We can usually look forward to one or two big announcements now and then, but this week has already delivered a trilogy of big news for fans of all kinds of music!

Firstly, the huge touring rock festival Sonisphere broke news of their headliners and more for the UK installment. Kiss and Faith No More are big names in their own right of course but the one everybody was looking out for was Queen. Rumours have been floating around for weeks as to whether the band will join forces with singer Adam Lambert to perform once more at Knebworth and, thankfully, they’ve proved to be true! This show will see the band head back to the much-loved Knebworth – the site of their last ever concert with Freddie Mercury in 1986! Sonisphere tickets on sale Thursday 23rd Feb at 9 a.m.!

Next, at midnight, legendary Britpop band Blur confirmed they were to be getting back together again for another show. There had been so many rumours up until now as to where they would play, how many shows etc. The band have now let it be known that they’ve accepted the invitation to headline the London Olympics closing ceremony concert! It’s not known yet whether the band will announce more shows or if, as reports circulated recently, that this could be the very last performance they will ever give together.  This one is definitely going to be huge!

To round things off for now, Jay-Z & Kanye West had been talking about coming to the UK for some shows as part of their Watch The Throne project and now the dates are confirmed. These two juggernauts of rap music will be playing three huge shows over here this June. The pair released their acclaimed self-titled album last year with guest appearances from Beyonce, Otis Reading and Frank Ocean. You’re guaranteed not to see a rap show like this again for a while!

Let’s hope this run continues into next week! Tickets for Blur and Jay-Z * Kanye West on sale Friday 24th!

Blur broke news of an impending announcement yesterday via their official Facebook page – fans were to expect some big news at precisely midnight. Well, the news has broke and it is indeed big. Blur are back together to play the closing ceremony concert of the London Olympics this summer!

The comment on the band’s Facebook page read: “We’re rowing in.. going for gold.. grabbing the baton.. for the high jump.. No, hang on, is that right? Fact is, Blur have accepted the invite to headline the Olympics’ Closing Ceremony Celebration Concert in Hyde Park on 12th August.”

Before Blur’s headline spot at the concert on 12th August, guests will see performances from legendary Brit ska band The Specials as well as New Order, who themselves recently confirmed some very special UK shows booked for May!

Tickets for the show will be available as of Friday 24th February. Stick with TicketsMarket for all the news and the best places to find your Blur tickets!

August 12th – Hyde Park, London

Over the weekend a photo leaked by leedsfest.org started making its way around the internet. The photo is a somewhat rushed snap of an alleged Reading & Leeds 2012 line-up poster.

The image shows the full line-up for 2012′s installment of the festival with headliners and all acts for the different stages over the weekend and comes still a few weeks before any official announcement is due to be made. If you remember last year, the line-up (taken from an advert scheduled to appear in Kerrang) was leaked just hours before the official announcement came.

There’s nothing to say this is the real deal (although last years leak proved to be correct) but if it is then this summer’s festival will see Foo Fighters, Kasabian, Green Day headlining with the addition of New Order, The Black Keys, Slipknot, Kaiser Chiefs, Fleet Foxes, Lostprophets, Public Enemy, Two Door Cinema Club, Chase & Status and many more!

Compare prices for your Reading Festival tickets as well as Leeds Festival tickets here!

The Reading & Leeds Festival runs from the 24 – 26th August at Little Johns Farm, Reading and Bramham Park, Leeds.

Not only is Norah Jones the daughter of infamous sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, she is also one of the music world’s most celebrated singer-songwriters. This summer will see Jones return to the UK for two very special dates at London’s Royal Festival Hall in June.

The singer has of late been working on a highly anticipated 5th studio album with the help of producer Danger Mouse, one of the most influential individuals in music right now. Having worked together previously on Danger Mouse’s previous album ‘Rome’, the pair seem like the perfect team to deliver some more excellent work from their latest efforts. The album titled ‘Little Broken Hearts’ has been co-written by both artists and features Danger Mouse on many instruments throughout the tracklisting.

Jones confirmed that the her album looks scheduled for release sometime this Spring and that she is planning a world tour to follow in the Summer. Initially just one date for the UK went on sale this morning but huge demand quickly made that two shows! Possibly some of the biggest dates of her tour, she’ll stop by the capital on 1st and 2nd June for some some truly spectacular performances. Norah Jones tickets are on sale now – find the best price for yours with TicketsMarket.co.uk

June 1st – London Royal Festival Hall

June 2nd – London Royal Festival Hall

Madonna is back in the news again! More controversy now as word is spreading throughout the web that the star may have plagiarised her latest single Give Me All Your Luvin’ from Brazilian pop star João Brasil’s track L.O.V.E. Banana. Accusations of plagiarism are no stranger to your average pop superstar so they always need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Although the Brazilian artist commented that he would much rather do nothing about (sensibly seeing the downsides of getting into a legal battle with Madonna), it’s his label that has the say in the matter and could be looking to sue.

Does it sound the same? There are a few similar elements to both songs but to call it plagiarising might be a step too far and the battle is unlikely to go anywhere. Nonetheless this is publicity to both parties. On the one hand João Brasil with one of the most purely phallic pieces of music ever written and Madonna with a worldwide top selling single and global tour. Madonna tickets are on sale now for her two UK shows in July – check out the best prices here.

July 17th 2012 – Hyde Park, London
July 21st 2012 – Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh

Bay Area punk rockers Green Day confirmed yesterday via Twitter that they had begun working on their 9th studio album. Singer and guitarist Billy Joe wroter on the social networking site, ‘Happy Valentine’s day! Officially started recording the new record today. It’s F**k Time!!!!’. It’s been a long time in the works this latest album considering that their last full length was 2009′s ’21st Century Breakdown’!

No news yet on expected schedules but fans will surely be hoping for a release date this year or early next. Meanwhile, the group’s Green Day’s American Idiot theatre tour has proven to be hugely popular with tickets selling out fast. If you’re a fan of the band than what better way to get your Green Day fix before the new album! Full tour dates below:

Mon December 10th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Tue December 11th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Wed December 12th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Thu December 13th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Fri December 14th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Sat December 15th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Sun December 16th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo, London
Sat April 7th 2012 – O2 Academy2 Newcastle, Newcastle
Wed October 10th 2012 – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Thu October 11th 2012 – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Fri October 12th 2012 – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Sat October 13th 2012 – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Wed November 7th 2012 – Grand Canal Theatre, Dublin
Mon November 12th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Tue November 13th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Wed November 14th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Thu November 15th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Fri November 16th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Sat November 17th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Thu November 22nd 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Fri November 23rd 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Sat November 24th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Tue December 4th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo , London
Wed December 5th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo , London
Thu December 6th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo , London
Fri December 7th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo , London
Sat December 8th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo , London
Sun December 9th 2012 – HMV Hammersmith Apollo , London
Tue October 9th 2012 – Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Mon November 19th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Tue November 20th 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester
Wed November 21st 2012 – Palace Theatre Manchester, Manchester

Azealia Banks announced yesterday her plans for her first ever headline UK tour. After attracting a great deal of attention through her Youtube account, Banks went on to self-release her first single 212 in 2011 following her previous from XL Recordings. A little attention from BBC Radio 1 set the way for work beginning on her debut album with Adele producer Paul Epworth as well as a slot on the 2012 NME Awards Tour alongside Two Door Cinema Club.

With a new single hopefully out very soon we’ll certainly keep on hearing from this young break-through rapper. Her first UK headline tour will see Banks perform 11 shows across the country in Spetember and October. Azealia banks tickets go on sale this Friday 17th February at 9 a.m. Dates are as follows:

Fri 28th September 2012 - Club Academy, Manchester
Mon 1st October 2012 - O2 Academy2 Newcastle, Newcastle
Tue 2nd October 2012 - O2 Academy2, Liverpool
Wed 3rd October 2012 - Metropolitan University, Leeds
Fri 5th October 2012 - HMV Institute, Birmingham
Sat 6th October 2012 - O2 Academy2 Oxford, Oxford
Sun 7th October 2012 - Waterfront, Norwich
Tue 9th October 2012 - Junction, Cambridge
Wed 10th October 2012 - Concorde 2, Brighton
Fri 12th October 2012 - O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, London

Rising star Michael Kiwanuka announced today his plans to tour the UK again in May. The soul singer started garnering attention from labels and music fans alike last year with his first run of gigs and support slot alongside Adele. Since winning the BBC Sound of 2012 competition at the very beginning of the year, Kiwanuka was catapulted into the limelight and had no trouble selling out tickets for his current UK tour.

His debut album ‘Home Again’ is scheduled for release on the 12th March and is sure to be one of the hottest of the year! Michael Kiwanuka tickets will be available as of Friday 17th February at 9 a.m. Tour dates are as follows:

13th May – Bournemouth, Old Fire Station
14th May – Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall
15th May – Manchester, HMV Ritz
17th May – Glasgow, ABC
19th May – Dublin, Academy
21st May – Sheffield, Leadmill
22nd May – Cambridge, Junction
23rd May – London, O2 Shepherds Bush Empire

After a series of wine-induced tweets recently, Lady Gaga spilled the beans via Twitter on when the first dates for her long awaited ‘Born This Way’ world tour. It was initially thought that the singer would attempt an epic 450 date tour across the globe, but Gaga tweeted just before she released the dates that this number had been decreased to a slightly more realistic 110 shows. The dates released so far include stops in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan – hopefully fans in the UK won’t have too much longer to wait before the star reveals when she’ll be heading to Europe! Dates so far are as follows:

April 27th – Seoul, South Korea, Olympic Stadium – (Onsale TBC)
May 2nd – Hong Kong, China, Asia World Arena – (Onsale 10am Monday 27th February)
May 10th – Tokyo, Japan, Saitama Super Arena – (Onsale 10am Monday 11th March)
May 28th – Singapore, Indoor Stadium – (Onsale 10am Monday 27th February)
June 7th – Aukland, NZ, Vector Arena – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)
June 13th – Brisbane, AUS, Brisbane Entertainment Centre – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)
June 20th – Sydney, AUS, Allphones Arena – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)
June 21st – Sydney, AUS, Allphones Arena – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)
June 27th – Melbourne, AUS, Rod Laver Arena – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)
June 28th – Melbourne, AUS, Rod Laver Arena – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)
July 7th – Perth, AUS, Burswood Dome – (Onsale 9am Friday 17th February)

This announcement comes just days after Madonna tickets were revealed and will definitely make 2012 huge, with the world’s two biggest female artists both competing for the best tour of the year!

Lady Gaga has been stirring up rumours consistently over recent weeks with a number of twitter posts and announcements, from stage design to official tour poster. Now the latter has today been released (albeit a little earlier than planned due to too much wine) we have been told to expect official tour dates to be released around 7 p.m. tonight (Feb. 8)!

All eyes seemed to be on Madonna over the last few days following her Super Bowl performance with LMFAO, Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. as well as her very own tour announcement. With Lady Gaga perhaps the only person in the world who can begin to match Madonna’s stardom, as well as the impressive 450 dates planned, we might just see all the focus shift pretty sharply!

Check out the official tour poster here. For all news on Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Ball stay with TicketsMarket.co.uk