Credit: Alamy/Far Out

The best gigs to see if you’re not going to Glastonbury

Thu 23 June 2022 9:45, UK

This weekend is bringing us what is possibly the world’s most iconic festival, Glastonbury. After two years out due to Covid-19, the festival has promised to be back bigger and better than ever, and by looking at the bumper lineup, it looks like a promise that the Eaves family will keep.

As always, the lineup features a wide variety of our favourite artists. If we take a brief look at headliners, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney, and Kendrick Lamar, they’ve got all bases covered on that front. Further down the bill from Friday till Sunday, you’ve got the likes of Lorde, Sam Fender, and Noel Gallagher, and miraculously, these are all on just The Pyramid Stage.

Looking at other stages, you get a clear indication of why over 200,000 people flock to the festival every year, and why many, many more apply for tickets. On The Other Stage, you have St. Vincent, IDLES, Megan Thee Stallion, Fontaines DC, Foals, and Skunk Anansie across the weekend. Then, in other locations, you can find Charli XCX, Wet Leg, and Four Tet, and these are only the tip of a rather Titanic iceberg, but such is the nature of Glastonbury.

If just reading the aforementioned names has got the FOMO in you rising to unprecedented levels, do not worry. Whilst it is set to rain heavily this weekend, we know that despite the British weather, there’s no place you’d rather be than in that sprawling ranch in Somerset instead of watching the proceedings from the comfort of your home on the BBC.

Therefore, here at Far Out, we’ve compiled a list of all the best gigs happening from Thursday-Sunday, in a bid to help you fill your calendar with great music so that Glastonbury becomes just a figment of the imagination.

There’s something for everyone here from pop icons to hardcore heroes, and some are even on the lineup at Glastonbury, meaning that if you choose to see them this weekend you’re not missing out at all. So what is there to lose?

Find the full list below.

The best gigs to see if you’re not at Glastonbury:

Thursday, June 23rd

Luckily for all of us missing out on Glastonbury, on Thursday, there is a lot to choose from, for all ages, and all different musical proclivities. If you happen to reside in the West Country, why not take a trip to Komedia in Bath to watch goth heroes The Damned wow you with their stage show?

Alternatively, for Scottish fans, indie heroine Phoebe Bridgers is scheduled to dazzle the historic Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, and for anyone residing in London, you’ve got the toughest decisions of them all, Battles or Einsturzende Neubauten? Horsegirl or Snail Mail? We’ll leave it up to you.

The Damned, Komedia, Bath
Waterparks, O2 Academy, Bristol
Pip Blom, Rough Trade, Bristol
Future Teens, Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
Angel Dust and Drug Church, The Globe, Cardiff
The Selecter, The Liquid Room, Edinburgh
Phoebe Bridgers, Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
Brass Against, Saint Luke’s & The Winged Ox, Glasgow
First Aid Kit, The Piece Hall, Halifax
High on Fire, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Year of the Knife, Boom, Leeds
Omar Souleyman, 24 Kitchen Street, Liverpool
Marisa Monte, The Barbican Centre, London
Elvis Costello & The Imposters, Eventim Apollo, London
Soccer Mommy: Live + Signing, Rough Trade East, London
Einsturzende Neubauten, O2 Kentish Town, London
The Wonder Stuff, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
Horsegirl, Boston Music Room, London
Battles, Village Underground, London
Snail Mail, O2 Ritz, Manchester
Knocked Loose, Newcastle University Student’s Union, Newcastle
The Bootleg Beatles, Leadmill, Sheffield

Friday, June 24th

It’s much of the same again, with a lot to choose from up and down the length of this tiny island, and across the choppy waters to Northern Ireland.
If you’re a fan of losing yourself in a haze of ecstasy and other social lubricants, legendary DJ Paul Oakenfold at Concorde 2 in Brighton will have you covered, as if Arcadia at Glastonbury is nothing.

Elsewhere, hyper pop darling Charli XCX takes the stage at PRYZM in Kingston, which will also quell your Glasto FOMO. For those wanting something more visceral though, there’s Outbreak Festival in Manchester which is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a packed lineup that includes Turnstile, Incendiary, and Deafheaven. Or for the stoners out there, High on Fire are set to turn London’s The Garage into the sweatbox we all know and love.

Feeder, Limelight, Belfast
Adam Ant, The Brighton Centre, Brighton
Paul Oakenfold, Concorde 2, Brighton
Sugarhill Gang and Furious 5, CHALK, Brighton
The Skids and Big Country, O2 Academy, Glasgow
Young Guv and Chastity, The Rum Shack, Glasgow
Nile Rodgers & Chic, The Piece Hall, Halifax
Charli XCX, PRYZM Kingston, Kingston
Alanis Morissette, First Direct Arena, Leeds
Diana Ross, The O2, London
Elton John with Rina Sawayama, Gabriels, Let’s Eat Grandma and more, BST Hyde Park, London
Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Weezer, The London Stadium, London
KALEO, Eventim Apollo, London
John Grant, Alexandra Palace, London
The Regrettes, OMEARA, London
Mushroomhead, O2 Academy Islington, London
Sven Vath, KOKO, London
Hampton Court Palace Festival: Elbow, Crowded House, Kacey Musgraves, London
High on Fire, The Garage, London
Marc Cohn, Union Chapel, London
Brad Mehldau, Barbican Centre, London
Good Morning, Oslo Hackney, London
Mungo’s Hi Fi x Marina P present Soul Radio Live, Jazz Cafe, London
Hey Colossus and Kulk, Studio 9294, London
Outbreak Festival, Bowlers Exhibition Centre, Manchester

Saturday, June 25th

This Saturday you’ve got so much to choose from. Hardcore legends Cro-Mags take on Belfast, The Rolling Stones play British Summer Time in Hyde Park as they return to action after Mick Jagger’s brush with Covid-19, and Red Hot Chili Peppers bring their unmistakable style of funk-rock to the London Stadium.

For those of you wanting something totally different, purchase tickets to Superman in Concert at Royal Albert Hall, which is worth travelling for. Here, the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra will perform the soundtrack to 1978’s timeless film, which starred the late Christopher Reeves and Gene Hackman.

Rufus Wainwright, Kelvingrove Bandstand, Bath
Cro-Mags, Voodoo, Belfast
Biffy Clyro, Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh
Geese, King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
The Sherlocks, O2 Academy, Leeds
Bob Mould, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
Hampton Court Palace Festival: Ministry of Sound Classical ft Fat Tony, Seb Fontaine and Rozalla, London
Greta van Fleet, Alexandra Palace, London
The Rolling Stones, BST Hyde Park, London
Kaytranada, O2 Academy Brixton, London
Billie Eilish, The O2, London
The Dandy Warhols, Roundhouse, London
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Bush Hall, London
Kornel Kovacs + Barry Can’t Swim, Phonox, London
Superman in Concert, Royal Albert Hall, London
Nightmares On Wax, EartH, London
Red Hot Chili Peppers, London Stadium, London
St. Vincent, Manchester Academy, Manchester
The Proclaimers, Parr Hall, Warrington

Sunday, June 26th

A much less extensive list, there are still many shows that catch the eye. Liam Gallagher takes on Glasgow’s Hampden Park, psychedelic pioneers Love perform the groundbreaking album Forever Changes on its 55th anniversary in Leeds.

Prog geeks YES bring their cerebral form of music to Newcastle, and Ziggy Marley delivers a musical tribute to his father, the legendary Bob Marley at the O2 Academy in Brixton.

Kings of Leon, SSE Arena, Belfast
Liam Gallagher, Hampden Park, Glasgow
TLC, O2 Academy, Glasgow
Mannequin Pussy, Broadcast, Glasgow
Gladys Knight, First Direct Arena, Leeds
The Dandy Warhols, Stylus, Leeds
Love – Forever Changes 55th Anniversary Tour, Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
George Benson, Royal Albert Hall, London
Eagles, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, BST Hyde Park, London
Ziggy Marley: A Live Tribute to his Father, O2 Academy Brixton, London
Kikagaku Moyo, The Clapham Grand, London
Lagwagon, O2 Academy Islington, London
Peasants Revolt Festival, The Garage, London
YES, O2 City Hall, Newcastle
The Chemical Brothers, Castle Howard, York