US rapper and actor Will Smith is set to headline five UK shows this summer as part of a wider European tour. It will be the first time the rapper has performed in the UK as ‘Will Smith’ since he hosted Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in London in 2008. The tour coincides with the release of his fifth studio album ‘Based on a True Story’, his first release in 20 years.
The UK leg of Smith’s tour has had eyebrows raising with its unexpected selections of towns and cities. He will perform at Scarborough Open Air Theatre (24 August), Bute Park, Cardiff (25 August), O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester (27 August), Brixton Academy, London (28 August), and Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (30 August).
While major cities such as Manchester and London do not come as a surprise, the inclusion of Scarborough, and particularly Wolverhampton, will come as a relief for certain parts of the UK music industry. The Music Venue Trust’s recently released 2024 report highlighted how many areas had fallen from touring schedules in favour of the larger arena-hosting cities. Wolverhampton was named among 17 cities to no longer be included on primary or secondary circuits, a decline that has been four decades in the making.
Presale tickets will be available from 10am on Wednesday, 19 March, with fans being directed to Smith’s website to gain access. Otherwise, general sale for all stops begins Friday, 21 March, again at 10am. Over on the continent, the ‘Switch’ singer will have stops in various countries, including Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, and Norway, with a mixture of headline shows and festival appearances.
The tour seems to be supporting his upcoming album, ‘Based on a True Story’, set to be released on March 28. Smith released the first single from the album at the end of January, with ‘Beautiful Stars’ drawing inspiration from The Matrix. Smith was approached for the role of Neo before Keanu Reeves eventually got the role, and the music video heavily references various elements, including the red and blue pill scene, which some took to be an allusion to personal growth after the 2022 Oscars controversy.
Production on the album has been handled by Lexoskeleton, who worked with the ‘Men in Black’ singer on his surprise Coachella appearance last summer, and OmArr, a frequent collaborator on Smith’s film projects, including Bad Boys For Life, who has also worked with Jaden Smith. Smith announced the album last week, posting the tracklist on his Instagram, and saying “Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all.”
Just on the dates announced alone, 2025 will be the 56-year-old’s most extensive year of touring since 1990. That year, he played 17 shows alongside Jeff Townes, a duo better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. With 26 confirmed on this side of the Atlantic, US fans are speculating on the possibility of a tour stateside too, given the absence of North American dates.
As part of that hip-hop duo, Smith achieved a UK No. 1 with ‘Boom! Shake the Room’, spending two weeks atop the chart in 1993, and has secured ten Top Ten hits in the UK as both a group and solo artist. Whether his newest album matches those past successes remains to be seen; however his larger-than-expected back catalogue will mean that the A-lister will have plenty of hits to fall back on.
