Former Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan is preparing to mark a major milestone for one of the band’s most loved records. ‘Empire’, released in August of 2006, turns twenty this year, and Meighan is set to celebrate the anniversary by bringing the album back to the stage this December in hometown, Leicester.
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‘Empire’ was Kasabian’s second studio album and a defining moment for the Leicester band. It topped the UK charts and went on to sell more than 800,000 copies in Britain alone. The record gave fans anthems like the title track ‘Empire’, ‘Shoot the Runner’, and ‘British Legion’, songs that became festival staples and helped form Kasabian as one of the biggest British rock acts of the 2000s.
Meighan, who fronted Kasabian from its formation in 1997 until his departure in 2020, has never shied away from that chapter of his career. Since going solo, he has built a new band and toured steadily, regularly weaving Kasabian rock classics like ‘Fire’, ‘Club Foot’, and ‘Empire’ into his live sets alongside his own material. He released his debut solo album ‘The Reckoning’ in 2023, followed by ‘RoadRunner’ in early 2025, and has kept up a schedule of UK shows and festival dates since with a 2027 tour underway also.
Fans have long asked Meighan to revisit ‘Empire’ in full, given how central the album was to his and the band’s rise. A dedicated anniversary performance would explore the nostalgia, giving longtime supporters the chance to hear the record completely, something Kasabian themselves have shown little interest in doing with the continuation of new eras of music released.
Meighan has spoken openly in recent interviews about looking back on his time in the band with pride rather than regret, calling the early 2000s a golden era for British guitar music and placing Kasabian firmly among its defining acts. Revisiting ‘Empire’ onstage fits naturally into that reflective mood, offering both a tribute to the songs that built his name and a fresh spotlight for his ongoing solo career.
Meighan will be performing the iconic set on the 19th of December at Leicester Arena, with tickets going live on the 28th of September at 12:00pm here! Given the strength of demand for his recent tours, early booking is likely to be advised once the run is announced!
For a generation of fans who grew up on the album, the chance to hear it live again, sung by the voice that originally carried it, is set to be a special moment.
