Entertainment

Snow Patrol announce Irish dates and new album The Forest Is The Path

Snow Patrol are back as a trio with a new album and Belfast date
Snow Patrol are back as a trio with a new album and Irish dates
By David Roy

SNOW Patrol have announced their return with a brand new album and tour, which includes a pair of Irish shows in Dublin and Belfast.

Set for release on September 13, their eighth album The Forest Is The Path will be the Gary Lightbody-fronted band’s first record for six years and their first to feature a new-look three-piece line-up following the departure of drummer Jonny Quinn and bassist Paul Wilson last year.

Now comprised of singer/guitarist Gary Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly and guitarist/keys man Johnny McDaid, Snow Patrol are offering fans their first taste of their new album with the single The Beginning and have announced details of a UK and Ireland tour for 2025.

Tickets for their pair of Irish dates at Dublin’s 3Arena on February 25 and Belfast’s SSE Arena on February 27 will go on sale on Friday June 7 at 10am via Ticketmaster outlets.

The 12-track album features guest appearances from its producer Fraser T Smith, plus Will Reynolds, Roy Kerr and Queens of The Stone Age man Troy Van Leeuwen, who also contributed to the writing of some songs.

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The Forest Is The Path artwork
The Forest is The Path features cover art by Gary Lightbody

New single The Beginning was written on a trip to Somerset.

“The first day we wrote The Beginning, start to finish,” says Gary.

“And he did the vocal in one take,” says Johnny.

“Straight after writing the lyrics. So it has this mind-collapsing quality to it where you feel like you’re seeing into someone’s soul.”

The Snow Patrol frontman explains that one of the album’s key ‘building blocks’ was the idea of love from the distance of time.

Snow Patrol performing at Bangor Marina
Snow Patrol performing at Bangor Marina earlier this year to celebrate frontman Gary Lightbody being awarded the Freedom of the Borough of Ards and North Down (PA)

“I haven’t been in a relationship for a very long time, 10 years or more, so love from a distance to me meant the way a relationship sits in your memory from a distance of, say, 10 years,” says Gary.

“That’s not something I’d previously thought about as away to write about love. So it’s like, when you’re in love, you’re standing in the lobby of the Empire State Building. When you’ve broken up with that person, you’re out in the street. You can still see the building, but you’re not in there anymore.

“And when it’s 10 years later, now you’re standing in Brooklyn looking at the Manhattan skyline.”

“That’s kind of a summing up of this album. It’s a way of looking at various mistakes, any pain I may have caused, from a place where nothing is hurting anymore, except the memory when you pull it back into your mind.

“The memory itself is full of hurt but everything around it isn’t. You’re holding in your hand this ball of fire, but now you’ve got gloves on.”

Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody
Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody

Fans who pre-order The Forest Is The Path from Snow Patrol’s website will get access to a tour pre-sale.

Tickets go on pre-sale on Wednesday June 5 at 10am and general sale on Friday June 7 at 10am.

The band’s full tour dates are as follows:

  • February 5 - London O2
  • February 16 - Birmingham Resorts World Arena
  • February 18 - Cardiff Utilita Arena
  • February 19 - Hull Connexin Live
  • February 21 - Glasgow OVO Hydro
  • February 22 - Manchester Co-op Live Arena
  • February 25 - Dublin 3Arena
  • February 27 - Belfast SSE Arena