The 10 hottest rock and pop gigs to book tickets for this summer
From The Who at Wembley to a festival with a line-up picked by funk legend Nile Rodgers, our critic chooses 10 unmissable shows
British Summertime Festival
Superstars descend on central London for annual series of one-off concerts spread across two weekends. Celine Dion, Stevie Wonder, Barbara Streisand, Robbie Williams and Florence + The Machine are this year’s household name headliners.
Hyde Park, London W2 (bst-hydepark.com) from July 5 to July 14
Bros
The sibling boy band’s reunion in 2017 was a bit of a disaster, when the squabbling brothers were forced to cancel all but two shows. Unintentionally hilarious BBC 4 documentary Bros: After the Screaming Stops revived their fortunes and they return for another shot at redemption.
O2 Academy Brixton, London SW9 (livenation.co.uk), July 5
The Who
Still hoping to die before they get old, septuagenarian rockers Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are working on a new album. Talk of retirement seems to have been forgotten as they return for a one-off show augmented by a symphonic orchestra, with support from Kaiser Chiefs and Eddie Vedder.
Wembley Stadium, London HA9 (0844 871 2118; Telegraph Tickets), July 6
Somerset House Summer Series
Leftfield talent takeover the courtyard of this august London building, including neo-soul virtuosos The Internet, jazz warriors Sons Of Kemet, Latino pop queen Rosalia, Damon Albarn’s supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen and Beth Ditto’s mighty Gossip.
Somerset House, London WC2, (somersethouse.org.uk), from July 11 to July 21
Bob Dylan and Neil Young
Two of the greatest ever singer-songwriters share a bill. Neil Young is still rocking out with fierce splendour, whilst Dylan remains essentially inscrutable, delivering quixotic sets reinventing his back catalogue.
Hyde Park, London SW9 (ticketmaster.co.uk) July 12
Latitude Festival
Lana Del Rey, Snow Patrol, George Ezra headline the boutique festival, but it is an eclectic array of theatres, cabarets and literary tents that define an eminently civilised event that fancies itself as a kind of Glastonbury-lite. Primal Scream, Underworld and Neneh Cherry share a bohemian bill with comedians, authors, art classes and painted sheep.
Henman Park, Southwold, Suffolk (latitudefestival.com) from July 12 to July 21
Nile Rodgers’ Meltdown
The ubiquitous superproducer curates nine days of music at this year’s eclectic Meltdown festival, filled with collaborations and unique one-off events. Artists already announced include indie guitar hero Johnny Marr, Mali rockers Songhoy Blues, Dave Stewart leading a Eurythmics tribute and, of course, Rodgers’s own disco legends Chic.
Southbank Centre, London SE1 (southbankcentre.co.uk), from Aug 3 to Aug 11
Ed Sheeran
The unstoppable one-man band plays six huge British shows this summer at parks in Leeds and Suffolk. Prior to that, July 12 will see the release of No 6 Collaborations Project, an album of tracks recorded with other artists including Justin Bieber, Eminem, Camila Cabello, Cardi B, Ella Mai and Bruno Mars.
Roundhay Park Leeds and Chantray Park Suffolk (edsheeran.com), from Aug 16 to Aug 26
Ariana Grande
Grande is becoming the pop star of her generation, managing an immaculate transition from sugary teenybopper to grown up icon with an appealing mix of sweetness and swagger. Her UK tour includes headlining the bank holiday Manchester Pride Festival and five nights in London.
O2 Arena, London SE10 and touring (arianagrande.com), from Aug 17 to Oct 16
Reading and Leeds Festival
Spread across two cities over one weekend, this is the festival for young music fans determined to catch as many buzz artists as they can in one go. An impressive line-up of zeitgeist talent includes The 1975, Post Malone, Twenty One Pilots, Billie Eilish and rapper Dave with US rock superstars Foo Fighters representing the over-40s.
Richfield Avenue, Read and Bramham Park, Leeds (readingandleedsfestival.com), from Aug 23 to Aug 25
Have you seen any of these pop or rock stars perform before? Who would you recommend going to see and why? Tell us in the comments section below.