From Coldplay and Metallica to Katy Perry and Tyla: the UAE’s 20 best live shows of 2025

This will go down as an exceptionally active year for the UAE live music scene, with a smorgasbord of diverse events, from full-throttle pop and rock concerts to sets by superstar comedians, colourful musicals and regal dance performances.

It was also home to several landmark moments, from Coldplay bringing their epic Music of the Spheres tour to Abu Dhabi, welcoming fans from across the region and abroad, to Green Day making their regional debut in Dubai, alongside smaller but no less significant shows for niche and devoted fanbases, including Limp Bizkit and Max Richter.

Dubai Opera continued to bring dazzling musicals and ballets to its stage, while seasoned acts ranging from Sting and Guns N’ Roses to Kevin Hart and Rod Stewart showed how these artists continue to get better with age.

Covering all these events was The National’s Arts and Culture team, present throughout the year, documenting, through its reviews, the robust health and dynamism that make the UAE one of the most active touring destinations on the global circuit.

Presented chronologically, here are 20 of the most notable gigs of 2025.

1. Coldplay at Sheikh Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi (January 9)

Members of the Coldplay performing at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Pawan Singh / The National

The year kicked off with what turned out to be the biggest UAE show by a band, as Coldplay had a four-night run at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Sports City Stadium that welcomed over 100,000 fans.

The British band brought joy and colour as they delivered their indomitable 25-year catalogue of hits. While it’s easy, and in some cases justifiable, to label some of their songs as overly sentimental, given the full treatment, tracks such as Higher Power and Adventure of a Lifetime transform into undeniable, bombastic anthems that are impossible to resist.

By the time Paradise arrived, with its swaying, singalong chorus, it became clear not only why Coldplay are the biggest band in the world, but also why Sheikh Zayed Sports City Stadium felt like a venue worthy of such epic concerts.

2. Green Day and The Offspring at Dubai Expo City (January 27)

Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong was in fine voice in Dubai. Photo: All Things Live Middle East

More than 25,000 fans were reminded of pop-punk’s enduring appeal at a high-energy, double-bill concert by Green Day and The Offspring at Dubai Expo City.

The California stalwarts turned back the clock, while also reinforcing their role in the genre's resurgence. Their careers are a testament to perseverance. Both bands weathered lean periods, teetering on the brink of irrelevance, only to stage remarkable comebacks. For Green Day, it came on the back of their career-defining 2004 album American Idiot. The Offspring kept the good ship afloat by consistently delivering standout singles, from 2008's You're Gonna Go Far, Kid to their latest sparkling release, Make It All Right.

That experience, energy and commitment were on full display in back-to-back sets in Dubai that came tantalisingly close to punk-pop perfection.

3. Sweeney Todd at Dubai Opera (February 1)

Sweeney Todd at Dubai Opera.