DAVID GRAY BRINGS WORLD TOUR TO CARDIFF CASTLE AND LLANGOLLEN PAVILION - SUMMER 2026
- Desh Kapur
- 11 hours ago
- 4 min read

DAVID GRAY TO BRING PAST & PRESENT WORLD TOUR TO WALES IN 2026
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS THE DIVINE COMEDY
LLANGOLLEN PAVILION - FRI JUNE 26TH
CARDIFF CASTLE - SAT JULY 11TH
68 SOLD-OUT SHOWS ACROSS USA, AUSTRALIA, UK & IRELAND IN 2025
INCLUDING THE LEGENDS SET AT ELECTRIC PICNIC
Critically acclaimed, multi-platinum artist David Gray is heading to Wales twice next year as part of his Past & Present World Tour.
David Gray is the first headline show announced for TK Maxx Presents Live at Llangollen Pavilion 2026 and will perform at the venue on Friday June 26, before headlining TK Maxx Presents Depot Live at Cardiff Castle on Saturday July 11. He will be joined on both nights by special guests The Divine Comedy.
Following his headline Legends set at Electric Picnic this weekend, Gray’s announcement kicks off a brand-new summer run of UK & Ireland dates for 2026.
Cardiff Castle presale tickets are available at 10am Thursday via depotlive.co.uk and all tickets go on general sale at 10am Friday via ticketmaster.co.uk
The Past & Present World Tour has already seen David sell out 68 shows across the USA, Australia, UK and Ireland in 2025, including landmark nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Glasgow’s SEC Armadillo, Manchester’s O2 Apollo and Dublin’s 3Arena. His Electric Picnic set marked another milestone in support of his widely praised new album Dear Life (out now via Laugh A Minute Records/Secretly Distribution).
David said: “We’ve had the most amazing tour this year, from the opening night in Boston to the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, and then on to the Royal Albert Hall in London and the 3Arena in Dublin.
“These have been some of the most memorable and magical shows of my entire career. We’ve pushed ourselves as a band but it’s been richly rewarding and SO MUCH FUN! When everyone is in such fine form it would seem wrong to stop the ball from rolling - so with that in mind I’m delighted to announce a string of further dates for the summer of 2026. Exciting times!”
David Gray’s story is unlike any other. He spent almost a decade striving to make a breakthrough, and when it happened, it did so in the biggest way imaginable as White Ladder became one of the best-selling British albums of recent decades and established him as an arena-filling artist.
As the years have passed, his songcraft has only deepened - his natural ability to convey specific emotions, atmospheres, or, as heard on his acclaimed 2021 album Skellig, a sense of place, has positioned him firmly in the lineage of classic poetic singer-songwriters. While the likes of Ed Sheeran, Adele and Hozier have acknowledged his influence, Gray has continued to follow his own artistic path.
The response to Gray’s 13th album Dear Life has been extraordinary. Produced by Ben de Vries, critics have hailed it as “a brooding triumph” (Telegraph), “his most confessional and emotive work to date” (Clash), and “a slow-burner that catches fire” (Mojo). The album has also drawn comparisons to Gray’s multi-platinum White Ladder — “the sonic DNA of White Ladder is present here” (Rolling Stone) and “his poppiest and most successful album since White Ladder” (Music OMH). His artistry as a songwriter has also been singled out — “this 13th album confirms Gray’s not lost his touch” (Guardian) and “a soulful collection of richly poetic songs about love, change and mortality” (Independent).
The headlining show for TK Maxx Presents Live at Llangollen Pavilion is presented as part of an ongoing partnership with Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod and Live Nation promoters Cuffe and Taylor.
Cuffe and Taylor co-founder Peter Taylor said: “We’re delighted to once again be working with the team in Llangollen. This venue is in such a beautiful part of the world and it is a pleasure to bring artists of the highest calibre here. We’ve had two great years in Llangollen so far and what a great way to kick off our plans for 2026 than by announcing David Gray – a multi-award winning artist with his own Welsh roots.”
Artistic Director of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod Dave Danford added: “We’re thrilled to be making our first announcement for summer 2026, ahead of our third year collaborating with Cuffe and Taylor on the Live at Llangollen Pavilion series of shows. David Gray is a hugely successful and popular artist (with well-known Welsh connections!), so we’re really looking forward to welcoming him to Llangollen next year!”
The announcement for Cardiff is presented as part of TK Maxx presents Depot Live at Cardiff Castle by promoters DEPOT Live and Cuffe and Taylor.
DEPOT Live promoter Nick Saunders said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming David Gray to Cardiff next summer. The success of his world tour to date tells us this is going to be an incredible show and coupled with the sounds of The Divine Comedy, our audience is set to have a fantastic night.”
The announcement is the second for Depot Live at Cardiff Castle for 2026 with tickets to Alter Bridge’s Blackbird Festival already on sale.
For more information about TK Maxx presents Depot Live at Cardiff Castle go to depotlive.co.uk and ticketmaster.co.uk
For more information about Live at Llangollen Pavilion go to llangollen.net and ticketmaster.co.uk
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