play at Dundee’s waterfront venue on Saturday July 28.
Gary Barlow
The Take That frontman is playing two gigs in Tayside this year, one at Perth Concert Hall on April 19 and another at Dundee’s Caird Hal on April 20. Tickets for both gigs sold out rapidly.
Status Quo
Legendary British rock band Status Quo will be at Scone Palace as the headline act for the 2018 ReWind Festival in July.
Bonnie Tyler, The Boomtown Rats and UB40
These are just a few of the other big name acts returning to Tayside for this year’s Rewind Festival.
Simple Minds and
The Pretenders
Scottish rock bands Simple Minds and The Pretenders will lead the line-up at Dundee’s Slessor Gardens on September 9.
Steps
The pop group are coming to Slessor Gardens on June 22. They will be supported by fellow 90s bands Blue and Aqua.
KT Tunstall
The Fife musician is providing support to both Simple Minds and The Pretenders at Slessor Gardens on September 9, and to Gary Barlow at his local gigs in April.
Belle and Sebastian
The influential Scottish band will play Perth Concert Hall on Friday, March 23.
Eddi Reader
The Scots singer will play Perth Concert Hall on February 28.
Leo Sayer
The pop star will play at Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, on October 9.
Suggs
The Ska legend and Madness frontman is playing at Dunfermline’s Alhambra Theatre on Wednesday, February 28.
Erasure
The 1980s synthpop act are playing Dundee’s Caird Hall in just a matter of days – on Friday, February 2.
The Proclaimers
The Scottish musical legends will play Dundee’s Caird Hall on December 15.
Could more great gigs be on the cards for Tayside and Fife?
Dundonians were treated to three shows at Slessor Gardens in 2017 from UB40, Little Mix and Olly Murs, so we may well see some more big-name musicians making their way to the city in 2018. And MoFest is yet to announce its 2018 line-up after attracting The Beach Boys last year.
Will Carnival 56 return?
Despite attracting thousands of music fans and earning several major award nominations, the future of Dundee’s new music festival still remains unknown. Festival founder Craig Blyth has left the company that set up the popular event at Camperdown Park last year. However Dundee City Council has granted permission for it to run every year until 2021. In October last year an official festival spokeswoman said there had been “no confirmation” of the festival’s return, adding: “The debrief process is still under way”.
Sir Rod Stewart to Dundee?
No, we’ve not given up on Sir Rod coming to Dundee in 2018! The rocker is partnered with the Liz Hobbs Group, who are behind all of the hugely-successful 2017 Slessor Gardens concerts. Sir Rod came out as the overwhelming favourite in a Courier poll which asked locals who they would most like to see next at the waterfront music venue in 2018. And the Lizz Hobbs Group themselves haven’t ruled it out. Sir Rod is not believed to have played in Dundee since the 1970s, despite a number of appearances elsewhere in Scotland.
