Nile Rodgers and CHIC, Jess Glynne and Sophie Ellis-Bextor are among the superstar acts confirmed for next year’s concert series in Bedford Park.
The newly-branded Summer Sessions replace the long-running Bedford Park Concerts and the first shows to be announced by Live Nation and Cuffe & Taylor will be taking place in late June/early July 2024, with tickets going on sale this Friday (27 October).
Founded back in 2013 by DF Concerts, Summer Sessions has become a much-loved and highly anticipated live music series in Scotland with events taking place in cities including Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Hang onto your hats, Bedford, as previous headliners have included Eminem, Foo Fighters, Kendrick Lamar, Florence + The Machine and David Guetta.
Today’s announcement sees plans for the events to expand into England for the very first time, with Summer Sessions shows announced at Bedford Park and Guildhall Square in Southampton.
Bedford Summer Sessions will take place across two weekends in June and July. The events will continue the town’s legacy of live music after 23 years of shows, which has seen Bedford Park previously host performances from the likes of two Toms (Jones and Grennan), Dizzee Rascal, George Ezra and The Shires.
Multiple Grammy Award-winning Nile Rodgers is one of the first headliners to be announced for Bedford Summer Sessions, performing on Sunday, 7 July.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and multiple Grammy Award-winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist, Nile and CHIC have one of the most enduring sounds in modern music, spanning several decades and remaining as relevant as ever.
2023 saw him become the first creator to be awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his legacy in the same year as being awarded a Grammy for his new work with Beyoncé on the smash hit “Cuff It”. As the Co-founder of CHIC, Nile pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak”, the biggest-selling single in the history of Atlantic Records.
Nile said: “The UK is my home from home so despite the fact that it’s not even winter yet I’m excited to be announcing that we will be bringing you ‘good times” this summer!”
At Bedford Summer Sessions, they will be joined on 7 July by the chart-topping pop icon (and lockdown disco sensation) Sophie Ellis-Bextor who will be bringing her glossy, disco-infused dance hits to the proceedings at Bedford Park.
Fans can expect a set full of massive songs including “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)” and “Murder on the Dancefloor”. Good mood music melody makers, Deco will also join the party, delivering their 80s synth-speckled contemporary pop hits.
Headlining her own show on Friday, 28 June is Jess Glynne, who previously headlined Bedford Park in 2018.
The Grammy and Ivor Novello Award-winning singer/songwriter catapulted to stardom in the early 2010s, adding her entrancing vocals to tracks like “My Love” alongside Route 94, these “These Days” with Rudimental and with Macklemore & Dan Caplen on “I’ll Be There:, claiming her seventh number one hit.
Jess said: “Can’t wait to get back on stage and go live for all my people! It’s gonna be a good year… Let’s go.”
Peter Taylor, Cuffe and Tyalor’s co-founder said: “Summer Sessions has been on the forefront of live music in Scotland for ten years – it’s a brand and event much loved by artists and music fans alike.
“Bedford Park also has a rich history of live music, and we can’t wait to deliver two weekends of world-leading live entertainment at the Park. This is only the beginning of our announcements for our first summer in Bedford, so stay tuned for more and we’ll see you in 2024.”
To keep up to date on all the announcements, you can follow the Summer Sessions on social media at @smmrsessions.
