These are the best gigs to see this week

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Days are getting shorter, the weather is getting wetter and colder but there are still plenty of reasons you should tear yourself away from the telly and head down your nearest music venue.

In the coming months, 50 Cent is set to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’’ with a string of arena shows while Rema and J Hus are also on tour. Then there’s Madonna’s gigantic Celebration tour, which returns to  London in December.

To help you keep track of the spectacular must-see shows happening around the UK, here are the best gigs to see this week (November 13 – November 20).

Queens Of The Stone Age

Ahead of headlining Download Festival 2024 alongside Fall Out Boy and Avenged Sevenfold, and in support of eighth album ‘In Times New Roman’, Queens Of The Stone Age are returning to the UK. A busy festival run saw them smash high-profile slots at the likes of Glastonbury and Mad Cool, with NME writing “you just get the sense that we are witnessing a band who are reaching the peak of their powers”. Why not see for yourself?

Queens Of The Stone Age play:

November
14 – AO Arena, Manchester
15 – The O2, London
16 – BIC, Bournemouth
18 – The OVO Hydro, Glasgow
19 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
20 – Globe Theatre, Stockton-On-Tees

Fans can buy and sell tickets for Queens Of The Stone Age at global marketplace, viagogo here.

CMAT

Is CMAT the world’s greatest popstar? Well, with brilliant second album ‘Crazymad, For Me’, she’s well on the way. “CMAT will have you in stitches one second and emotionally suckerpunched the next,” said NME in a four-star review. “It’s brilliant. Inventive, intoxicating, deliciously camp – she continues to transcend all expectations and remains absolutely unmatched.” Now she’s taking the show on the road. 

CMAT plays:

November
16 – Shepherds Bush Empire, London
18 – SWX, Bristol
20 – Leadmill, Sheffield
21 – Stylus, Leeds
23 – O2 Ritz, Manchester
24 – Barrowland, Glasgow
25 – University Student Union, Newcastle

Louis Tomlinson

Louis Tomlinson may have made his name in the stadium-filling force that was One Direction, but since their split, he’s reinvented himself as something of an indie champion. There have been covers of Arctic Monkeys, while he regularly supports the next generation of guitar bands at events like his Away From Home festival. Following the release of second album ‘Faith In The Future’, described by NME as an “assured step forwards,” Tomlinson finds himself back in arenas for his next headline tour. 

Louis Tomlinson plays:

November
14 – The Brighton Centre, Brighton
15 – International Arena, Cardiff
17 – The O2, London
18 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham

Fans can buy and sell tickets for Louis Tomlinson at global marketplace, viagogo here.

Corey Taylor

Speaking to NME earlier this year, Corey Taylor promised that his second solo album ‘CMF2’ was going to be “the best rock album of this year, and the next.” His live shows are just as ambitious, bringing together choice cuts from Taylor’s work in Slipknot and Stone Sour as well as the party-rock tracks from his blossoming solo career.

Corey Taylor plays:

November
14 – Eventim Apollo, London

Fans can buy and sell tickets for Corey Taylor at global marketplace, viagogo here.

Empire State Bastard

The new project from Biffy Clyro’s Simon Neil and former Oceansize frontman Mike Vennart has always strived for “extremity at all costs”. Speaking to NME, Neil added: “Even if it’s not brutality – it’s got to be extremely weird.” That was the driving force behind debut album ‘Rivers Of Heresy’ and for the string of live shows they’ve already played. After tearing up Download and Glastonbury, Empire State Bastard are heading out on a headline tour all of their own.

Empire State Bastard play:

November
13 – New Century Hall, Manchester
14 – SWG3, Glasgow

Fans can buy and sell tickets for Empire State Bastard at global marketplace, viagogo here.

50 Cent

50 Cent’s iconic debut album ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’ turned 20 this year, and the rapper has been out on tour celebrating. He’s already played shows across North America and Europe with gigs in Australia and Asia still to come. This week though ‘The Final Lap’ tour touches down in the UK, with the rapper set to perform fan favourites and hits, along with tracks that have “not been performed live in decades”.

50 Cent plays:

November
14 – Resorts World Arena, Birmingham
15 – AO Arena, Manchester
17 – OVO Arena Wembley, London
18 – Utilita Arena, Newcastle
19 – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
21 – O2 Arena, London

Fans can buy and sell tickets for 50 Cent at global marketplace, viagogo here.