Shed Seven to play York City ground's first concert

Shed Seven are to be the first band to headline a gig at York City FC's ground in what will be the biggest show of their career.

The band, who formed in York in 1990, will play the LNER Community Stadium on 29 May 2027, with a capacity of about 14,000 people. Supporting will be The Ks, Reverend and the Makers and The Mersey Beatles.

Frontman Rick Witter said: "This is for York. This is where we live, this is where we're from, so we just want to have a really big celebratory night out in our home city."

The band were part of the 1990s Britpop scene, with their indie rock anthem Chasing Rainbows adopted by York City fans in the stands.

The stadium opened in 2021 in Huntington - where the band met and went to school.

Witter said: "When we were 14 we were probably discussing in our bedrooms, how great would it be if we could play some of these songs in a stadium in our hometown?"

He added: "This will be our biggest headline show. Obviously we have done a lot of festivals, and it is so long into our career, but it's amazing, the fact that we have stuck around so long and are still coming up with the goods.

"It's going to be a really celebratory night."

The band will release their seventh studio album in January, the self-titled Shed Seven, and are preparing to embark on a UK winter tour.

"We are used to playing live and we are good at doing it, we like to put on a rock 'n' roll show," Witter said.

"So to do it in this environment, with so many people watching us, it's gonna be a thrill - we are going to pull out all the stops.

"We will be the first act to play at the LNER, which is a really special thing."

He added: "We did the Museum Gardens a couple of years ago and we were the first band probably since the early 70s to play there, and it was a really big thing, but now this is the next step."

He said the local football fans adopting their song is "fine by us".

"They have changed the words in the chorus to 'I've been chasing City all my life'.

"When you hear it on social media or here in the ground, it is a great thing because yes, it is our song, but hopefully that song will be here a long time after we've gone.

"York City are doing great at the minute, they have just been promoted, fingers crossed they can keep going in this league and perhaps go even better - that will make the end of next season and then coming here in May all the more special."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.