Royal Blood to open new Swansea Arena in March with headline show
The Brighton duo will be the first act to headline the new 3500-capacity venue by the Welsh city's marina
By Joe Goggins
Royal Blood will be the first band to headline the new Swansea Arena.
The Brighton rockers will kick off their arena tour of the UK on March 8, 2022 at the brand new 3500-capacity venue, which is located beside the Welsh city’s marina.
The arena will host 200 events a year and welcome around 230,000 visitors annually. Alice Cooper, The Cult and Will Young are among other artists confirmed to play there next year.
The arena’s general manager Lisa Mart said: “We are really excited to be announcing our eagerly anticipated first act! Royal Blood are absolutely incredible and their stage shows are renowned for being full of energy and light.”
The duo have added the Swansea date to the top of their arena run, which will see them finally bring their third number one album, ‘Typhoons’, to UK fans.
The record won critical praise on release back in April for being a stylistic left turn that took the band into dancier territory. In a four-star review NME called it “not only their best work to date, but all the better for Royal Blood being free to explore what they’re capable of”.
During the promotional cycle for ‘Typhoons’, which was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, frontman Mike Kerr spoke extensively about the importance of his new-found sobriety in both personal and professional terms.
He told NME: “it was important for me to be open about it, because I know I’m not alone in these experiences. I had the confidence to do that because I was clean and sober.”
Royal Blood’s nine-date UK arena run will also take them to Bournemouth, Birmingham, Cardiff, Nottingham, London, Leeds, Manchester and Glasgow in the spring. They will then return to the summer festival circuit with a slew of European dates locked in; no UK festival appearances have yet been announced.
Royal Blood’s UK tour dates 2022:
MARCH
Tuesday 8 – Arena, Swansea
Friday 25 – International Centre, Bournemouth
Saturday 26 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
Sunday 27 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
Tuesday 29 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
Wednesday 30 – The O2 Arena, London
APRIL
Friday 1 – First Direct Arena, Leeds
Saturday 2 – AO Arena, Manchester
Sunday 3 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow