Sam Fender has become the first international artist to headline Italy’s newest arena.

The British hitmaker graced the 5,000-cap ChorusLife Arena in Bergamo on 13 March – his only Italian tour date this year. Tickets for the show sold out two months in advance.

The venue, which has upcoming concerts with artists including Patti Smith and Italian singer-songwriter Loredana Bertè, is supported by Legends and ASM Global and is said to offer “best-in-class facilities, cutting-edge acoustics and a selection of premium hospitality areas”.

“ChorusLife Arena is a game changer for Italy’s live entertainment scene”

“ChorusLife Arena is a game changer for Italy’s live entertainment scene,” says Joe Rizzello, VP and general manager of ASM Global Italy. “We’re thrilled to welcome fans to this world-class venue, starting with what was a simply unforgettable night featuring the incredible Sam Fender. 2025 is already looking like a huge year for the ChorusLife Arena, with close to 100 events already booked – a true record for Italian arenas of this size.”

The arena is part of the ChorusLife district project, an urban redevelopment initiative aimed at blending entertainment, technology and community spaces. CAA-represented Fender recently extended his 2025 UK summer tour with the addition of three new dates.

The first of the new shows will be held in Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park on 16 August, before he takes to the Royal Highland Showgrounds in Edinburgh the following week 22 August as part of the Scottish capital’s Summer Sessions series.  On 28 August, Fender will headline the VITAL Festival at Boucher Road Playing Fields, Belfast.

The shows will follow the 30-year old’s previously announced European and US tours through the spring, plus three sold-out stadium gigs at Newcastle’s St. James Park (12-15 June) and London Stadium (6 June). He will also appear at Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in Sefton Park, Liverpool, on 24 May.

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American boy band Backstreet Boys are the latest act to announce a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Produced by Live Nation, the Into The Millenium stint will comprise nine performances on 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27 July.

The five-piece will perform tracks from their best-selling album Millennium, alongside a selection of their greatest hits.

The iconic boy band will join a select group of artists – Kenny Chesney, U2, Dead & Company, Eagles, Phish and Afterlife Presents Anyma – in headlining the 17,600-seat Sphere, which launched in September 2023.

Beyoncé has added a fifth stadium show in both Los Angeles and New Jersey on Cowboy Carter Tour. With the newly added dates, she now holds the record for most shows of any artist on a single run at NJ’s MetLife Stadium and most overall performances at LA’s SoFi Stadium.

Produced and directed by Parkwood Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation, the outing will also visit London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Paris’s Stade de France, Chicago’s Soldier Field, Houston’s NRG Stadium, Washington D.C.’s Northwest Stadium and Atlanta’s Mercedes Benz Stadium. See the full list of dates here.

Sam Fender has extended his 2025 UK summer tour with the addition of three new dates.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA have added an additional London show to their Grand National Tour

The first of the new shows will be held in Manchester’s Wythenshawe Park on 16 August, before he takes to the Royal Highland Showgrounds in Edinburgh the following week 22 August as part of the Scottish capital’s Summer Sessions series. On 28 August, Fender will headline the VITAL Festival at Boucher Road Playing Fields, Belfast.

Support comes from Olivia Dean in Manchester and Edinburgh, with CMAT in Belfast. Further opening acts are yet to be announced.

These shows will follow Fender’s previously announced European and US tours through the spring, plus three sold-out stadium gigs at Newcastle’s St. James Park (June 12-15) and London Stadium (June 6). He will also appear at Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in Sefton Park, Liverpool, on May 24 – bringing his UK summer line-up to eight dates.

Kendrick Lamar and SZA have added an additional London show to their Grand National Tour, on 23 July at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

After their record-breaking Super Bowl halftime performance, the tour—presented by Live Nation, pgLang, and Top Dawg Entertainment—will feature over 14 stadium shows across Europe and the United Kingdom this summer.

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a series of major UK headline shows as part of their Aghori tour this August.

The American alternative rock band will perform in Gunnersbury Park, London (10 August), The Piece Hall, Halifax (12 August), Scarborough Open Air Theatre (13 August), and Colchester Castle (14 August).

Morrissey has also announced a string of 2025 tour dates in the UK and Ireland which will kick off later this summer.

The former Smiths frontman will head over to Dublin on 31 May for a gig at the 3Arena. From there, he will play two nights at the O2 Academy in Glasgow on 4 and 5 June respectively before wrapping up with a homecoming show at Manchester’s Co-Op Live on 7 June.

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Sam Fender has cancelled his remaining tour dates for 2024 after “haemorrhaging his right vocal cord”.

The singer-songwriter was due to play a second Glasgow show tonight (18 December) and his home city of Newcastle on Friday, in the final stint of his first UK arena tour since 2022.

In a social media post, the North Shields-born musician said he recently had the flu and investigations revealed he had haemorrhaged his right vocal cord.

Fender said he was “absolutely heartbroken” but two separate doctors had said if he performed he would be “risking lasting damage”.

The singer said he had been advised to go on vocal rest and not use his voice for a “prolonged length of time until it heals”.

Fender is due to kick off the US leg of his tour in February, before performing across Europe in the spring.

Fender said he was “absolutely heartbroken” but two separate doctors had said if he performed he would be “risking lasting damage”

Next June, the CAA-repped act will perform at the 75,000-capacity London Stadium on Friday 6 June, marking his first stadium show outside Newcastle and his biggest-ever headline show.

He’ll then return to the north for two hometown shows at Newcastle’s St. James’ Park on Thursday 12 and Saturday 14 June.

It’ll be the third and fourth time the North Shields-hailing musician has performed in his home city stadium, having sold out two nights back in 2023. He will overtake The Rolling Stones who have performed at St James’ Park on three previous occasions.

The 30-year-old has had trouble with his vocal cords previously, cancelling his 2019 tour when he had laryngitis and was concerned he could haemorrhage one of them.

“I’ve done everything by the book this tour living like a monk, it’s so unlucky,” he wrote on Instagram. “This has been the best tour so far and all I want to do is get up and sing again for you all tonight. I’m so, so sorry to all of you who are on your way tonight.”

Fender added he and his team were trying to find a way to reschedule the dates.

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Newcastle-born singer-songwriter Sam Fender has announced three stadium headline shows for next summer in support of his forthcoming album, People Watching.

The CAA-repped act will perform at the 75,000-capacity London Stadium on Friday 6 June, marking his first stadium show outside Newcastle and his biggest-ever headline show.

He’ll then return to the north for two hometown shows at Newcastle’s St. James’ Park on Thursday 12 and Saturday 14 June.

It’ll be the third and fourth time the North Shields-hailing musician has performed in his home city stadium, having sold out two nights back in 2023. He will overtake The Rolling Stones who have performed at St James’ Park on three previous occasions.

CMAT will support Fender at all three shows, and The War on Drugs will play on 6 and 14 June.

Next month, the 30-year-old will embark on his first UK tour since spring 2022, along with a slate of arena dates across Europe.

Sam Fender will deliver his first stadium show outside Newcastle and his biggest-ever headline show at London Stadium

Oasis have announced South Korea and Japan dates for their eagerly anticipated 2025 reunion tour.

Liam and Noel Gallagher will perform at the Goyang Stadium in South Korea on 21 October, as well as two shows in Japan at the Tokyo Dome on 25 and 26 October.

Since confirming their return to the stage earlier this year, the brothers have announced stadium gigs in the UK and Ireland, followed by a string of dates in North America.

They’ll then return for two extra dates at London’s Wembley Stadium in late September, before heading to Australia for shows in Melbourne and Sydney and then playing further dates in South America.

Meanwhile, Charli XCX today announced a run of US arena dates for next April and May, following her joint headline run with Troye Sivan on the 2024 SWEAT Tour.

Produced by Live Nation, the BRAT 2025 arena tour will stop at Moody Center (Austin, TX), Target Center (Minneapolis, MN), Allstate Arena (Rosemont, IL) and Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY) for two dates. Her UK arena tour is due to kick off next week.

Shakira has announced a seventh and final date at the Estadio GNP Seguros in Mexico City as part of her historic Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour.

With this announcement, she becomes the first artist in Mexico’s history to sell out seven consecutive shows at the 65,000-capacity venue. The Colombian star has already sold over 1 million tickets in Latin America alone.

Shakira becomes the first artist in Mexico’s history to sell out seven consecutive shows at Estadio GNP Seguros

Last month, the 47-year-old upgraded from arenas to stadiums in several markets in response to “incredible fan demand and production changes”.

Rod Stewart has announced that he is done with “large-scale world tours” when his current run of dates is complete.

The music legend has a number of shows locked in for 2025, including North American tours in February/March, Las Vegas residencies in March and May/June, a European tour in April/May and another North American tour in July/August.

Now, he has confirmed that these shows will be the final major arena shows of his career in a post on social media.

“This will be the end of large-scale world tours for me, but I have no desire to retire,” he said.

“I’d like to move onto a Great American Songbook, Swing Fever tour the year after next – smaller venues and more intimacy. But then again, I may not…”

And finally, Childish Gambino has announced the cancellation of his Australian and New Zealand tour dates next year.

Gambino – aka Donald Glover – was due to perform in New Zealand in late January 2024 and Australia in February.

“Unfortunately, my path to recovery is taking longer than expected,” he explained in a statement. “Know that I will do what I can to give you an exceptional experience when the time is right.”

The cancellation comes after Gambino in October similarly cancelled his North American, UK and European tour dates to undergo surgery for an undisclosed issue.

The tour and it’s subsequent cancellation followed the release of his new album Bando Stone and The New World, which was released earlier this year and marked the final album under his Childish Gambino moniker.

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With on-sales for hot shows regularly making headlines, sometimes for the wrong reasons, a debate has ignited among experts as to whether the live business should switch from online queues to ballots for the most in-demand concerts.

Glastonbury unveiled a revamped online queuing system for yesterday’s (17 November) general sale, whereby fans were “randomly” assigned a place in the queue at the start of the sale, rather than having to refresh the page like in previous years. While the system was a novelty for Glastonbury, it has been the standard path for most high-demand shows for a number of years.

Speaking to presenter and DJ Annie Mac ahead of this summer’s festival, Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis explained why the event had decided against distributing tickets via a ballot.

“I think if we did a ballot, we’d end up with some people who weren’t necessarily as bothered about coming,” she claimed.

Elsewhere, however, Oasis held a special invitation-only ballot for their two additional shows at Wembley Stadium next September, limited to fans who had been unsuccessful in the initial on sale for their 2025 reunion tour despite queuing for hours.

And Sam Fender made tickets for his upcoming hometown show at Newcastle’s 11,000-cap Utilita Arena available by ballot to customers with North-East postcodes only.

“I use the analogy that if you entered the lottery and you didn’t win, you wouldn’t complain to the National Lottery that you didn’t win”

Steve Tilley of Kilimanjaro Live, promoter of the 20 December concert, explains the thinking behind the method.

‘’It’s an attempt to try and manage the demand and introduce some kind of element of randomness/luck into the equation when you’re very very confident that there’s no way the supply is going to be able to meet expected demand,” he tells IQ. “I use the analogy that if you entered the lottery and you didn’t win, you wouldn’t complain to the National Lottery that you didn’t win. And we don’t even charge you for entering our lottery unless you get the chance to buy a ticket.”

Sam Ricketts, head of business development & artist services at AXS, says that ballots have become an “increasingly popular solution for measuring demand and getting tickets into the hands of real fans”, while Gigantic Tickets co-CEO Simon Carpenter deems them “the fairest way to go” when demand for a show is sky-high.

“The Sam Fender show in Newcastle at the arena is a perfect example, where you’ve got hundreds of thousands of people wanting to go to a show with a 10,000 capacity,” notes Carpenter.

Ed Sheeran agent Jon Ollier of One Fiinix Live points out that ballots are commonplace in certain parts of the world, such as Japan.

“Anything that we can do to try and reimagine and make the ticket purchasing process more fair [is for] the better,” he adds.

“They are probably not the right solution for most on sales. But for the ones that are going to see high demand, they are absolutely the way to go”

Ticketing executive and former STAR Council member Richard Howle advises that ballots aren’t right for every on sale, however.

“In fact, they are probably not the right solution for most on sales,” he asserts. “But for the big ones – the ones that are going to see high demand – they are absolutely the way to go.”

Howle believes there are numerous benefits from an industry perspective, particularly around data and pricing, in addition to gauging demand.

“During a typical on sale we only manage to collect data from those who successfully book a ticket,” he suggests. “By running a ballot we have the opportunity to collect data from everyone who is interested in buying a ticket. And I don’t just mean marketing data which relies on people opting in – huge amounts of insight can be gleaned about potential audiences.

“Balloting also provides an idea of demand in advance: London has the demand for four dates, Birmingham three, Manchester two, etc. This certainty of demand will make scheduling routing and deal-making so much clearer.”

He adds: “By running a ballot, by receiving information in advance about what audiences are prepared to pay, promoters can optimise their manifests to deliver the maximum returns as well as preserving any wishes that an artist may have about preserving a percentage of tickets at accessible prices.

“Whilst prices can be set in advance, the number of tickets available at each price band does not have to be decided until the balloting process is complete and customers have indicated which price they wish to pay. Tickets can be truly priced based on demand, without upsetting customers.”

“Ticketing systems are built to cope with high demand, but sometimes technology breaks and on sales can go horribly wrong”

Furthermore, Howle notes there are technological advantages, both in terms of handling demand and battling ticket touting.

“Yes, ticketing systems are built to cope with high demand, but sometimes technology breaks and on sales can go horribly wrong – disrupting both pricing and scheduling strategies,” he says. “The gentler pace of a ballot makes the whole process much smoother – for everyone. It is an unnecessary stress which everyone could do without.

“Perhaps one of the biggest pros of balloting is that it makes it very hard for touts and their bots. Multiple applications and known touts can be screened out during the balloting process. The touts will always find a way, but we can make it much harder for them.”

Telecoms giant O2 gives away tickets for its intimate, one-off Priority gig series for free to O2 and Virgin Media customers via a ballot. Acts have included Kylie Minogue, D-Block Europe, Raye and Sam Fender, while more than 100,000 ballot entries were submitted for Girls Aloud at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire in July.

“We see huge demand for our Priority Gigs, which does mean disappointment for some customers who don’t win tickets, but the ballot process creates fair opportunity to win and allows us to open up these one-of-a-kind music experiences to as many people as possible,” says Gareth Griffiths, director, partnerships and sponsorship at Virgin Media O2.

According to Griffiths, one of the biggest pluses of ballots is the “greater ability” they provide to tailor the ticketing process to suit a particular show or artist.

“With D-Block Europe and Raye’s Priority Gigs, for example, giving their biggest fans the first chance to grab tickets was a really important element of the show,” he says. “O2 was able to do this by using our Priority Tickets data, to give those who had engaged with the artists’ shows before the first chance to enter. This allows us to ensure the room is filled with those who most want to be there, and to connect artists with their biggest fans.”

“The casual fan who might ordinarily try their luck for a ticket on a single screen has equal footing with a die-hard fan”

Matt Kaplan, head of UK/EU at price-capped resale marketplace Tixel also sees far more positives than negatives.

“What we like about ticket ballots is that they typically bring a more fan-centric approach to the challenges of selling tickets to high-demand events,” he tells IQ. “By collecting all prospective buyers into the same ‘pot’ you level the playing field and remove the intense pressure of having to have five laptops, two phones, an iPad, a hope and a prayer, competing for that coveted moment of being redirected to the purchase page.

“I guess one thing that could be seen as controversial is that the casual fan who might ordinarily try their luck for a ticket on a single screen has equal footing with a die-hard fan who might have assembled an army of friends and dozens of screens for more “chances” at a ticket. And is this a bad thing? Probably not.”

Although Howle considers the benefits of ballots to outweigh the negatives, he acknowledges the downside.

“It takes time to organise and manage, which is why it is not appropriate to do every on sale as a ballot,” he stresses. “Some promoters and artists like the fuss of an onsale, some like to say that they ‘broke the internet’ that they ‘sold out in xx minutes’. But what is a better indication of popularity: ‘20,000 ticket sold out in 10 minutes’ or ‘a million people have entered a ballot’?”

He continues: “One con, which is particularly relevant to the UK is that allocations are split across a number of different ticketing companies. This is an added complication which needs co-ordinating – but it shouldn’t be a barrier to balloting.

“The final con is that an on sale generates its own excitement, its own buzz which encourages others to join, to make that impulse buy. Perhaps if fans had more time to make a considered decision about whether they were going to attend or how much they wished to spend they wouldn’t pay as much? But counter to this, is that there will be much larger pool of people to access and with a ballot there is the opportunity to optimise the manifest to generate greater revenues.”

“As a promoter, 99 times out of 100 you’re more worried about selling out as quickly and easily as possible”

Nevertheless, if push came to shove, Kilimanjaro’s Tilley admits he would choose a normal on sale process over a ballot.

“As a promoter, 99 times out of 100 you’re more worried about selling out as quickly and easily as possible,” he says. “Promoting artists that require people to enter a ballot is a privilege indeed but that level of demand comes with a whole different set of problems for promoters and venues to try and solve.’’

He concludes: “When demand is so great that most people are going to be disappointed inevitably some fans take to social media to complain direct to artists and managers about something not being fair or potentially blaming a ticket agent tech issue – whether fair or not – and so on. If you introduce a ballot then luck becomes a factor and most people accept the rules at that point. Of course, there are still people on socials making their feelings known but I guess that’s the way of the world.”

Indeed, as the industry has learned time and time again – ballots or not – you’ll never be able to please everyone.

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Sam Fender has announced his first UK tour since spring 2022, along with a slate of arena dates across Europe.

The People Watching Tour, which will feature support from Wunderhorse, commences at Dublin’s 3 Arena on 2 December.

The seven-date 2024 UK & Ireland leg also includes stops at Leeds’ First Direct Arena (4 December), Manchester’s Co-Op Live, Manchester (6 December), The O2 in London (10 December), Utilita Arena, Birmingham (13 December) and OVO Hydro, Glasgow (16 December), concluding on 20 December at the Utilita Arena in Fender’s native Newcastle.

Tickets go on sale on 25 October. Due to the expected high demand, tickets for the latter show will be available by ballot to customers with North-East postcodes only.

The CAA-represented 30-year-old, who returned to the stage to headline Boardmasters festival earlier this summer, has pledged that £1 from every ticket sold for the UK dates will be donated to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots venues.

Next spring, the singer-songwriter will headline European shows in Paris, Tilburg, Zurich, Cologne, Munich, Bergamo and Berlin, wrapping up at the Forest National arena in Brussels.

The full list of tour dates is as follows:

2024:
2 December – 3Arena, Dublin
4 December – First Direct Arena, Leeds
6 December – Co-Op Live, Manchester
10 December – The O2, London
13 December – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
16 December – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
20 December – Utilita Arena, Newcastle

2025:
4 March – Olympia, Paris
5 March – 013 Poppodium, Tilburg
8 March – Halle 622, Zurich
10 March – Palladium, Cologne
12 March – Zenith, Munich
13 March – ChorusLife Arena, Bergamo
16 March – Uber Eats Music Hall, Berlin
18 March – Afas Live, Amsterdam
19 March – Forest National, Brussels

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UK festival Boardmasters is set to increase its capacity to 58,000 this year after its licensing application was partially accepted.

The Cornwall Council approved the Newquay-based festival’s capacity rise by 5,000 to 2026 following an extensive hearing with the licensing committee.

“Thank you to Cornwall Council, the residents who took time to provide their valuable feedback and to all of the relevant parties who have supported us on this journey,” says festival founder Andrew Topham.

But the capacity for the music and surf festival will remain at 58,000 — including staff, performers and non-ticket holders — through 2026 after council members voted to curtail further capacity increases.

The Superstruct-backed event’s initial planning application proposed increases up to 66,000 by 2026, which sparked concerns over traffic congestion and public safety.

“I certainly appreciate the economic impact that this event does bring to the county, but I have to look at safety”

“Is there any point in increasing the numbers until we know that these new plans will work?” asked local councillor Joanna Kenny.

The annual event has perennially expanded, hosting 14,000 attendees in 2014, with Topham telling the committee the team has continuously “invested into the safety and infrastructure of the festival”.

“We want to add more and more layers of security, traffic management and anything that enhances the festival operation but to do that ultimately means more capacity,” Topham says.

In 2022, the five-day event, headlined by George Ezra, Disclosure, and Kings Of Leon, brought in £40 million (€46m) into the local economy.

“I support any business that wants to expand as long as it’s done at the right time and in a safe way. I certainly appreciate the economic impact that this event does bring to the county, but from my perspective, I cannot focus on that — I have to look at safety,” says Ann Marie Jameson, council health and safety officer.

The 2024 edition is set for 7-11 August 2024, with Stormzy, Sam Fender, and Chase & Status topping the bill. Courteeners, Overmono, Royel Otis, Kate Nash, Holly Humberstone, Wunderhorse, Hedex, and Ewan McVicar add to this year’s lineup.

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Kilimanjaro Live’s Steve Tilley has told IQ he hopes the live business returns to something approaching normality next year following a “rollercoaster” 2022.

DEAG-owned Kili sold 1.5 million tickets for its summer shows, which included co-promoting Ed Sheeran’s UK stadium tour with FKP Scorpio UK, stadium dates with Stereophonics and further outdoor concerts including the Kew the Music and Live at Chelsea series.

Tilley’s run of successes have also included four sellout nights with Phoebe Bridgers at O2 Academy Brixton, and he already has two hometown stadium shows by Sam Fender at Newcastle’s St James’ Park to look forward to in 2023. But the Arthur Award-winning promoter says the post-pandemic market is proving increasingly unpredictable.

“The calls we made on Sam Fender and on Phoebe were obviously spot on, but a lot of that is just a combination of management, agent and promoter reading the room, and understanding what’s going on right now and who’s connecting in a big way,” Tilley tells IQ. “But equally, there have been some things that haven’t performed. I don’t want to name names, but there are a few things have taken us a little bit by surprise, so it’s very unpredictable.

“Breaking bands is always difficult, but there’s some stuff in the middle that is established but just hasn’t quite hit the sales levels you would have expected based on previous shows. The answer for that, in my opinion, is two things: there’s just too much stuff on generally this year so people are going to have to make choices based on what they’ve seen and what they’ve not seen already. And then if you had tickets in hand from the last two years, you may have been going out to see the things you’d got rescheduled tickets for, rather than buying a ticket for something else.

“Ever since Freedom Day last year, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. Looking forward to ’23, I’m hoping that we’ll see a little bit more of a stabilisation and a return to a more regular cycle of gigs.”

“I don’t think it’s possible as a promoter to say you’re confident of anything, especially in post-Covid times”

Fender, who is booked by CAA’s Paul Wilson, will become the first Geordie artist to headline St James’ Park next June, following in the footsteps of the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Sheeran in starring at the 55,000-cap stadium.

“I don’t think it’s possible as a promoter to say you’re confident of anything, especially in post-Covid times, but you look at the metrics and have a gut feeling,” notes Tilley. “The best phrase I can come up with is you hope for the best and plan for the worst and I apply that logic to virtually everything I do.

“If we’d have only sold out one night, it wouldn’t have been a problem, that would still have been amazing, but it went like nobody’s business. In fact, the demand for the second show didn’t appear to slow down at all from the first show, so it’s a strength of just how big Sam Fender is right now.”

For Newcastle-born Tilley, who first worked with Fender in 2014 and took over as his North East promoter last year, the shows have added personal significance.

“Because my Geordie accent is virtually non existent, not a lot of people realise I was born and raised in the North East and left when I was 18,” he laughs. “And I’m a lifelong Newcastle United supporter, so to get to put Sam on at St James’ Park – to use a football analogy – is Roy Of The Rovers stuff for me.”

“The shows were spectacular and the ticket sales were off the charts”

Tilley also details the process that saw Phoebe Bridgers’ initial one night Brixton Academy date in July morph into a four-night residency.

“We had a feeling that she’d got extremely big during the pandemic, but because she hadn’t done a London show for so long it involved educated guesses about where are we at,” explains Tilley. “Josh Javor from X-ray Touring and I agreed that it was definitely a Brixton and we wanted to hold the option on a second night.

“As we were setting it up, Brixton said, ‘You know you can hold an option on a third if you like?’ So we said, ‘Go on then, hold it, just in case.’ And then we went on sale and sold out the three effortlessly. I then got a call off Brixton going, ‘Are you aware the Friday’s free?’ So quick phone call to Josh and the next thing you knew we were setting up a fourth show. We put it on sale and it sold out in an hour.”

Tilley also resumed his longstanding association with Ed Sheeran on the UK leg of the singer-songwriter’s + – = ÷ x (Mathematics) stadium run earlier this year, staged by Kili, FKP Scorpio UK and AEG Presents.

“The shows were spectacular and the ticket sales were off the charts,” says Tilley. “The gigs were in the round, so the capacities were much bigger than any end-on configuration, which allowed us to sell more tickets and get more people in to see Ed live. I don’t think there was a bad seat in the house; it was triumphant on every level.”

Tickets went on sale in late September 2021.

“We got in just before the change in the VAT rate from 5% to 12.5%,” remembers Tilley. “There was uncertainty, yes, but there was also confidence in the levels of business we could achieve by the summer of ’22 – whatever the autumn of ’21 threw at us. We did a Saturday onsale again and it again proved to be very, very successful. We were rolling into multiple nights everywhere.”

London-based Kili has a busy and varied slate of concerts coming up by acts such as Don Broco, Cat Burns, The Snuts, Hans Zimmer, Sea Girls and Stromae, who headlines the 12,500-cap OVO Arena Wembley in London next May.

“It’s an extremely competitive market to operate in and it doesn’t get any easier,” adds Tilley. “But we just maintain our focus on trying to be the best at what we do and give our artists a really good service. We know we’re not going to win everything, but we try and do a great job on stuff that we have got and I’m proud of the team that Stuart [Galbraith, CEO] and I have working with us. The one thing I can say about this place is that everyone who works here really gives a shit.”

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Arlo Parks is the latest artist to call off tour dates due to mental health concerns, following similar cancellations from Shawn Mendes, Sam Fender, Russ, Wet Leg and Disclosure.

“I find myself now in a very dark place, exhausted and dangerously low,” reads a statement posted on Parks’ social media accounts.

The British singer-songwriter began the North American leg of her ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ tour at the start of this month, but said that her mental health has “deteriorated to a debilitating place” and left her “burnt out”.

Parks has subsequently cancelled eight dates scheduled from 14 to 24 September but has promised to resume the tour next week starting with her 26 September date at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon.

“I pushed myself unhealthily, further and harder than I should’ve”

From there, the singer is slated to deliver six more shows and conclude the tour on 12 October. Read Parks’ full statement below.

“I’ve been on the road on and off for the last 18 months, filling every spare second in between and working myself to the bone. It was exciting and I was eager to grind and show everyone what I was capable of, how grateful I was to be where I am today. The people around me started to get worried but I was anxious to deliver and afraid to disappoint my fans and myself.”

“I pushed myself unhealthily, further and harder than I should’ve. I find myself now in a very dark place, exhausted and dangerously low – it’s painful to admit that my mental health has deteriorated to a debilitating place, that I’m not okay, that I’m a human being with limits.

“With that in mind I’m having to cancel the shows from Boston to Salt Lake City and recommence the tour in Portland. I don’t take decisions like this lightly but I am broken and I really need to step out, go home and take care of myself. I will do everything I can to make this up to you – for now you can get refunds at your point of purchase.

I’m forever thankful to everyone who continues to show up for me, what a dream to have fans like you guys – I’ll be back. Love AP.”

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British singer-songwriter Sam Fender has cancelled his upcoming US tour dates, citing mental health concerns.

The 28-year-old from Newcastle announced that he is “taking some time off the road” to look after his mental health, after admitting that he was “burnt out” from touring.

The news comes soon after Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Shawn Mendes cancelled the remaining dates on Wonder: The World Tour to focus on his wellbeing.

Fender’s scrapped US dates include three remaining headline shows in the US, support slots with Florence and the Machine, and a performance at Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas.

“It seems completely hypocritical of me to advocate discussion on mental health and write songs about it if I don’t take the time to look after my own mental health,” reads a statement on Fender’s social media channels.

“It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road”

“I’ve neglected myself for over a year now and haven’t dealt with things that have deeply affected me. It’s impossible to do this work on myself while on the road, and it’s exhausting feigning happiness and wellness for the sake of business. My friends and colleagues have been worried about me for a while and it’s not going to get better unless I take the time to do so.”

Apologising to fans, Fender has also cancelled a number of rescheduled UK record store dates. However, the singer-songwriter said that he is “super excited” for his Australia dates in November and “everything to come in 2023″.

Earlier this month, Fender announced a 2023 headline show at St James’ Park in his hometown of Newcastle. He will become the first Geordie to top the bill at Newcastle United Football Club’s ground.

Fender’s agent Paul Wilson spoke to IQ earlier this year about the artist’s long-term ambition to perform at St. James’ Park, among other things.

pic.twitter.com/KWqCflBrkz

— Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) September 12, 2022

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