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Ne-Yo and Akon at First Direct Arena – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Now this is nostalgia.
Two R&B greats are heading out on a joint headline tour for the first time, as Ne-Yo and Akon visit Leeds' First Direct Arena.
Both artists are Grammy Award winners, and each has a formidable back catalogue of chart-topping hits.
For Ne-Yo, that includes songs like Miss Independent, So Sick, and Closer; while for Akon, he’s responsible for huge tracks like Smack That, Lonelty, and Right Now (Na Na Na).
Between them, they’ve shaped and defined radio, nightlife, and pop culture for decades.
This 2026 tour will see the pair performing on the same stage – for Leeds that's the First Direct Arena – for a co-headline Nights Like This tour.
Tonight, Thursday 30 April, they’ll perform in a unique back-and-forth set throughout the show.
You might have already seen some pretty iconic videos of their tour already circulating the internet, so it's safe to say you're in for a treat.
The nostalgic gigs will feature everything from slow jams to club anthems, with a party atmosphere throughout.
Are there tickets left for Ne-Yo and Akon at First Direct Arena?
It looks like tickets are limited for tonight, but you may be able to grab a few last minute ones HERE via Ticketmaster.
Ne-yo and Akon setlist for 2026 tour
Judging by previous nights of the tour, the current set list is looking like this...
Ne-Yo
- The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson cover) (Snippet)
- Miss Independent
- Because Of You
- Nobody
- Champagne Life
- One in a Million
Akon
- Akon's Beautiful Day
- Smack That
- I'm So Paid
- Locked Up
- Soul Survivor (Jeezy cover)
Ne-Yo
- She Knows
- Single
- Mirror
- Sexy Love
Akon
- Bananza (Belly Dancer)
- Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) (Wyclef Jean cover)
- Bartender (T‐Pain cover)
- Body on me (Ashanti cover)
- Dangerous (Kardinal Offishall cover)
Songs Ne-Yo/Akon Produced
- Let Me Love You (Mario cover)
- Titanium (David Guetta/Sia Cover) / Take A Bow (Rihanna Cover) / Drunk In Love (Beyoncé Cover) / Irreplaceable (Beyoncé Cover) / Just Dance (Lady Gaga)
Akon
- Don't Matter
- Danza Kuduro (Remix)
- The Sweet Escape (Gwen Stefani song)
- Shut It Down (Pitbull song)
- Angel
- Ghetto
- Sorry, Blame It On Me
- Lonely
Ne-Yo
- So Sick
- Mad
- NIGHTS LIKE THESE
- Simple Things
- Up Out & Gone
- Beautiful Monster
- Closer
Akon
- QUE CALOR (Akon crowd surfs in an inflatable ball)
- I Wanna Love You
- Right Now (Na Na Na)
- Beautiful
- Sexy Bitch (David Guetta cover)
- Til the Sun Rise Up (Bob Sinclair cover)
Ne-Yo
- Let's Go
- Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)
- Time of Our Lives
- Give Me Everything
Encore:
Play Hard (David Guetta cover) - Akon & Ne-Yo on stage
Stage times for Ne-Yo and Akon at First Direct Arena
- Doors open: 6.30pm
- Gig starts: 8pm
- Gig ends: 11pm
How to get to First Direct Arena
Bus Station
Located on Dyer Street next to Leeds City Bus Station and approx. 15min walk from first direct arena and is wheelchair friendly.
Support and help for any persons with a disability is available as the station is a registered ‘Safe place’ to come into and ask for assistance.
Nearest Bus Stops
- Clay Pit Lane
- Wade Lane/Lovell Park Road
- Woodhouse Lane
Nearest Train Station
Leeds City Station on New Station Street is around a 15min walk from first direct arena and a major hub on the national, regional and local rail network providing connections to a wide variety of destinations.
Parking
There are over 7,500 car parking spaces within a 15-minute walk of the arena. The arena doesn’t have it’s own car park however there are lots of options nearby. To receive 5% off Q Park when attending a show at first direct arena click here
The nearest Car Park with EV charging is located on Albion Street click here.
None of the above car parks are operated by the arena so for questions, queries or comments we ask that you contact the companies directly.
Hiring Bikes in Leeds
If you’re looking to hire a bike in Leeds, here are some of the best options you can try:
- Beryl bikes – you’ll find the ‘Leeds City Bikes’ from Beryl stationed throughout the city. These are all e-bikes, and they’re available to hire on a pay-as-you-go basis. It costs £1 to unlock the bikes, and then 16p per minute to use them. We’d say these are great for zipping around the city and getting from A to B.
- Talio – for a wider selection of electric bikes to choose from, Talio based at Buslinthorpe Green is a great option. From this company, you can hire cruiser bikes, mountain bikes, and cargo bikes. Prices start from £20 per day for rental, but if you’re hiring for a month or longer you’ll get a good discount.
Read more: Yorkshire veterans Shed Seven set for 10th anniversary of Shedcember shows
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Jarvis Cocker and Kim Sion to curate special art exhibition titled ‘The Hodge Podge’ at The Hepworth Wakefield
Clementine Hall
The Hepworth Wakefield is joining forces with Jarvis Cocker and his wife Kim Sion to create a one-of-a-kind art exhibition.
And it's got the best name ever, titled 'The Hodge Podge'.
This exciting new exhibition (opening in May 2027) will include artists who have challenged mainstream ideas about what can be considered 'art'.
It will invite unlikely conversations between artists such as Jeremy Deller, Peter Doig, Barbara Hepworth, Klara Kristalova, Emma Kunz, Mark Leckey and Agnes Pelton, as well as unknown outsider and visionary artists never exhibited before in UK public museums.
Focusing on alternative means of expression, the structures of class and how communities are able to come together outside of religious or high-brow contexts, Cocker and Sion are keen to explore alternative spiritualities, psychedelia, fandom, dreams, poetry and music.
Laura Smith, Artistic Director of The Hepworth Wakefield comments: "Jarvis Cocker has a long-held interest in art, attending St Martin’s College of Art & Design in the early 1990s, and as a Yorkshireman, felt like the ideal person to work with to consider a fresh way of thinking about and experiencing art.
"The art that he and Kim have gathered together in The Hodge Podge will encourage the feelings of joy, marvel and curiosity that great works of art can inspire and offer our audiences an expanded idea of creativity and community. We are thrilled to be working with Jarvis and Kim on this incredibly exciting exhibition."
In Cocker and Sion’s The Hodge Podge Manifesto, the couple state that te exhibition provides
‘an opportunity to understand where that creative urge comes from and what it can do for
you… You’d be a fool to miss it.’
Tickets for The Hodge Podge: Jarvis Cocker & Kim Sion curate The Hepworth Wakefield go on sale later this year and you can find them here.
Read more: Leeds International Festival of Ideas announces first wave of BIG names for 2026 festival
Featured image - Supplied
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Yorkshire veterans Shed Seven set for 10th anniversary of Shedcember shows
Danny Jones
Yorkshire-born group, Shed Seven, are set to bring a very special edition of their 'Shedcember' live shows to the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, and more as they celebrate 10 years of the now annual tour.
The beloved British band and alternative rock veterans have been around for more than three and a half decades at this point, and for nearly a third of those, these lads have been putting on regular winter gigs for their loyal fan base.
Having developed a fervent cult following during that time, Shed Seven's dedicated run of November and December dates has become a bit of a phenomenon, and since 2025 was one of their most significant 18-month periods ever, they're toasting recent success at the end of this calendar year.
If you're 'Shed Ed', you'll already know all about this event; if not, get to know...
Announcing this year's 10th anniversary tour - fittingly dubbed 'Shedcember X - alongside a new short film/teaser written and directed by long-serving guitarist, Paul Banks, those who have been listening since the start
Equally, thanks to this would-be trailer, even those who've never been to one of the shows or are yet to fully dive into their discography have had their attention caught.
Focusing on their die-hard crowds who now make sure to attend each Shedcember night, if not every single one of their gigs whenever they come to town, the mini social media movie captures just how passionate their audiences are even after all this time.
Part of the reason that the York-founded outfit has been enjoying somewhat of a resurgence of late is as a result of back-to-back number one albums
Notching the top spot for their A Matter Of Time in January 2024, a whole 29 years on from their maiden release (the longest gap between a debut and a no.1 record in UK history), they then did it again with Liquid Gold, which saw some of their biggest hits remastered and reimagined with orchestral backing.
These two massive and long-overdue moments of recognition arguably deserve a tour all of their own, but we will absolutely take Shedcember X, which will feature a number of shows across the region.
Announcing an extensive run of performances for the de facto festival, the 10th anniversary edition of Shed Seven's - we've also highlighted all of the Northern dates for you.
Shedcember X tour dates - 2026
- Fri 13 Nov 2026 - Nottingham Rock City
- Sat 14 Nov 2026 - Birmingham O2 Academy
- Tue 17 Nov 2026 - Norwich The Nick Rayns LCR, UEA
- Thu 19 Nov 2026 - Aberdeen Music Hall
- Fri 20 Nov 2026 - Glasgow O2 Academy Glasgow
- Sat 21 Nov 2026 - Edinburgh Usher Hall
- Mon 23 Nov 2026 - Leicester O2 Academy
- Tue 24 Nov 2026 - Brighton Dome
- Thu 26 Nov 2026 - Cardiff University Great Hall
- Fri 27 Nov 2026 - Sheffield Octagon
- Sat 28 Nov 2026 - Newcastle O2 City Hall
- Mon 30 Nov 2026 - Cambridge Corn Exchange
- Tue 01 Dec 2026 - Bristol Beacon
- Thu 03 Dec 2026 - Stockton Globe
- Fri 04 Dec 2026 - Liverpool Uni The Mountford Hall
- Sat 05 Dec 2026 - Manchester O2 Apollo
- Mon 07 Dec 2026 - Lincoln Engine Shed
- Tue 08 Dec 2026 - Stoke-On-Trent Victoria Hall
- Thu 10 Dec 2026 - Bournemouth O2 Academy
- Fri 11 Dec 2026 - London O2 Academy Brixton
- Sat 12 Dec 2026 - Leeds O2 Academy
Pre-sale has already been and gone, with general admission tickets already up for grabs; you can secure yours right HERE.
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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)
