Declan McKenna has announced four "live and intimate" UK warm-up shows at grassroots venues, his first headline dates on home turf in two years, ahead of his slots at Reading & Leeds 2026. The run starts August 20 at An Seomar in Inverness, then moves to Dundee's Music Hall on August 21, Stockton-on-Tees' Georgian Theatre on August 23 and Stoke's Sugarmill on August 24. "It's gonna be loud, live and intimate, and we're even hitting some places I've never been to," McKenna said. "This one's gonna be electric." Tickets go on general sale at 10am, and the dates also join MusicSuey's tour guide.
McKenna released his third album, What Happened To The Beach?, in 2024, and is now at work on new music, following up the record with a double A-side single, "Champagne" and "That's Life," in October of that year. He said at the time the songs were the first tracks finished with producer and friend Jules Apollinaire, built from old ideas he had been reworking in his new studio.
He plays Reading on Friday, August 28, and Leeds the next day, on the festival's newly renamed main stage, "The Grid," alongside headliners Florence + The Machine, Fontaines D.C., Dave, Charli XCX, RAYE and Chase & Status, with Kasabian serving as the first-ever Thursday night headliner exclusive to Leeds.
Last month, McKenna opened for Imagine Dragons at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, and he also appeared on the Mercury-shortlisted War Child charity album Help(2) earlier this year. NME called his most recent album a "truly joyful effort" in a four-star review, with McKenna adding that the process felt "quite empowering" and let him prove he was "capable of executing different kinds of songs."
McKenna has also kept busy alongside other artists this year: he and Blossoms recorded a single together in a hot tub, as MusicSuey reported this month. MusicSuey has more indie coverage.
The facts
- Declan McKenna has booked four small UK warm-up shows this month
- The run starts August 20 at An Seomar in Inverness
- Dates also hit Dundee, Stockton-on-Tees and Stoke
- The shows are his first UK headline dates in two years
- McKenna plays Reading August 28 and Leeds August 29
- Reading & Leeds 2026 headliners include Florence + The Machine and Fontaines D.C.
- McKenna is currently working on new music
How this checks out
Developing
Reported by 2 independent outlets
A few outlets have it so far, short of the bar we set for confirmed.
Cited sources 2
Every outlet that reported this, linked to what it published. Equal credits, in alphabetical order.