Radio 1 presenter Sam MacGregor told BBC: “There has been a history of people who, when they have done a UK tour or European tour, have missed off Wales. But it’s exciting to see artists are starting to change that perception. And if people like Taylor Swift, the biggest artist in the world right now, can come to Cardiff, they why can’t some of the smaller or medium scale artists come?”

Fans had been eagerly awaiting information regarding Swift’s upcoming tour, and when the 34-year-old announced what cities she, along with support from American rock band Paramore, would be visiting, many were ecstatic to discover the singer would be hitting Cardiff this summer. The “Anti-Hero” singer will be playing Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on June 18, her only Welsh date for the entire tour.

Really can’t contain my excitement because… we’re adding 14 new shows to The Eras Tour. And I get to travel the world doing shows with @paramore!! Hayley and I have been friends since we were teens in Nashville and now we get to frolic around the UK/Europe next summer??? I’m… pic.twitter.com/kl1aijxR2o

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 5, 2023

Taylor Swift isn’t the only superstar to be performing in Cardiff this summer, as the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Billy Joel, and Pink will be performing at the Principality Stadium, giving Wales an unforgettable summer of live music.

Emily Cotterill from FOR Cardiff, a group representing businesses in the city centre, believes each event is a big opportunity. She said: “We want people who have maybe come to Cardiff once for a gig to think ‘we want to go back and spend a weekend’. Lots of the time, especially with these big names, they are a reason to come here for the first time and then it’s up to us to help those people come back for a second, third or fourth time.”

For more information on Taylor Swift’s upcoming Eras Tour, click here.

Tour dates:

07/06/2024 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
08/06 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
09/06 – Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium – Edinburgh
13/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
14/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
15/06 – Anfield Stadium – Liverpool
18/06 – Principality Stadium – Cardiff
21/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
22/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
23/06 – Wembley Stadium – London
28/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
29/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
30/06 – Aviva Stadium – Dublin
15/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
16/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
17/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
19/08 – Wembley Stadium – London
20/08 – Wembley Stadium – London

To celebrate @AlbumDayUK, which this year is spotlighting women , we have compiled a chart of the most played female artist of the 21st Century in the UK using PPL airplay data. Huge congratulations to @Pink who reached the top spot. #NationalAlbumDay pic.twitter.com/Km3xA6Crb3

— PPL (@PPLUK) October 11, 2021

Pink whose career began in 1995 earned three UK No1 singles for “Lady Marmalade” in 2001, “Just Little Pill” in 2022 and “So What” in 2008. She also had three No 1 Albums with Funhouse (2008), Beautiful Trauma (2017) and Hurts 2B Human (2019). She had many more Top 10 over the two decades of her career. Pink’s best selling single in the UK was “Just Give Me A Reason” from 2013, which gathered 1.6 million chart sales.

Within the Top 20 most played female artists, more than a third are British musicians with Adele and Little Mix hitting the top ten.

Chief Executive Officer of PPL Peter Leatham commented: “National Album Day is a fantastic platform to showcase the importance of the album format and PPL is proud to be part of the celebrations this year with our chart of the century’s most-played female artists“.

“This chart brings together an incredible array of talent who have recorded some of the UK’s favourite music, including a number of the biggest and most influential albums of all time“.

The fourth edition of the National Album Day will take place on 16th October and honours the art of the album. “This year, it will spotlight women artists and their huge contribution to music and culture through the format”. It will be presented alongside BBC Sounds and Bowers & Wilkins. 

To celebrate #NationalAlbumDay, there’ll be 40+ releases available exclusively on Sat 16th Oct including @NinaSimoneMusic, @solangeknowles, @amywinehouse, @garbage, @MariahCarey, @didoofficial, @roisinmurphy & more Find all the releases here >> https://t.co/k78msmq51x pic.twitter.com/wbuConFUBM — National Album Day (@AlbumDayUK) August 17, 2021

Kylie Minogue who also reached the top 10 on the list has been recently announced as National Album Day ambassador. Minogue replied to the news: “I’m so proud to be a part of National Album Day alongside such amazing, inspirational female artists!”. “It’s mind-blowing to me and I’m so touched to know my music is continuing to be enjoyed by so many people!”  she continues.

I’m so proud to be a part of National Album Day alongside such amazing, inspirational female artists! https://t.co/ke0DncmTJi

— Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue) October 1, 2021

Minogue also celebrates the anniversary edition of her album from 2001, Fever which will be released in multiple formats. The reissue of the album will be available on 15th October in the UK and Australia, and 19th November for the rest of the world. It can be pre-ordered here.

The full Top 20 most played female artists of the 21st century are as follows:

1. P!nk
2. Madonna
3. Katy Perry
4. Rihanna
5. Lady Gaga
6. Adele
7. Beyoncé
8. Kylie Minogue
9. Little Mix
10. Whitney Houston
11. Taylor Swift
12. Sugababes
13. Kelly Clarkson
14. Dua Lipa
15. Ellie Goulding
16. Christina Aguilera
17. Diana Ross
18. Jess Glynne
19. Rita Ora
20. Ariana Grande

Writing on Instagram, the English singer-songwriter posted: “It’s an honour to have P!nk on this record and I’m so glad she is able to be a part of it… ‘Anywhere Away From Here’ with @pink is out now.” 

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A post shared by Rag’n’Bone Man (@ragnboneman)

Pink commented on the collaboration: “… I had already fallen in love with his voice, and when we met in person I quickly learned he has a beautiful soul, too. Since then, I knew I wanted to work with him one day. ‘Anywhere Away From Here’ couldn’t be a better song for us to sing together. I’m so honoured to be a part of this collaboration.” 

A music video for the track has also been released. It was directed by Joe Connor, who has directed videos for Sam Smith, Biffy Clyro, and Coldplay. The video shows Rag’n’Bone Man and Pink in a theatre which has been taken over by nature. Rag’n’Bone Man described the song as “an honest reflection of wanting to disappear from uncomfortable situations – about the vulnerabilities that we all face.” 

Real name Rory Charles Graham, Rag’n’Bone Man rose to fame after the release of single Human in 2016. His debut album of the same name hit number one in the UK Album Charts and won the BBC Music Award for British Album of the Year. He has previously collaborated with artists such as Bastille, Calvin Harris, Gorrilaz, and Kae Tempest. 

Rag’n’Bone Man is scheduled to tour the UK and Ireland in October and November 2021. He is due to visit cities including Brighton, Dublin, Belfast, Leeds, Bristol, Bournemouth, Glasgow, Manchester and Plymouth. He is also set to play a string of three dates at the Jazz Café in London in June. 

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A post shared by Rag’n’Bone Man (@ragnboneman)

The singer/song-writer will also perform shows in Cardiff, Glasgow, Liverpool, before performing two shows in London on the 29th and 30th of June. She will be supported on the tour by Vance Joy, KidCutUp and Bang Bang Romeo. The tour accompanies her latest album ‘Beautiful Trauma’, which was released in 2017 and is the singers seventh studio album. The ‘Beautiful Trauma World Tour’ will mark the singers first appearance in the UK since 2013, on her ‘Truth About Love Tour’. Tickets for the shows go on sale on Tuesday the 23rd of October, at 10am.

Speaking to the Guardian, about the political themes in the album, ‘Beautiful Trauma’, P!nk, said: “I named the album Beautiful Trauma, because life is fucking traumatic. There’s natural disasters at every turn and there’s kids starving and there’s Trump and there’s all kinds of stuff going on, but there’s beautiful people in the world that are having a blast and being good to each other and helping others. Because I can be dark, I try to constantly remind myself that there’s more good than bad”. While the new album isn’t as politically charged as ‘Dear Mr President, it is, she explains, still rooted in what’s happening in the world right now.

Pink, whose real name is Alecia Beth Moore, began her world tour in Phoenix earlier this year, and is scheduled to conclude, in Stockholm, on the 3rd of August 2019. The 39-year-old from Doylestown, Pennsylvania kicked off her career in 2000 when her debut album ‘Can’t Take Me Home’ went double-platinum in the US. Her second album ‘Missundaztood’ sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and her singles ‘Get the Party Started’, ‘Don’t Let Me Get Me’ and ‘Just Like a Pill’ were all international number ones.

Since her debut in 2000, P!NK has released seven studio albums; 1 greatest hits album; sold more than, 42 million albums, 75 million singles,  2.4 million DVDs worldwide; and has had 15 singles in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, she is the recipient of three Grammy Awards, one Daytime Emmy Award, three Billboard Music Awards, six MTV Video Music Awards, two MTV Europe Awards, two People’s Choice Awards and was named Billboard’s Woman of the Year in 2013.

In December, the heavy metal rocker’s will be embarking upon a seven night tour around the British Isles to play their 2005 album which was named among 2006’s best album’s by Blender and SPIN magazines, along with Pitchfork’s top 10 albums of 2006.

Boris formed in 1992 and were originally a four-piece band, with Nagata on drums. Nagata departed in 1996 leaving Atsuo to take over drumming duties and it has remained a three-piece since. The band concentrate on metal music, yet don’t necessarily want to be ‘pigeon-holed’ into one genre and are open to pretty much anything that pleases them. “Having some kind of preconceived message or theme is very boring to me”, noted Atsuo, the band’s drummer. “It becomes a crutch. Just say what you want to say.” Boris’s music has been labeled as noise rock, drone, doom metal, psychedelic rock, dream pop, shoegaze, drone metal, ambient and J-pop.

The band is touring in support of the 10th anniversary Pink (Deluxe Edition). According to Sargent House, in 2006 Pink was Boris’ major breakthrough album that gained new fans outside of the underground metal community. The track “Farewell” was featured in Jim Jarmusch’s film The Limits of Control. The album landed on many “best of the year” lists from underground metal sites to mainstream rock magazines.

In the 24 years they’ve been together, the band have produced 23 studio albums, with Pink, Heavy Rocks and Smile being some of their most successful.

The band focuses a lot of their time on touring. in an interview, lead vocalist and drummer Atsuo said: “That we tour so much and release so many albums, I think it is representative of what we’re about. Direct communication is something we’ve lost in this day and age. It’s a shame – [even] interviews are over the phone. I think it’s important to see people face to face – that’s why it’s so important to go on tour. It’s something very basic to humans that we’ve lost lately.

The dates for Boris’ Pink tour are: