Rihanna tickets for the music superstar’s visit to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light go on sale on Thursday, December 3, at 9am following her announcement of a return to the North-East as part of a hotly-anticipated world tour. One of the biggest names in music, the Bajan star is set to take to the stage in the Anti-Tour, named after her new album – and Wearside will play host to the show on Saturday, June 18, one of only six UK venues.

Rihanna has sold 54 million albums and 210 million digital tracks worldwide making her the top-selling digital artist of all time, and will perform alongside The Weeknd and Big Sean.

SAFC’s commercial director, Gary Hutchinson, says: “We are thrilled to be welcoming Rihanna back to the Stadium of Light. Her first visit to Wearside was a huge success, breaking the record for concert-goers at the Stadium with over 56,000 people attending. Rihanna is one of the biggest artists of her generation and this announcement has cemented the Stadium of Light as one of the top venues in the UK for major music acts.”

The Stadium of Light will offer general admission (standing/Tier 1 unreserved seating) tickets only, priced at £55 and a limited number of Gold Circle tickets at £75. All sales are subject to a £4 booking fee per ticket (unless payment is made in cash). Tickets cannot be purchased from SAFC by telephone or online, tickets are available from the stadium’s box office to in-person purchasers only. Please note £1 per ticket will be added onto the booking fee, this fee will be donated to the Clara Lionel Foundation.

Tickets are available online at livenation.com and ticketmaster.co.uk or 0844 8440444, while ticket-buyers can find out more about hospitality by calling safcconcerts.com or call 0871-911-1555 or email rihannahosp@safc.com to find out more information or to make an expression of interest in concert hospitality. Existing SAFC hospitality customers should contact the club to reserve their package. 

Steeleye Span... visit The Sage Gateshead on Thursday, December 3 with a new single, Somewhere Along The Road, now available.

The release is a perfect example of Steeleye Span’s long career. Originally written by bassist Rick Kemp in the early 1980s, it was recorded by Maddy Prior and June Tabor some years later on their debut Silly Sisters album. Since then the song has become a firm favourite with fans, who have followed the band over an astounding six decades. These contemporaries of Led Zeppelin and Fairport Convention went on to change the face of folk music forever, taking it from small clubs and festivals into the world of chart-topping albums and international tours.

Part of that incredible story has been the individuals that have contributed to the band’s history. The current line-up of Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp, Liam Genockey, Julian Littman, Jessie May Smart and Andrew Sinclair continue the standards set by former members such as Martin Carthy, John Kirkpatrick, Tim Harries, Bob Johnson and, most recently Peter Knight.

The end of October last year saw the release of a deluxe version of their album Wintersmith in collaboration with Sir Terry Pratchett with an extra CD including four new studio tracks. This year has been busy taking in dates in the UK, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Canada and the US. After a return to Holland and Belgium, the band kicked off a UK tour to finish the year.

* Box Office: 0191-443-4661