Forest Live, Forestry England’s summer concert series presented with Cuffe & Taylor, has announced singer-songwriter and national treasure Gary Barlow as the latest headliner for summer 2025.
A celebration of his illustrious, four decade-spanning career, Gary Barlow will be performing a homecoming gig at Cheshire’s Forestry England Delamere on Saturday 14 June and at Forestry England High Lodge, Thetford on Saturday 21 June as part of his solo Songbook Tour.
The Songbook Tour will celebrate Gary Barlow’s status as one of Britain’s most successful songwriters and record producers. As part of the group Take That, he has won eight BRIT Awards and sold over 45 million records. One of the band’s biggest hits, ‘Back For Good’, will turn 30 in March 2025. The track is still ranked as one of the UK’s favorite-ever pop songs having reached No.1 on its release in March 1995 and remaining top of the charts for four consecutive weeks, going on to become the band’s biggest-selling song of the ‘90s.
Aside from his achievements with Take That, he has also co-written and produced music for other renowned artists including Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John and Robbie Williams, and most recently, he wrote the song ‘Running Wild’ for JIN from Korean super group, BTS.
Earlier this month Gary toasted the 3rd anniversary of his award-winning wine range, Gary Barlow Wines with the release of a 5-part ITV series, Gary Barlow’s Wine Tour: South Africa, which saw the much-loved musician explore the other passions in his life of wine and travel. With over 10 million glasses of his wine sold, the brand continues to grow its following among wine lovers across the UK.
At his Forest Live fixtures this summer, fans can expect Gary to draw from an incredible arsenal of fan favourites both from his time with Take That and his solo days, including ‘Since I Saw You Last’, ‘Greatest Day’, ‘Rule the World’, and the anthemic ‘Never Forget’.
Merging stellar performances from world-class acts with beautiful outdoor locations to create an atmosphere like no other, Forest Live 2025 will take place at four forest venues: Forestry England Cannock Chase, Delamere, High Lodge, Thetford and Westonbirt Arboretum.
Gary Barlow joins a selection of renowned global artists announced to perform as part of 2025’s Forest Live shows. Forestry England High Lodge, Thetford will also host The Script, Rag’n’Bone Man and James next summer.
Forestry England manage and care for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests. They use the money Forest Live raises to maintain these beautiful natural areas for everyone to enjoy, run important conservation projects and keep growing trees. Last year they planted some 7.4 million trees and welcomed 285 million visits in 2023/24. Everyone in England lives within a one-hour drive of one of the nation’s forests. Over two million people have enjoyed the Forest Live gigs over the last 23 years.
This year sees Forestry England present the concert series in partnership with Live Nation’s Cuffe & Taylor for the second year running.
