Johnny Marr Announces UK Headline Shows

Johnny Marr has announced UK headline shows for summer 2023, beginning 17th July at Holmfirth’s Picturedrome before taking in Lincoln’s Engine Shed (18th), Northampton’s Roadmender (20th) and the Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall (27th). The dates will continue through August including performances at Wrexham’s Rockin Chair (9th), Frome’s Cheese & Grain (16th), the Plymouth SU Main Hall (17th) and Middlesbrough Empire (25th). All tickets will be on general sale from Friday 28th April at 10:00 BST here.

The headline shows join a busy summer festival schedule that will see Johnny Marr and his band perform at Pennfest, South Facing Festival, Lakefest, Beautiful Days, Hardwick Festival, Helsinki Festival, Victorious and more, all set to take place through July, August and September 2023.

The 2023 live run is also set to include two huge shows at Edinburgh’s Royal Highland Centre and Belfast’s Vital Festival with The Killers. An extension of Johnny’s 33-date tour across Canada and North America as special guest to the band through Autumn 2022.

2022 saw the release of ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’, Johnny Marr’s fourth album since launching his solo career a decade ago with 2013’s ‘The Messenger’. Debuting at #4 in the UK albums chart on its release, the album marked Johnny’s highest charting solo LP to date, and was widely received as a career-best by fans and media. Described as a “magnum opus, his most fully formed album yet” in The Times, “a soulful record fuelled by fresh ideas” by the NME, “the most ambitious album of his career” by UNCUT Magazine, “an epic adventure” by MOJO, “revealing, emotional, powerful and progressive” by CLASH, “terrific” by The Observer, and “knockout material” by Rolling Stone UK.

The album’s release lit the touchpaper for a landmark year that saw Johnny headline the BBC 6 Music Festival, tour with Blondie as the special guest at their ‘Against The Odds’ arena shows, including a performance at London’s O2, and a three-month arena tour across Canada and North America with The Killers. Returning to the UK, Johnny launched The Johnny Marr Award, a new funding initiative in partnership with The Salford Foundation Trust to support the next generation of young musicians from the Salford community. Never one to sit still creatively, later in the year Johnny contributed to ‘Pretty Boy’, the first single to be revealed from long-time friend and collaborator Noel Gallagher’s upcoming new solo album ‘Council Skies’, on which Johnny performs on several tracks.

Looking ahead, October 2023 will see the publication of ‘Marr’s Guitars’, a stunning new photography book presenting the most significant of Marr’s extensive collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Including personal reflections and insights written by Johnny, and photographs shot by Pat Graham, each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion. Pre-Order ‘Marr’s Guitars’ via Thames & Hudson here.

Tickets for Johnny Marr’s 2023 Summer live shows are on sale here with further activity soon to be announced.

Newly Announced Summer Headline Shows

July

17 Picturedrome, Holmfirth

18 Engine Shed, Lincoln

20 Roadmender, Northampton

27 Assembly Hall, Tunbridge Wells

August

9 The Rockin Chair, Wrexham

16 Cheese and Grain, Frome

17 SU Main Hall, Plymouth

25 Empire, Middlesbrough