Manics and Suede lined up with 'more to come' as big-name acts return to North Wales

The Manic Street Preachers and Suede are to joint headline a special gig in North Wales next summer. The concert is the first fruit of a new partnership forged by the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod just weeks after its very survival was called into question.

The music legends will be heading to Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod on Friday, June 28. Tickets go on general sale at 9am on Friday, October 13 – you can book tickets at llangollen.net and www.ticketmaster.co.uk.

To secure the concert, the Llangollen International Eisteddfod partnered with Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor, one of the UK’s top live music, theatre and event operators.

A series of live concerts are planned on either side of the world-famous peace festival next summer. Some big names are already signed up, talks are ongoing with others, but Eisteddfod organisers are staying tight-lipped. In the long-run, the partnership offers the prospect of headline pop and rock acts coming to Denbighshire on a regular basis. Currently, just summer concerts are planned but if these are successful, others may be held during the year.

Cuffe and Taylor co-founder Peter Taylor pledged to reveal more big-name artists “very soon”. He said: “We have presented countless shows in Wales over the years so it is great to be forming a new and very exciting relationship with the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod team. We will be working together to bring global stars and look forward to working alongside everyone in Llangollen helping secure the future of this historic event.”

The announcement is a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for the International Eisteddfod. In August, organisers axed the event’s executive producer and warned of an “extremely challenging future” as they attempted to stabilise finances described as “dire”.

With Cuffe and Taylor on board, the Eisteddfod hopes interest generated by rock and pop gigs will underpin its annual showcase event. This sees more than 4,000 performers from across the world head to Llangollen for singing and dancing competitions that celebrate international peace and friendship.

The Manic Street Preachers headlined the Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 2017

Cuffe and Taylor is more accustomed to organising tours, festivals and shows that fill football stadiums, arenas and major historical sites. The promoter works with a roster of artists ranging from Diana Ross, Lionel Richie, Britney Spears and Stereophonics to Sir Tom Jones, Rod Stewart, Sam Fender, The Strokes and Kylie.

Sarah Ecob, chair of the International Eisteddfod, said: “We are so pleased to be working with Cuffe and Taylor, which has an outstanding reputation in the industry. By working in partnership with them, we have ensured that our peace festival set up in 1947 not only survives, but thrives. We are so excited to welcome back the Manic Street Preachers and can’t wait to make more announcements over the coming days and weeks.”

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The June 2024 date marks a return for the Manic Street Preachers to Llangollen – they headlined at the festival in 2017. The Welsh band is currently working on their 15th studio album, the follow-up to “The Ultra Vivid Lament” which topped the UK charts on its release in September 2021. They last performed in the UK this summer at the Isle of Wight and Glastonbury festivals.

The Manics and Suede gig in Llangollen show is part of a UK and Ireland tour in 2024, which will see them play at Cardiff Castle a week after the Llangollen opener. It follows a sold-out US tour by the two groups in 2022.

Suede are still basking in the success of their ninth studio album Autofiction, and their sold-out UK headline tour earlier this year, which followed the release of Suede30, a reissue of their seminal debut album.