Blondie have been confirmed for a West Country date this June with an appearance at Westonbirt Arboretum as part of the Forestry Commission Live Music shows, a little evening festival where bands perform in beautiful woodland locations around the country.

One of the most significant bands of the popular music era, Blondie emerged from New York’s celebrated new wave scene producing innovative music and scoring major hits worldwide with rock/disco, reggae and hip-hop songs. Fronted by the iconic Debbie Harry, their groundbreaking material brought them a stash of hit singles including ‘Denis’, ‘Picture This’, ‘Rapture’, ‘Sunday Girl’ and ‘Hanging On The Telephone’. Few acts can match their 20 year span of No 1 hits that includes ‘Heart Of Glass’, ‘Atomic’, ‘Call Me’, ‘The Tide Is High’ and ‘Maria’. Classic recordings like ‘Plastic Letters’, ‘Parallel Lines’ and ‘Eat to The Beat’ have contributed to their 40 million + album sales to date.

Blondie will release a new album, their first in six years, this spring.

The Forestry Commission Live Music series of events take place each summer in seven forest locations around the country. Woodland clearings are temporarily transformedinto a concert arena creating a safe and relaxed atmosphere for gig-goers.

The Forestry Commission aims to encourage people to visit forests who may not have otherwise do so. Research indicates that 44% of music fans are visiting a forest for the first time. 95% of attendees stated that they were interested in attending a similar event in the future. Overall, 78% of respondents indicated that they were interested in returning to the site of their interview for reasons other than attending a concert.