Where To Rock This August

WHERE TO ROCK THIS AUGUST

…..and some interesting stuff about the artists hitting the capital this month.

We are fortunate to live near a city that frequently hosts the biggest names in rock and pop music. 2024 saw the likes of Taylor Swift and the mighty Bruce Springsteen. This year the city has among others, already welcomed Stevie Wonder, the Stereophonics, Sting and Oasis. However, the fun is far from over. Tom Jones can be seen twice at Cooper’s Field on 20th August and then at Cardiff Castle on 21st August. But who else is rocking the city?

Will Smith, the celebrated Hollywood star known for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Men in Black, is performing in his other guise of noted rapper Live at Bute Park on Monday 25th August. The show is supported by disco legends Nile Rodgers & CHIC.

Will is known for being able to solve Rubik’s Cube in less than one minute, a feat he performed in one of his movies. In 2005 he achieved a Guinness World Record for attending three red carpet events in Manchester, Birmingham and London in just 12 hours. The first hip-hop star to be nominated for an Oscar, he was then famously banned from them for 10 years, after slapping comic Chris Rock at the ceremony in 2022.

 Catfish and the Bottlemen, the Welsh indie rock band from Llandudno, announced their first big stadium show for 1st August at the Principality Stadium. Hugely successful since 2016, that year they won ‘British Break Through Act’ at the Brits and their 2nd album ‘Ride’ reached Number 1 in the UK album charts.

The band’s name originates from lead vocalist Van McCann’s earliest musical memory: an Australian street busker he encountered in Sydney, known as Catfish the Bottleman. The busker earned the nickname “Catfish” due to his distinctive, spiky beard and ‘Bottleman’ because he played beer bottles strung to a wire.

 Midge Ure’s ‘Live Under the Stars’ show is at the Tiger Yard, Cardiff Bay on 16th August. Ure is known for his success in 70s and 80s bands such as Thin Lizzy, Visage, and Ultravox. Most famously, in 1984 he co-wrote and produced the Band Aid charity single ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ Selling 3.7 million copies, it became the second biggest selling single in UK chart history. Ure who co-organised the Band Aid and Live Aid events with Bob Geldof also serves as an ambassador for Save the Children.

Ure’s stage name, Midge, (real name James) is a phonetic reversal of Jim. When he was presented with the OBE by Queen Elizabeth in 2005, Ure wore a black kilt with matching black shirt, jacket, socks and a silver tie, to pick up his honour. ‘The Queen said something about it. I can’t remember what, but I think it was a gracious comment rather than ‘What on earth are you wearing.’

 Basement Jaxx are Live at Cardiff Castle on Sunday, 24 August. The English electronic music duo, consisting of Felix Buxton and Simon Ratcliffe, emerged in the underground house scene of the mid-1990s. They have had international chart success and won Best Dance Act at both the 2002 and 2004 BRIT Awards.

In the past, Buxton’s father did not let him watch Top of the Pops and played his children Austrian and Japanese music instead. ‘He was always very proud that we didn’t watch Top of the Pops. He thought that made me hungry and want it more’ he said.