TK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall 2026 has broken box office records. More than 200,000 tickets were sold in advance for the historic Halifax venue’s biggest ever summer of live music.
Series co-promoters The Piece Hall Trust and Cuffe and Taylor (part of Live Nation) confirmed that 215,000 tickets had been sold in advance of the launch of the 2026 summer shows – smashing the previous box office record, set in 2025, by more than 30,000 tickets.
The five-year partnership with Cuffe and Taylor/Live Nation for shows in the 66,000sq ft open air courtyard launched in 2022, with a series of 12 shows attended by 60,000 fans. Acts performing at the inaugural edition included Duran Duran, Paloma Faith, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Tom Grennan, Paul Weller and Primal Scream.
“The results have been impressive,” said The Piece Hall Trust’s CEO Nicky Chance-Thompson of the five-year partnership with Live Nation. “I don't think there are many promoters out there that could bring 42 world-class acts, which is what we've got this year at The Piece Hall. I think we would struggle to get the calibre and the diversity [of acts] that Live Nation brings. So it's a very strong partnership.”
The Piece Hall recently announced a livestream partnership with Lounges.tv for select shows across the TK Maxx presents Live at The Piece Hall summer series.
Peter Taylor, co-founder of Cuffe and Taylor, described The Piece Hall as an “incredibly special and unique venue”.
“The Piece Hall is one of the most important and prestigious open-air music venues not only in the UK, but Europe and beyond,” he said. “Artists love playing here, their teams and fans love the venue, The Piece Hall truly is on the global music map.”
“We're very proud of what we've achieved with [Cuffe and Taylor], because a lot of people thought that acts would not want to play Halifax, a Northern town, when they can now play arenas like Co-op Live, and there are so many other venues,” said Chance-Thompson. “But we've bucked the trend in that artists are now asking, ‘How can we play there?’ There's something magical, maybe it's because you're steeped in history. It's a very photogenic building.”
Garbage performing at The Piece Hall (credit: Isabelle Clayton/Redferns/Getty Images)
Originally opened in 1779, the Grade I-listed venue is the only remaining Georgian cloth hall in the world.
The Piece Hall’s 42-date summer series is now at the mid-way point, following performances by Madness, Embrace, Paul Weller, Skunk Anansie, Garbage, Amy Macdonald, Belle & Sebastian, McFly, Royel Otis, Empire Of The Sun, James Arthur, Deacon Blue, Billy Ocean and Sex Pistols.
Upcoming shows this weekend include CMAT with support from Katy J Pearson (July 17), David Byrne with support from Anna Calvi (July 18) and Alex James’ Britpop Classical (July 19). Byrne will be performing his first UK open-air show this year at The Piece Hall as part of his Who Is The Sky? world tour, ahead of a festival headline appearance at Latitude and a Cardiff Castle show later this month.
“I'm really excited to see David Byrne playing here, I love Talking Heads,” said Chance-Thompson. “The shows here are spectacular because of the backdrop that we've got – it just looks amazing.”
We've always looked after the artists because they're important, and we want them to be able to go on stage and feel their best
Nicky Chance-Thompson
Research has shown that The Piece Hall contributed £680 million in economic impact between 2015 and 2025, with projections indicating the venue will bring an ongoing boost of around £90m per year into the region.
The Piece Hall was named Inspirational Venue of The Year at the 2025 Northern Music Awards, and received the Backstage Brilliance Award at the 2025 Live Awards.
With the final month of the summer series featuring The Flaming Lips, Tom Jones, Tom Grennan, Gary Numan, Turnstile, The K’s, Scissor Sisters, among others, Chance Thompson said the backstage experience is a key part of their offering.
“If you're going to do a pit stop, you might consider coming to The Piece Hall, because we do good food, we look after you,” said Chance-Thompson. “You're not going to be put in a crummy backstage room, you know? And those things matter to artists when they're on the move. So we've always looked after them because they're important, and we want them to be able to go on stage and feel their best. So it's about that whole experience. Our job is to make people feel good.”
“It’s from the team we've got through to the customers we have, the artists that perform here and staff that work here,” added Chance-Thompson. “We get the same people wanting to come back, not only artists, but the team delivering it. We have familiar faces every year who are backstage and delivering the events. So there's something that the team are doing right, and long may it continue.”
Subscribers can read our feature on The Piece Hall Trust’s music industry education initiatives.
MAIN PHOTO: Skunk Anansie performing at The Piece Hall (credit: Isabelle Clayton/Redferns/Getty Images)
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