The Streets announce live return with open-air Cardiff show
It's the first live return of Mike Skinner since 2021
By Joe Goggins
The Streets have been confirmed as the latest act for a late summer series of open-air concerts in Cardiff later this year.
Mike Skinner will take the stage on September 7 at Alexandra Head in Cardiff Bay. He will be followed on September 8 by N-Dubz, and on September 9 by The Chemical Brothers. Tickets for the latter two shows are already on sale; The Streets’ show goes on sale on Friday (February 10) at 10am. You can sign up for access to pre-sale tickets here.
The Bay Series is the biggest slate of open-air gigs in Wales, taking place in a custom-built arena in Cardiff Bay. The Streets will be joined by Kojey Radical at their show, as well as Zed Bias and Emmeline, with more special guests to be announced soon as part of an all-day lineup. Previous headliners at the Bay Series include Lewis Capaldi, Pendulum and Biffy Clyro.
For Skinner, it will mark a return to live performance for the first time since a raft of summer shows in 2021. A UK tour had been in prospect for early 2022, but he was forced to pull the dates when the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 saw a host of cancellations that winter. In the process, Skinner declared the rest of last year a write-off on the live front, writing on social media: “It is with a very heavy heart that I have to say that we have decided to cancel all live performances for 2022.”
“It is not fair to keep taking your money for tickets knowing that with 1 case of covid, the whole thing has to stop, he continued. “I’m really sorry to disappoint you. This has been the worst week of the worst year of my life.” A run of six shows in his native Birmingham was cancelled, along with dates in Sheffield, Bristol, Nottingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool and a two-night stand at London’s Brixton Academy.
Skinner had previously been announced to play a solo DJ set at Manchester’s Parklife Festival in June. Three standalone Streets singles have been released since the 2020 mixtape None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive; ‘Difficult Times Freestyle’ and ‘Who’s Got the Bag (June 21st)’ in 2021, and the Master Peace collaboration ‘Wrong Answers Only’ in January last year. A new three-track EP, Brexit at Tiffany’s, followed in August.