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This summer, Paul McCartney will headline both the Isle of Wight festival and Hard Rock Calling Festival in Hyde Park, London. MCartney will also perform his first concerts in Scotland and Wales for two decades when he appears at Hampden Park, Glasgow and the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on Sunday 20th June and Saturday 26th June, respectively.

Hard Rock Calling Festival

Hard Rock Calling (formerly Hyde Park Calling) is an annual music festival held in Hyde Park, London. It is in its fifth year and there is a fantastic line up of artists over the three days (Fri 25th June to Sun 27th June), including:

• Friday 25th June - Pearl Jam, Ben Harper, Wolfmother and The Gaslight Anthem
• Saturday 26th June - Aerosmith, Stereophonics, Skunk Anansie and Keane
• Sunday 27th June - The Darkness, Paul McCartney and Simon and Garfunkel.

Paul McCartney briefly appeared at last year’s Hard Rock Calling Festival when he joined headliner Neil Young on stage during his cover of The Beatles’ “Day in the Life.”

Hard Rock Calling 2009 - Neil Young & Paul McCartney: “A Day in the Life”

Isle of Wight Festival

The Isle of Wight Festival was originally held from 1968 to 1970, but was revived in 2002 and has become a highlight of the festival season. The most legendary event was in 1970 when over 600,000 people witnessed a line up including Jimi Hendrix; The Who; The Doors; Miles Davis; Ten Years After; Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Joni Mitchell; The Moody Blues; Donovan; Free; Chicago; Leonard Cohen and Jethro Tull.

Other artists confirmed for the 2010 Isle of Wight Festival include Jay-Z, Florence and the Machine, The Strokes, Blondie, Crowded House, Pink, Spandau Ballet and Suzanne Vega.

Paul McCartney ticket information

The Isle of Wight and Hard Rock Calling Festival appearances will form part of Paul McCartney’s ‘Up and Coming’ tour, which kicks off this month in the US.

‘Up and Coming’ tour - US leg

• Sunday 28th March, 2010 - Jobing.com Arena, Phoenix, Arizona.. Tickets available now - www.ticketmaster.com
• Tuesday 30th March, 2010 - Hollywood Bowl, LA, California. Tickets available now - www.ticketmaster.com
• Wednesday 31st March, 2010 - Hollywood Bowl, LA, California. Tickets available now - www.ticketmaster.com
• Saturday 3rd April, 2010 - Sun Life Stadium, Miami. Tickets available from Tuesday 2 March at 10am - www.ticketmaster.com
• Monday 5th April, 2010 - Coliseo De Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico - ticket info not yet available.

‘Up and Coming’ tour - UK/Ireland leg

• Saturday 12th June – RDS, Dublin. Tickets go on sale Monday 8th March at 9am - www.ticketmaster.ie
• Sunday 13th June – Isle Of Wight Festival. Tickets on sale now -
  www.ticketmaster.co.uk
• Sunday 20th June – Hampden Park, Glasgow. Tickets go on sale Monday 8th March at 9am - www.ticketmaster.co.uk
• Saturday 26th June – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Tickets go on sale Monday 8th March at 9am - www.ticketmaster.co.uk
• Sunday 27th June – Hyde Park Calling, London. Tickets go on sale at 9am 5 March - www.ticketmaster.co.uk

And for those wondering what to expect from a Paul McCartney show in 2010, here’s Paul performing “I’m Down” last year at New York’s Citi Field.

Paul McCartney’s historic three-night musical christening of New York’s Citi Field, witnessed by 120,000-plus attendees, will be immortalised November 17th when the multi-disc ‘Good Evening New York City‘ is released. The UK release date is November 23rd. As the inaugural musical event at Citi Field, the site of the former Shea Stadium, the July 2009 shows held special significance not only for McCartney but for generations of his fans. The shows were performed on the same hallowed ground that The Beatles, in 1965, played the 34-minute show that would set the precedent for the modern day stadium rock show.

‘Good Evening New York City’ ‘ will be available in two formats:

* a 3-disc (2 CD + 1 DVD) standard edition

* a 4-disc (2 CD + 2 DVD) deluxe version featuring expanded packaging and a bonus DVD including McCartney’s traffic-stopping, headline-making July 15 performance on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee (including bonus numbers not aired on the Late Show with David Letterman broadcast).

The set will also be made available in high quality vinyl.

Highlights of ‘Good Evening New York City’ include Beatles classics such as ‘I’m Down’, ‘Drive My Car,’ ‘Got To Get You Into My Life,’ ‘The Long And Winding Road,’ ‘Blackbird,’ ‘Eleanor Rigby,’ ‘Back In The USSR,’ ‘Paperback Writer,’ ‘Let It Be,’ ‘Hey Jude,’ ‘Helter Skelter’, ‘Something’ played on a ukulele gifted to Paul by George Harrison, and a tribute to John Lennon in the form of a medley of ‘A Day In The Life’ and ‘Give Peace A Chance.’ Also featured are Wings era classics such as ‘Band On The Run,’ ‘My Love,’ ‘Let Me Roll It’ and ‘Live And Let Die,’ and McCartney solo material that brings the music right up to date with tracks from the 2008 album ‘Electric Arguments.’

The concert footage featured on ‘Good Evening New York City’ standard edition comprises 33 songs, with a running time of 2 hours 40 minutes. The footage was shot using 15 high definition cameras, but there is also footage incorporated from 75 Flipcams handed out to fans over the course of the three night stand.

Commenting on the Citi Field shows, Paul McCartney said:

‘It was three great nights for the band and for me personally it was very exciting to be back opening a new stadium on the site of the old Shea Stadium where we had played 44 years previously. Even more exciting because this time round you could hear us!’

These informal videos from Citi Field show Paul was in rocking form:

Day Tripper

I’m Down

Let it Be

You can pre-order the set at Amazon US and Amazon UK.

Paul made his first and long overdue appearance on the David Letterman show tonight, during which he performanced a special mini-concert on top of the Theater Marquee - a nod to the famous Beatles’ rooftop concert. Songs performed included ‘Get Back’, ‘Sing the Changes’, ‘Coming Up’, ‘Band on the Run’, ‘Let Me Roll It’, ‘Helter Skelter’ and ‘Back in the USSR’.

‘Get Back’ and ‘Sing the Changes’

This weekend, Paul McCartney will begin his three-night stint at Citi Field in Queens, New York.

Stars who joined Harrison’s widow, Olivia, and their son, Dhani, at the ceremony on April 14 included Paul McCartney, Tom Hanks, Tom Petty, Eric Idle, Jeff Lynne, Joe Walsh, and T-Bone Burnett.

Watch some clips of the ceremony below:

Coinciding with the ceremony, Capitol-EMI Records announced that a new compilation of Harrison’s post-Beatles recordings will be released June 16. ‘Let It Roll: Songs by George Harrison’ will include solo work as well as three of his Beatles songs - ‘Something’, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ and ‘Here Comes the Sun.’