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Gorillaz to play huge Leeds gig as part of UK tour as they announce new album ‘The Mountain’
It's coming out, it's coming out...
It's official, Gorillaz are well and truly back and they're coming to Leeds.
Coinciding with the exciting announcement of their new album The Mountain, Gorillaz will be coming to Leeds' First Direct Bank Arena next year.
It's part of a huge UK and Ireland tour, where they'll also be playing in Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham as well as a one-off headline show at London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, Gorillaz is singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, drummer Russel Hobbs and Japanese guitar prodigy Noodle.
The BRIT and Grammy-winning virtual band formed following a collision of mishaps, meetings and pure luck to blow up a pre-digital world.
Their new album, The Mountain, features a whole myriad of collaborations including Johnny Marr, IDLES' Joe Talbot and Dennis Hopper.
The album will officially release on 20 March 2026, with Gorillaz performing at the first direct bank arena on Wednesday 25 March.
Gorillaz' 'The Mountain Tour' dates are:
MARCH
21 – Co-op Live, Manchester
22 – BP Pulse Live, Birmingham
24 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (support from Trueno)
25 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
27 – Utilitia Arena, Cardiff (support from Trueno)
28 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham (support from Trueno)
29 – M&S Bank Arena, Liverpool (support from Trueno)
31 – SSE Arena, Belfast
APRIL
1 – 3Arena, Dublin (support from Trueno)
JUNE
20 – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London (support from Sparks and Trueno)
General on sale begins at 11am on Friday 19 September, and we've got a feeling they'll sell out rather quickly. You can get your tickets here via the first direct bank arena website, we'll see you in March.
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James Blunt announces huge European tour, kicking off in Leeds
Daisy Jackson
Singer-songwriter James Blunt is heading back out on tour next year, kicking off a run of arena dates here in Leeds.
The singer, perhaps best-known for his iconic 2005 pop ballad 'You're Beautiful', is hitting the road again in 2027.
The newly-announced European tour is in celebration of his new album Airplane Mode, which is set for release this autumn.
James Blunt will kick off his tour here in Leeds next spring, with a massive show at the First Direct Arena.
Then he'll head to more cities including Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham and London.
His new album, Airplane Mode, is being released on 6 November and will, according to his press release, be 'exhilarating'.
James has already released the first single, 'Tastes Like Summer', and 'Weight Of It All', with 10 more songs to come on the record.
Airplane Mode was recorded with James’ brilliant long-standing live band, who'll be back on tour with him next year.
Speaking of the new album, and recording in Pig Music Studios, he said: "Somewhere back there, I lost my way, but found it again in a studio in Banbury."
James Blunt will be at the First Direct Arena in Leeds on 26 March, 2027. Tickets go on sale from 10am on 9 September.
James Blunt UK and Ireland 2027 tour dates
- 26 March - Leeds
- 27 March - Birmingham
- 28 March - Newcastle
- 30 March - Dublin
- 31 March - Belfast
- 2 April - Glasgow
- 3 April - Manchester
- 4 April - London
- 6 April - Cardiff
- 7 April - Bournemouth
- 8 April - Brighton
Read more: Blossoms announce massive First Direct Arena gig in Leeds
Featured image: Supplied
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Major DJ has set cancelled as overcrowding concerns continue at Leeds Festival
Clementine Hall
After closing for the entire second day, The Warehouse stage at Leeds Festival has once again been forced to evacuate.
One of the most anticipated dance acts of the day has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns just moments before the set.
Sheffield DJ Silva Bumpa was due to take to The Warehouse stage today at 1:30pm, but the set was cancelled due to overcrowding.
It's not the first time this has happened at Leeds Festival 2026, as yesterday Omar+'s set was cancelled due to the same issue and the stage was subsequently closed for the rest of the day.
The Warehouse stage is completely new for this year, and supposedly is designed specifically for dance music...which is quite ironic.
Announcing the news to Instagram, Silva Bumpa said: "So so sorry Leeds Fest but due to over crowding my set was cancelled last min I was just behind the stage and got told right before such a massive shame."
Prospa, another prominent DJ who's set was cancelled at Reading on Friday afternoon, spoke up on the situation: "We are disappointed in The Warehouse stage closure at Reading Festival. We were told it wasn't possible to play whilst on the way. This was due to too many people outside the stage.
"We have seen this happen before at larger festivals in the UK. It's time to double the capacity of tents or put dance music on the main stage."
It comes after another dance stage, LS23, was closed mid-set last night due to a health and safety hazard when all the lights suddenly switched off and ravers were forced to evacuate.
If yesterday is anything to go by, we wouldn't be surprised if The Warehouse was closed for the rest of the day which means anticipated sets from Rossi and Mall Grab will also be cancelled.
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