If like me, you had resided in the fact that you’d never see the day that you’d be dancing with your pals and enjoying live music again, then you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief seeing the mass of gig and event announcements that are flooding your timelines.
But one person even more excited than us is Tom Kingham, co-founder of Open Beat, whose inaugural music event has been nearly two years in the making now.
Back in April last year, Open Beat were forced to wait it out like the rest of the music industry, after their launch night at Hatch was of course cancelled. Now, they’re full steam ahead with organising monthly live showcases of some of Manchester’s best unsigned talent.
And we’re finally allowing ourselves to get excited over the prospect.
But lockdown wasn’t all bad for Open Beat – as Tom recalls it was almost a blessing in disguise. It gave them the unique chance to refine their idea and widen their circle of contacts. “We’d kind of planned [the first event] pretty quick last year and didn’t think long term,” he said. “But now we’ve had a good year to plan it, it’s kind of worked in our favour because we’ve managed to get so many more acts on the cards.
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“That’s how big the expansion has gone now and we’re not just looking at the indie bands now, we’re also looking at the Manchester grime and hip-hop artists, too.”
In the beginning, Tom admits there were worries over the longevity of Open Beat, wondering, “are we going to be able to keep it up? Are we going to be able to find more and more acts to bring through? Or is it just going to be the same people?” In the end, lockdown forced the guys to take it slow and make careful decisions – and the result is more focused and determined.
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One thing at the forefront of Open Beat’s ethos is promoting the city’s up-and-coming musicians. The idea for the event first came about in the summer of 2019, when Tom and fellow co-founder, Miftah Ali, realised there was little in the way of a big platform for up-and-coming artists to play live.
With a history in organising music events, Tom has experience with some of the biggest events in Manchester like Warehouse Project and Parklife. But he shares humble beginnings putting on student nights at the old Tiger Tiger in the Printworks back in the day. So, he understands how these things work on multiple levels.
But even after working with such big events, Tom likes to go back to his roots with intimate open mic nights and showcases every now and again. Simply because of the connection you get with a smaller audience. “It’s the intimacy – you get emotionally connected to it because it’s just you and them,” said Tom.
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“Of course, there’re other people around you. But it’s not another 60,000 people – it’s just you, them, their guitar and the same appreciation of that act as you in the same room.
“These [acts] are really, really good – they’re good enough to make it and sign a deal. It’s just them not being in the right place at the right time – and we want to get them in the right place at the right time.”
So this ended up being the driving force behind Open Beat – to give these amazing artists the large platform they deserve, whilst bringing likeminded music lovers together at the same time.
Tom believes these kinds of opportunities are limited for unsigned artists. “[Music] is sort of like a pyramid system, like there would be in football. There’s a lot of money at the top but the further and further you go down, there is less and we kind of want to even the odds as much as we can.”
Tom and Miftah have already managed to grow the Open Beat team. Joining them are two members of the music scene. The first being DJ and Unity Radio presenter, Jermaine Lee, who has made appearances at Parklife, Warehouse Project and Victoria Warehouse. The second being singer Joe McAdam, who has also ran the legendary open mic night at The Whisky Jar for seven years. Together, they make up a solid team with tons of industry knowledge.
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With this growing team, expansion is more likely. So, aside from soon becoming a recognised and well-respected Manchester promoter, naturally there are plans take the concept to other cities. In doing this, the guys hope to jump into the festival scene and host their own small stage as a platform to do what they do on an even bigger scale. Still using the same local and unsigned talent, but giving them opportunities that really don’t come along all too often.
Now that we’re allowed to play out again soon, the thought of hearing live music again makes us want to burst. To get ourselves prepared, The Manc Audio will be partnering with Open Beat over the next few months to bring you even more of Manchester’s unsigned music. So, you’ll be hearing plenty from them in the near future as they finally get to live out their summer 2019 masterplan.
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie moves Manchester gig to AO Arena following Co-op Live cancellation
Danny Jones
Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has confirmed that his cancelled Co-op Live gig has now been moved to Manchester’s AO Arena this weekend.
After suddenly being lined up as the venue’s first official gig after the postponement of both Peter Kay and The Black Keys, the American hip-hop artists’ show ended up going the same as the others previously scheduled for the new arena and being pulled at the last minute.
With guests being turned away from the still-yet-to-open Co-op Live Arena just hours before the show was set to start, and Olivia Rodrigo fans being given the same unfortunate news ahead of her gig this Saturday, ABWDH has taken matters into his own hands.
Announcing the rescheduling of his concert on X, the 28-year-old artist confirmed that Wednesday night’s gig has now been relocated to Co-op’s main rival, the AO Arena.
Set to take place on Saturday, the artist – which just so happens to be his first name (yes, seriously) – had a simple message for his fans: “We won’t give up that easy, let’s go!”.
Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped the venue – which is set to become the UK’s biggest indoor entertainment venue and one of the largest in Europe when it finally does open – from announcing more events over the coming months and well into 2025.
Confirming the show on their social pages, the AO simply promised, “It’s going to be a brilliant night and we can’t wait to see you all here.”
The AO Arena has hosted some of the biggest names in the entire world in the course of its existence and recently underwent a £50m refurbishment that included the launch of The Mezz.
Safe to say this presents an interesting twist in events when so many people have been pitting the two venues against one another.
Question marks have been hanging over whether more upcoming gigs, like Keane on Sunday 5 May, and then a five-night run of gigs from Take That will still be able to go ahead.
It remains to be seen whether other artists will follow suit in moving their shows should more cancellations/postponements be announced.
You can recap everything that’s happened so far down below:
‘Disappointed’ Olivia Rodrigo issues statement to Manchester fans after Co-op Live postpones gigs
Emily Sergeant
Olivia Rodrigo has issued a statement to her Manchester fans after her run of gigs at Co-op Live have been postponed.
The US singer-songwriter was due to perform two massive sold-out shows tomorrow and Saturday (3 and 4 May 2024) here in Manchester at the city’s newest venue, the now-troubled Co-op Live, as part of her GUTS world tour – but, due to what has been referred to as “ongoing venue-related technical issues”, these gigs are now the latest in a long line of postponements.
New dates will be announced as soon as they’re confirmed, Co-op Live assured ticket-holders.
Co-op Live said in a statement: “Due to an ongoing venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed. Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund from their point of purchase.
“We deeply apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many.”
The Drivers License singer also took a moment to assure her presumably-disappointed attending fans that she too was “disappointed” by the situation.
In a statement shared to her 37.2 million followers on Instagram yesterday, Olivia wrote on her Story: “Hello! I’ve been having such a great time in Europe so far and I’m soooooo disappointed that we’re unable to perform in Manchester due to ongoing venue-related technical issues.”
The 21-year-old told Manchester fans that “we’re doing our best to reschedule” the shows.
Her statement continued: “You can hold onto your tickets for further info or request a refund at your point of purchase. More info will be sent directly to ticketholders.
“I’m so bummed and I really hope to see you all soon.”
As previously mentioned, the massive arena was supposed to open for the first time to the public last night with a performance by US rapper, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, but it was called off at the eleventh hour and fans were turned away from the doors just minutes before they were meant to open.
Co-op Live has now confirmed that the reason for the cancellation was due to a piece of the HVAC (air conditioning) system having “separated from the ductwork”.
Because of this, rigorous testing on the rest of the system now needs to take place before fans can safely be welcomed inside.
The next expected show on the Co-op Live schedule is Keane on Sunday 5 May, before beloved Manchester boyband, Take That, play a massive run of shows from 7-11 May and extra dates on 11 and 12 June.