With a new album expected next year, the band will return to the road in the summer
Arctic Monkeys have announced their first festival appearances for 2022 – check out the full schedule below.
The Sheffield band, who last performed live in April 2019, revealed last week (November 16) that they’ll embark on a string of European dates next August. Now, it’s been confirmed that Alex Turner and co. will also headline various festivals that month and into September.
On August 13, Arctic Monkeys will take to the stage at Summer Well Festival in Buftea, Romania before playing Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary on August 15. Further bill-topping gigs are set to follow at Zürich Openair in Switzerland (August 23), Paris’ Rock En Seine (25), Cala Mijas Festival in Malaga, Spain (September 1) and Kalorama in Lisbon, Portugal (2).
You can see the announcement post and full list of shows below. Ticket information can be found here.
We are pleased to announce that we will be headlining @SummerWellFest, @szigetofficial, @ZURICHOPENAIR, @rockenseine, Cala Mijas and Kalorama in August and September 2022. https://t.co/PaUDpilxTU pic.twitter.com/FR32kWXQUP
— Arctic Monkeys (@ArcticMonkeys) November 23, 2021
Arctic Monkeys’ 2022 tour dates are as follows:
AUGUST 2022
9 – Istanbul, Turkey, Zorlu PSM
10 – Istanbul, Turkey, Zorlu PSM
12 – Burgas, Bulgaria, Port Of Burgas
13 – Buftea, Romania, Summer Well Festival
15 – Budapest, Hungary, Sziget Festival
16 – Pula, Croatia, Arena Pula
18 – Prague, Czech Republic, Výstaviště Praha
23 – Zürich, Switzerland, Zürich Openair
25 – Paris, France, Rock En Seine
SEPTEMBER 2022
01 – Malaga, Spain, Cala Mijas Festival
02 – Lisbon, Portugal, Kalorama
News of the Monkeys’ live return comes after drummer Matt Helders revealed that the group’s upcoming seventh album – the follow-up to 2018’s ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’ – was “pretty much” finished and likely to arrive ahead of a tour next summer.
Asked in a recent interview if the new record was “ready to go”, Helders replied: “Yeah, pretty much, yeah. It was a bit disjointed how we had to do it, and there are bits to finish off, but yeah, it’s all in the works.”
He continued: “I think by the time we get everything together it’ll be next year. Hopefully we can get out and tour next summer.”
As for the sound of the forthcoming LP, the drummer explained: “We tend to always move it on a little bit. For us, because we’re so involved in it, it always makes sense.
“[The albums] always kind of pick up where the other one left off in a way. It makes sense when you think about it in the context of the last record. But we always do try and do something a bit different – it’s kind of hard to describe. You can tell it’s the same band.”
Back in January, AM’s manager revealed that the group had been “working on music” and had initially planned to record last summer. Helders then confirmed that they were in the “early stages” of the album while trying to overcome obstacles brought on by the pandemic.
Then, in August, it emerged that the band had been recording new material in Suffolk.
Fans will now be anticipating an announcement for UK shows as well as potential festival slots on these shores. Asked by NME whether the band would be headlining Reading & Leeds next year, festival boss Melvin Benn replied: “Arctic Monkeys are a law unto themselves and when they decide next to play live is beyond me, if I’m honest.”
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