We've already seen audiences experiencing live music, events and theatre this spring as our brilliant entertainment industry gets shows back on the road. And be it comedy, gigs, musicals, food festivals or talks and performances there are a raft of things to book in the coming months and hopefully it will feel great to go out and dance, sing and soak in the buzz of enjoying ourselves once again.
Wales' venues are already booked up with top acts and if you haven't bought any tickets yet, now's your chance. There's something for all tastes from our indoor and outdoor events.
So here's your big guide to the big gigs and festivals across Wales throughout the summer and into autumn - see the ticket factbox within this article for details on how to buy tickets specifically from Ticketmaster and ATG. And get more from the What's On WalesOnline team, here.
Read more : All the big gigs happening in Wales in 2022
Music
1. Ed Sheeran
The pop superstar is playing three dates at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Thursday, May 26, Friday, May 27 and Saturday, May 28.
They will form part of the first leg of his ‘+ - = ÷ x Tour’ (pronounced ‘The Mathematics Tour’) , taking place in stadiums throughout 2022. New dates have also been announced in Sunderland, Manchester and London.
Tickets are still available from Ticketmaster.
2. Alice Cooper & The Cult
The king of shock rock is at Swansea Arena on Monday, May 23 for some fun we are not worthy of, as he'll turn out hits like Poison, School's Out and Feed My Frankenstein and more with a load of black eyeliner and leather thrown in. There'll also be a set by The Cult.
Tickets from ATG.
3. Little Mix
The girls are bringing their final tour before they go on hiatus, to Cardiff on May 2 to 4. Confetti features the 2020 smashes Holiday and Break Up Song, alongside some of their greatest hits including Touch, Woman Like Me, Black Magic and Shout Out To My Ex.
Check Ticketmaster and Cardiff's Motorpoint for returns waiting list.
4. Live After Racing - Kaiser Chiefs at Ffos Las Racecourse
The Chiefs perform a raft of their hits at Cartmarthenshire's Ffos Las Racecourse on Thursday, June 2 after a full programme of racing during the afternoon. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.
5. In It Together Festival
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Clean Bandit and Two Door Cinema Club are the headliners over three days at this new festival, taking place at Margam in June.
This new 40,000-capacity festival at Old Park Farm, Margam is the latest venture from leading events company Escape Records, renowned for running top events, including Inside Out, Colour Clash and Party At The Park.
The event is over the weekend of Friday, June 3 to Sunday, June 5.
Tickets are on sale on now from the website.
5. Diana Ross
Another Cardiff Castle gig, this time it is legendary singer Diana Ross on Friday, June 10.
Announced following the release of her latest album, Thank You, Diana’s 2022 tour sees her perform for one night only in Cardiff at the castle with a setlist of her chart-topping, instantly-recognisable hits, such as Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Chain Reaction and Endless Love - along with songs tracks from her latest album.
Tickets for Diana are available from Ticketmaster.
7. Dionne Warwick
The soul legend and six-time Grammy winner will finally bring her show to St David's Hall, on Tuesday, June 28 a fter a few postponements.
It's her Farewell Tour and after six decades she's racked up an impressive back catalogue including hits such as I Say A Little Prayer, Do You Know The Way To San Jose, Anyone Who Had A Heart and Walk On By. Tickets found on Ticketmaster.
8. Stereophonics & Tom Jones
Rearranged from December 2021, Tom and the 'Phonics will be joined by Catfish and the Bottlemen and perform at the Principality Stadium on June 17 and 18.
Tickets are still available via Ticketmaster.
9. Rag 'n' Bone Man at Depot in the Castle
Finally visiting Wales for the two-day event in July, Rag 'n' Bone Man will entertain fans with a stream of hits like Human, Anywhere Away From Here, Giant and more, and there'll also be more names added to the roster in good time too.
The event will take place on July 9 and 10 in the setting of Cardiff Castle 's grounds. Now in its fifth year, the festival is set to include a Saturday night performance followed by a day of family-friendly fun on the Sunday.
Get your tickets at Ticketmaster.
10. Green Man Festival
Wales' biggest festival returns in the summer of 2022 with Michael Kiwanuka announced as headliner.
It will take place from Thursday, August 18 to Sunday, August 22 in the Brecon Beacon at the Glanusk Estate.
The event is sold out currently and there'll be more acts announced in due course. greenman.net
11. Primal Scream's Screamadelica 30th anniversary
Primal Scream are set to perform on Friday, July 22. Bobby Gillespie and co will present a celebration of their seminal album, Screamadelica and will have the Happy Mondays as guests. Ticketmaster for tickets.
12. Pete Tong and The Heritage Orchestra
The superstar DJ brings some iconic house and dance tracks to life as he's accompanied by The Heritage Orchestra at both Cardiff Castle on July 8 and Stadiwm Zipworld's Colwyn Bay venue on Saturday, August 13.
Tickets via Ticketmaster.
13. Escape Festival
Dance fans will be able to watch Sub Focus, Dimension, Bru-C and Eddie Halliwell take to the stage at Singleton Park on Saturday, August 20.
Friction will be the special guest and there will also be appearances from Eksman, Harriet Jaxxon, Hazzard Higgo, Hype, IC3 and K Motionz.
Judge Jules, Audiofreq, Lisa Lashes, Shugz and Will Atkinson are also among the festival stars.
14. Welsh National Opera Summer season
Performed at the Wales Millennium Centre, WNO's summer season comprises Migrations on June 29 and July 1 and 2. Later on in the summer there's also The Makropulos Affair on September 16, 23 and 28.
The former is a story told through a series of parallel storylines, Welsh National Opera’s new opera explores the highs and lows of migration: from the migration of birds to the sailing of The Mayflower over 400 years ago; from the story of an Afro-Caribbean slave in Bristol to the experience of Indian doctors working in the NHS. While the latter leads us on a journey to reveal the real identity of this intriguing woman. Tickets at wmc.org.uk
15. BBC Proms in Cardiff
The 2022 BBC Proms will be a UK-wide celebration of live music. In true testament to the festival’s core mission to bring the joy of classical music to as wide an audience as possible, the 2022 Proms will take its successful chamber music series across the UK, visiting all four nations for the first time ever.
As part of this year’s national programme, there will be a standout concert in Cardiff hosted at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Prize-winning Danish-Latvian Carion Wind Quintet will bring their signature style to works by Ligeti, Nielsen and Stravinsky. The concert will take place on Monday, August 15 and you can get tickets, here.
Performances/Talks
16. Minnie Driver at Hay Festival
The Hollywood actress will be talking to Alex Clark about her book, Managing Expectations at the literary festival on Wednesday, June 1. She shares poignant, candid and honest stories of her unconventional childhood, the shock of fame, motherhood, love, success, failure and more. Tickets at hayfestival.com
17. Hillary Clinton at Hay Festival
The former First Lady and Presidential nominee sits down with Baroness Helena Kennedy on Thursday, June 2 to talk about her public appeal, the current state of the world and the future. It is sold out but keep an eye on the website for returns. Visit hayfestival.com
18. Benedict Cumberbatch and Friends
Join Doctor Strange, Sherlock and Year of the Dog star, Benedict Cumberbatch and friends as the hugely popular all-star show returns for the sixth year to Hay Festival and in aid of the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. A celebration of the enduring power of literary correspondence, Letters Live sees a diverse array of outstanding performers read remarkable letters, inspired by and often drawn from Shaun Usher’s bestselling Letters of Note anthologies. The full cast will be kept under wraps until the performance. This show is on Saturday, June 4 and tickets are here.
19. Kenny Dalglish Live
For the first time live, Kenny Dalglish will be talking about his life in and out of football. In a question and answer format, he will discuss the great times and the tough times he has endured throughout his illustrious career. He'll be interviewed by daughter, Kelly Cates of Sky Sports, St David's Hall, Thursday, June 23 . Tickets are here.
20. Jimmy Page in Conversation
In Jimmy Page: The Anthology the Led Zeppelin star grants exclusive access to his archive for the first time. He tells the inside story of his phenomenal career to journalist and author Dylan Jones at Hay Festival. Tickets here for the Thursday, June 2 event.
Comedy
21. Machynlleth Comedy Festival
Taking place from Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1 , the Machynlleth Comedy Festival attracts some of the best and rising comedy stars. This year Nish Kumar, Izzy Suttie, Darren Harriott and loads more will do sets across the weekend. Info and tickets at the website.
22. Alan Carr
The TV host and stand-up is taking his Regional Trinket tour out on the road. He'll be in Wales at St David's Hall on September 2 and 3 and Swansea Arena on October 14. Tickets at Ticketmaster.
23. Chris Ramsey
The north-east funnyman and Strictly contestant will be in Cardiff, at St David's Hall, on Sunday, May 8. Tickets at Ticketmaster.
24. Katherine Ryan
The super salty and hilarious comic is coming to Swansea Arena with her Missus show. She's at the new arena on Friday, May 13.
Tickets are via ATG.
25. Rob Beckett
Rob's coming to Swansea Arena with his Wallop! tour on Thursday, May 12 and next year he'll be back round in Cardiff, this time with Josh Widdicombe for their Parenting Hell podcast show. Tickets are via ATG.
26. Bill Bailey
Bill just loves Wales, so much so he's here three this spring, having already been booked to perform earlier this year. Well, on May 5 & 6 he's in Cardiff (Motorpoint) and Swansea (Arena) respectively, with his En Route to Normal show. He's also doing a show at the Hay Festival on Saturday, June 4. Tickets for the city shows via Ticketmaster and for Hay, here.
27. Rob Brydon
Songs and laughs are what you can expect if you go along to Rob's Swansea or Rhyl show. Port Talbot-born Rob will be at Rhyl Pavilion on April 27 and 28 and then in Swansea Arena on Saturday, April 30. Visit the Pavilion's site for tickets there, or the ticket fact box in this article for ATG tickets for Swansea.
28. Joe Lycett
While Joe's St David's Hall show this June is completely sold out, there are still tickets for the Travel Man's Motorpoint Arena shows in September, on Sunday, June 11 and Monday, June 12 . Find those show tickets at Ticketmaster.
29. Sarah Millican
The first lady of north-east stand-up brings her Bobby Dazzler tour to St David's Hall in Cardiff on Saturday, July 23 and Sunday, July 24 . Tickets from St David's Hall. She's also at the Swansea Grand Theatre on July 21 and 22. Find those shows, here.
30. Jason Manford
Jason is in Cardiff this summer on Tuesday, August 30 at St David's Hall. Then he's bringing his Like Me show back in the autumn (October 8) to the Motorpoint. Tickets from St David's Hall for the former, Ticketmaster the latter.
31. Alan Partridge Live
Stratagem is the Steve Coogan character's brand new show and it's at Cardiff's Motorpoint Arena on May 19, 20 and 21 . Devised, written, choreographed, performed and funded by Alan Partridge, Stratagem sees Alan not just treading the boards but pounding them. Tickets from Ticketmaster.
Food Festivals
32. Abergavenny Food Festival
The very popular food fest is back at the Monmouthshire town centre on the weekend of September 17 & 18. There will be more than 150 exhibitors and producers, plus chef demos, talks and debates featuring the brightest culinary talent – and family entertainment too. Pre-book your tickets, here.
33. Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival
After three years, Street Food Warehouse is bringing food traders back to Tenby for the summer 2022. Pembrokeshire Street Food Festival is being held at South Beach in the town and will run from Friday, June 17 to Sunday, June 19. While entry is free to the food festival, you will have to get a ticket to gain entry. Tickets will be available on the door, but prebooking is advised. For updates on the stall line-up and more, keep an eye on their website.
34. Swansea Street Food Pop Up
Local independent food and drink traders are back from Thursday, April 28 (no end date as yet) with fan favourites and a new shipping container will also be present on site to house a range of beers from local breweries while small independent coffee makers. Organisers recommend people pre-book their table, to avoid disappointment. You can do this online here.
35. Forest Feastival
Found in Merthyr Mawr, Street Food Circus is bringing a medley of street food vendors to their hidden site and it's running Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays (and the May Bank Holiday Monday) until Sunday, May 8. Vendors include Bao Selecta, Fire & Flank and more. Read our review here. Find tickers, here.
36. The Great British Food Festival
Back in Port Talbot for the weekend of September 3 & 4 , the food festival is at Margam Park for a fourth year. Tickets can be bought online, here.
Theatre & Musicals
37. National Theatre Connections Festival 2022
A brilliant evening of free theatre commissioned by the National Theatre, of 10 new plays for young people to perform. Groups involved include Mid Powys Youth Theatre, Ysgol Aberconwy & Aberystwyth Arts Centre and Telford Priory School. The performances will take place on Saturday, May 14 . More here.
38. Everyman Outdoor Theatre
One of the biggest open air theatre festivals in the UK is to take place in Sophia Gardens for the first time since the pandemic began. The six-week Cardiff Open Air Theatre Festival, organised by Everyman Theatre, is to take place between June 23 and July 30 this year at the Cardiff venue.
It will showcase a range of theatre productions and comedies including Blackadder Goes Forth, Little Shop of Horrors, Twelfth Night and High School Musical. Tickets are available for the whole family at various prices, more information can be found here.
39. Lion King: the Musical
The Lion King was due to be performed at Cardiff's Wales Millennium Centre (WMC) but has been postponed for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic. The West End musical is finally set to be hit on the Welsh stage from Thursday, July 7 to Saturday, August 27. Click here for more.
40. Chicago
The latest production of Fosse's legendary musical is at the New Theatre Cardiff and stars non-other than Gemma Collins as Mama Morton. The show, which runs from Monday, June 20 - Saturday, June 25 , and also sees Coronation Street’s Faye Brookes as Roxie Hart, West End and TV star Lee Mead as Billy Flynn as well as West End star Djalenga Scott as Velma Kelly. Find tickets, here.
41. Six
The hit musical which is a modern retelling of the lives of King Henry VIII's six wives, presented as a pop concert is back in Cardiff at the Wales Millennium Centre, from Tuesday, May 3 - Saturday, May 14. But if you can't make it there, it's also visiting Swansea in the autumn, making it the first major musical to visit the Swansea Arena. More on that, here.
Other
42. National Eisteddfod 2022
This year the maes will be in Ceredigion for the first time since 1992. Held in Tregaron, the annual celebration of the culture and language is a hubub of activity with performances, music, shops and more. Buy tickets for entry to the maes and more, here. The Eisteddfod is running from Saturday, July 30 until Saturday, August 6 .
43. Aqua Park Cardiff
Opening on Saturday, June, 18 Aqua Park is back and better than ever. Slip, slide and splash with the whole family at the exhilarating aqua activity in Cardiff Bay. This inflatable Aqua Park offers a unique, open water experience with a variety of fun obstacles, with lush bay views to boot. Have a joyous time climbing walls, bouncing on trampolines, slipping down slides and tackling the monkey bars as you make your way around this entertaining water park. The park takes bookings for adults, groups and families with children aged eight years and over. Hour longs slots can be booked online from April 15 and you can also buy a season pass for a whole summer of splashy fun. Visit Aqua Park Cardiff for more.
44. By Order Of
By Order Of, the Peaky Blinders themed event is returning to Cardiff four years after its popular debut.
Hosted at Depot, the street food venue and event space, the evenings will be hosted on the weekend of April 16 and 17 , and Saturdays, April 23 and 30. Tickets from the Depot site.
45. Porthcawl Elvis Festival
A sneaky early autumn event we couldn't miss out, the weather is usually glorious, anyway, for the annual Elvis celebration, which this year will be on the weekend of September 23-25 . Tickets for the official shows at the Porthcawl Grand Pavilion are on sale now, here.
46. Adventure Outdoor Cinema
Showing a wealth of movies in several Welsh locations this spring and summer, Adventure Cinema provides a way to experience the movies under the stars. Venues include Cardiff's Bute Park, Caldicot Castle, Cosmeston Lakes in Penarth and films range from Harry Potter, Encanto and West Side Story to Pulp Fiction. For dates and venues, click here.
47. The Big Retreat
The festival overlooking the Cleddau Estuary in Pembrokeshire is a mix of music, wellbeing and more. Music-wise there's Toploader and Reef, and The Big Retreat will also feature over 200 free activities covered under the entry fee, from main stage music to cookery demonstrations, yoga classes and all kinds of workshops you can take part in. The fitness, breathwork and yoga workshops include classes with the legendary Mr Motivator, Richie Norton, Kim Ingleby, Natalie Garry and the Nordic Sisters.
The Adventure Stage will include tales of daring feats from the likes of best-selling author Jordan Wylie, Anna Mcnuff, Alistair Humphreys, Laura Bingham and big wave surfer Al Mennie. There's loads more at the festival, which stretches over the weekend of June 3-6 and you can find out more, here.
48. Cambrian Mountains Stargazing Weekend
This weekend break for those who want to gaze at the stars with the experts sounds lush and is based at Staylittle in Mid Wales on the weekend of July 1-3 . It's a workshop, ideal for anyone, no matter their level of experience, to get you more accustomed to astronomy, the night sky and take fantastic images.
You'll stay in a Deluxe Wigwam Cabins, each built and finished to the highest standard for the ultimate glamping experience and each cabin sleeps up to four adults and or a family of five. Find out more, here.
49. WWE
The event, which will see some of the world's biggest wrestling stars descend on the Welsh capital, is set to take place on Saturday, September 3. Information regarding event name, ticket on sale and further event updates will be available soon. Fans interested in an exclusive presale opportunity can register here.
50. Royal Welsh Show
Tickets are now on sale for one of the stars of Wales' events calendar, the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwydd and it takes place from Monday, July 18 – Thursday, July 21 . Expect livestock competitions, a 12-hour programme each day of exciting entertainment, attractions and displays and loads more. Tickets, here.
