Every year music fans wait for their favourite artists to announce headline shows in a city near them. It’s the pinnacle of following an artist, the chance to see them in the flesh, and witness their music come alive in front of your eyes.
With the likes of Little Mix, Ariana Grande and Troye Sivan already announcing strings of UK shows in 2019, music fans’ gig calendars are already filling up. However, perhaps the best is yet to come, with the latter half of the year still looking empty. CelebMix looks at some of the artists who could well be announcing UK shows for 2019 sometime in the near future.
Lana Del Rey
Lana Del Rey’s record Norman Fucking Rockwell is set for release in the early months of 2019. Produced by Jack Antonoff, the man who played a hand in Lorde’s Melodrama and Taylor Swift’s Reputation, it has all the hallmarks of something out of this universe. Fans have already heard ‘Mariners Apartment Complex’ and ‘Venice Bitch’, two tracks which threw curveballs to Del Rey fans, and anything could be expected from the record.
One thing that does seem almost certain is that Del Rey will be touring the album. Just announced as a headliner at Benicassim next year, there is clearly a live show in the works. What is for sure is that Lana Del Rey’s voice takes her music to its own world – a world that thrives at solo headline gigs. A U.S. tour is almost certain to be announced first, but a visit to the U.K. seems imminent.
Marina
Appearing more and more since featuring on Clean Bandit’s ‘Baby’, it’s clear that Marina has something in the works. She’s confirmed that new music will be coming in 2019, four years after her last effort FROOT. Her last full tour in the UK was a lengthy one with stops off everywhere from Cambridge to Newcastle to Cardiff to Manchester to London. Following that tour, Marina did state that the following ones would be different because of the “hard lifestyle” on the road. What that means is up in the air… fewer shows? More intimate gigs? We’ll have to wait until 2019 to find out.
Carly Rae Jepsen
As fans are loving latest single ‘Party For One’, it’s clear that Carly Rae Jepsen 4 is on the way. It will be four years since the release of the phenomenal Emotion, widely regarded as the most underrated pop record of the past decade, and Jepsen has already spoken about the upcoming effort, saying that the latest single “represents a lot of what this album is about”.
A slot at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound at the end of May has already been announced and since Jepsen will be in Europe anyway, some summer shows could well be on their way.
Kesha
It may well be wishful thinking that Kesha brings her Rainbow Tour in full to the U.K., but fans won’t let their hope die yet. The star made the comeback of 2017 and has played too many Stateside shows to count between her own headline dates and last year’s summer co-headline trip with Macklemore. Once she’s back from her ‘Weird & Wonderful Rainbow Ride’ cruise in February, there’s one last hope of some U.K. dates to be announced.
Avril Lavigne
Another artist who finished 2018 with a string of singles, Avril Lavigne’s tracks ‘Head Above Water’ and ‘Tell Me It’s Over’ have marked the start of an exciting comeback. Her first album in five years following a battle with Lyme disease, Head Above Water, will hit streaming services on February 15th. There’s been no announcement of tour dates yet, the star’s last trip on the road being in 2011, but now Lavigne is back in good health a trip across the pond could well be on the cards.
Meghan Trainor
Meghan Trainor seemingly pushed the release date of third studio album, Treat Myself, back from August 2018 without so much of a whimper. Now due out on January 25th, fans are gearing up after a long wait. That wait has got to have meant something. Whether it be more time to perfect the tracks or more time to finalise the release process, it seems that this record is going to be a priority for her label Epic. With all the time spent behind it, a European tour seems inevitable.
Ella Eyre
Quite where Ella Eyre’s sophomore album has got to is anyone’s guess. 2015’s Feline was a real success, but the pop star has taken her time with rolling out new releases. ‘Answerphone’ seems to be the first track from a new album process which sees her working with the likes of Sigala and finishing 2018 with a writing camp trip to Jamaica. We can’t be too sure what Eyre’s releases are looking like for 2019, but after premiering new material when supporting The Script early last year, a short string of shows to test out new material in full would not be surprising.
HRVY
It’s no secret that HRVY has new music in the works. At the end of 2018, he was slaving away in the studio in Sweden. After the phenomenal success of the Talk To Ya EP, singles ‘I Wish You Were Here’ and ‘I Don’t Think About You’ seem to be marking the start of a new era.
He’s already confirmed a string of European dates including Madrid, Paris and Amsterdam for March 2019. As a British boy, it seems unlikely that the U.K. won’t be getting a bite of the cherry. What’s more, with December’s proof that he can fill venues such as London’s Eventim Apollo, HRVY’s presence in his home country has never been bigger.
Cheryl
Cheryl has come back with a bang following the hugely successful single ‘Love Made Me Do It’ and the live performances have been coming thick and fast. Slots on The X Factor, The Graham Norton Show and Hits Radio Live have shown that Cheryl is ready to perform again. Rumours have it that her label still have at least two more singles lined up before the release of an album in 2019. The former X Factor judge’s only solo tour to date came in 2012 following the release of A Million Lights. However, it’s clear Cheryl wants to perform and coming into the new year, fans might just be able to get their hopes up for live shows in 2019.
Other mentions –
Lady Gaga –
Amongst all the A Star Is Born and Enigma madness, Lady Gaga’s record label let slip that the star has an album coming in 2019. That much is for sure. However, as she is so busy at the moment and the Joanne tour came to an end not that long ago, we wouldn’t be surprised if the record doesn’t emerge until the back end of next year. That would push a U.K. tour into 2020. However, who knows what Gaga has up her sleeve.
Katy Perry –
Pop princess Katy Perry’s last album effort, Witness, was widely considered a flop, despite its single successes. Label bosses have revealed plans of a comeback in big ways, although have stayed quiet about new music. 2019 could afford Perry the chance to get back on the horse quickly with new material and a new show.
Rihanna –
Probably the most tight-lipped pop star on the planet, all we know about Rihanna’s upcoming project is that, well, it’s upcoming. A surprise drop, ironically, wouldn’t be surprising, so tour dates if and when that happens could be announced tomorrow, or in a century’s time.
Who are you hoping will tour the U.K in 2019? Let us know on Twitter @CelebMix