Latest big-name headliner revealed for Ludlow Castle concerts

The former Beautiful South singer-songwriter Paul Heaton will be headlining Ludlow’s series of castle concerts next year.

The prolific solo artist, who also founded the Housemartins, will be appearing as a Live at Ludlow Castle headliner, with special guest singer Rianne Downey.

The concert takes place on Saturday, July 17, next year.

Next year will be the fifth year of concerts at the historic venue, with Heaton joining headliners McFly, UB40 ft Ali Campbell, and Becky Hill who have already been announced.

Forming The Housemartins in 1983, Heaton penned foundational indie pop hits like ‘Happy Hour,’ ‘Caravan of Love’ and ‘Build’ before the group disbanded in 1989 and he put together The Beautiful South.

Pairing his sharp lyricism with a lighter, jazz pop sound, The Beautiful South released 10 albums across two decades featuring timeless singles including the number ‘A Little Time’, ‘Don’t Marry Her’, ‘Perfect 10’ and more.

The band sold 15 million records and hit the top 15 with every album, including two number ones with 1996’s Blue Is The Colour and 1998’s Quench.

The band’s 1994 Singles compilation, Carry On Up The Charts, also remains one of the best-selling albums in British history.

Citing ‘creative similarities’, The Beautiful South parted ways in 2007 but Heaton continued to write, record and perform as a solo artist.

Three now beloved albums flew under the radar before Heaton reunited with Beautiful South singer Jacqui Abbot for 2014’s ‘What Have We Become?’ which saw Heaton reclaim his throne as the acerbic king of British indie pop.

Four more critically acclaimed collaborative albums followed along with numerous international tours before he released his solo album The Mighty Several in 2024 reaching number two in the charts and, most recently, 2026’s Jenius, which became his first UK number one solo record proving his inimitable songwriting is still sharp as ever.

He will be joined by Scottish singer-songwriter Rianne Downey, who Heaton first discovered from a video she posted during the pandemic - a cover of his former band The Beautiful South's song ‘Rotterdam (Or Anywhere)’.

Impressed by her talent, he later called upon her to act as a co-vocalist after Jacqui Abbott withdrew from concerts due to health reasons.

Since then, they have been on tour together and performed across multiple festival appearances including TRNSMT, Radio 2 in the Park and Glastonbury.

Since its debut in 2023, Live at Ludlow Castle has hosted a range of top musical acts including Snow Patrol, Paul Weller, The Human League, Tom Grennan, The Streets, Rick Astley, Richard Ashcroft and Scissor Sisters, Corinne Bailey Rae, Miles Kane, The Lightning Seeds, Heather Small and more.

Postcode pre-sale for residents local to Ludlow Castle (SY7 | SY8 | HR6 | DY14 | WR15) will open at 10am on Wednesday, November 4 here.

General sale opens at 10am on Friday, November 6 here.