Hey hey they’re the monkeys, the Arctic Monkeys to be exact, and they simply can’t stop monkeying around. It’s been a while since we’ve heard from sexiest skinny lad in rock, Alex Turner, after the Marmite album Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino. But they’re preparing to make a momentous return with their seventh studio album The Car and an almost indecently massive tour of stadiums across the UK. 

If you fancy seeing the Yorkshire lads champion the 505 postcode live and in the Sheffieldian flesh, then here’s everything you need to know. Read on to find out when and where the band are playing, how to enter the presale, what you might hear on their setlist, and if their new material is worth your time. To receive an email reminder half an hour before tickets go on sale, fill in the box at the bottom of this article.

When and where are Arctic Monkeys touring the UK? 

The Arctic Monkeys will play 13 UK stadium dates throughout May and June 2023. Starting at Bristol’s Ashton Gate Stadium on Monday 29 May, the tour will then hit Coventry, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Norwich, Sheffield, Swansea, Southampton, London and Dublin, with a final date at Glasgow’s Bellahouston Park on Sunday 25 June. UPDATE: the band have now added a second show to their run in Manchester, as well as an additional date in London. Check the detailed list below for the full list. 

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed a distinct Glastonbury-shaped hole in the space between the band’s dates in Dublin and Glasgow. So, chances are visitors to the world’s biggest music festival will be treated to a headline set. 

Here’s a detailed list of the band’s UK tour dates: 

Monday 29 May –  Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
Wednesday 31 May – Building Society Arena, Coventry
Friday 2 June – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester
Saturday 3 June – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester (NEW DATE)
Monday 5 June – Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
Wednesday 7 June – Carrow Road Stadium, Norwich
Friday 9  June –  Hillsborough Park, Sheffield
Saturday 10 June – Hillsborough Park, Sheffield
Monday 12 June – Swansea.com Stadium, Swansea
Wednesday 14 June – The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
Friday 16 June – Emirates Stadium, London
Saturday 17 June –  Emirates Stadium, London
Sunday 18 June –  Emirates Stadium, London (NEW DATE)
Tuesday 20 June – Marlay Park, Dublin
Sunday 25 June – Bellahouston Park, Glasgow

When do tickets for Arctic Monkeys tour go on sale? 

Tickets for the Arctic Monkeys’ UK tour go on sale at 9am on Friday 30 September. 

Where can I buy tickets for Arctic Monkeys tour? 

Tickets for the Arctic Monkeys are available from Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Gigs And Tours and Live Nation. 

What presales are available for the Arctic Monkeys’ tour?

An artist presale will begin at 9am on Thursday 29 September and end at 9am on Friday 30 September. The presale will be available for anyone who preorders the band’s new album The Car from the official webstore before 3pm on Wednesday 28 September. 

According to an official email from the band’s webstore, presale information will be sent via email between 5pm and 7pm on Wednesday 28 September, so check your spam folders during that time if nothing’s popped directly into your inbox. 

How much will tickets for the Arctic Monkeys’ tour cost? 

We don’t know the exact price for tickets yet, but we’ll update this section as soon as we do. We can confirm that customers will be able to purchase a maximum of four tickets per order. UPDATE: general admission tickets for the band's show at Bellahoustoun Park cost £73 each during the presale. Expect all other dates to be similarly priced when the general sale hits on Friday. 

Who’ll be supporting the Arctic Monkeys on tour? 

Alex Turner and his merry band of simians will be supported by veteran rockers The Hives, a group of Swedish noisemakers best know for their chart-topping album from 2000 Veni Vidi Vicious. Despite never achieving that same level of commercial success, they’ve become mainstays on the festival circuit thanks to mosh pit friendly tunes and the magnetic charisma of frontman Pelle Almqvist. 

Have a listen to the band’s best known track ‘Hate To Say I Told You So’ and bathe in its post-Strokes 2000s nostalgia: 

Also supporting The Monkees are The Mysterines, a moody quartet reviving the murky grunge of the 1990s. Their debut album Reeling released last March, stoking comparisons to Wolf Alice and PJ Harvey’s Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea era. Listen to their excellent single ‘Dangerous’ below: 

What should I expect from an Arctic Monkeys gig? 

It’s been a while since the Arctic Monkeys last major tour of the UK, and their sound has changed significantly in that time, moving from muscular indie rock to woozy, 1970s-influenced concept albums. But if their setlist from Reading & Leeds festival this year is anything to go by, they're more than happy to whip out fan favourites from throughout their career. 

That gig began with the slinky classic rocker ‘Do I Wanna Know?’ before segueing into ‘Brianstorm’ and its chaotic wall of sound. From there, Sheffield’s finest hopped sprightly though all six albums, with only the middling Suck It And See failing to make an appearance. Listen to their Reading rendition of 'R U Mine?' below: 

Whether you love or loathe the new sound of The Car, then, expect a full stadium show from the North Pole Simians to contain enough classics to warrant the entry price. 

Is The Car any good?

The only single to be released from The Car so far is ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’, a melancholic and unassuming break-up weepy which signals a more grounded version of the despondent lounge singer persona Turner assumed on Tranquillity Base Hotel & Casino.  

Featuring some of Turner’s most wistful lyrics to date, it adeptly captures the post-break-up mentality of someone desperately seeking levity through their misery. Personally, we loved the strangeness of the Monkeys’ last album, but injecting some humanity into the sonic landscape of Tranquility Base…  may prove to be a winning gamble. If you found their last album off-puttingly obtuse in its lyrics, this one might lure you back into Turner's world. 

We’ll find out how the rest of the album measures up when it’s released on Friday 21 October. Until then, listen to ‘There’d Better Be A Mirrorball’ below:  

How can I guarantee that I’ll get tickets for Arctic Monkeys?

While there are no 100% guarantees when it comes to nabbing tickets for a high-profile act like Arctic Monkeys, a few of these strategies will serve you well. 

First, try every presale that we’ve mentioned in this article (take a look at the ‘What presales are available for the Arctic Monkeys’ tour?’ section). 

Second, sign up to your preferred ticketing provider in advance, whether that’s Ticketmaster, See Tickets, Gigs And Tours and Live Nation.

When on-sale day finally does come around, log onto your ticketing provider, enter the queue and remember not to refresh the page. To receive an email reminder half an hour before tickets go on sale, fill in the box at the bottom of this article.

Tickets for the Arctic Monkeys’ 2023 UK tour go on sale at 9am on Friday 30 September.