The Black Keys have just announced a huge arena show here in Manchester, which will form part of the new Co-op Live arena’s opening week.
The multi-Grammy Award-winning rock band will be performing at the venue very soon, with the show taking place on 27 April 2024.
The acclaimed duo have been behind hit songs like Lonely Boy, Gold On The Ceiling, and Howlin’ For You.
They already have 11 studio album behind them, with a 12th – Ohio Players – set for release early next month.
The Black Keys’ latest album will feature collaborations with names including Noel Gallagher, Beck, Greg Kurstin, Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and more.
The band are going to be one of the very first artists to perform at Co-op Live, which will be the UK’s largest live entertainment arena when it’s officially opened by Peter Kay on 23 and 24 April.
The rest of the venue’s opening season will be packed with more than 30 artists across 50 shows, including a seven-night Take That residency, a five-night UK exclusive residency as part of The Eagles’ final ever tour, Barry Manilow’s only UK arena show and Eric Clapton’s first Manchester performance in 10 years.
The venue was also recently announced as the host venue for the 2024 MTV EMAs, which will see the biggest names in music flock to the city for the first time.
Gary Roden, executive director and general manager at Co-op Live, said: “We are thrilled that a band of The Black Keys’ calibre will be taking to the stage.
“The show will be part of an amazing week of performances that kicks off a jam-packed opening season.Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is coming to Manchester on first-ever UK tour
“At Co-op Live our aim is to bring world-class talent to a city that lives and breathes music, and this line up epitomises that ambition. With our doors opening in a matter of weeks, we can’t wait to welcome the world to Co-op Live.”
When it launches next month, the state-of-the-art arena will have capacity for 23,500 gig-goers, with an innovative music-first design and 32 bars, restaurants and lounges around the site.
The huge venue stands beside the Etihad Stadium and is a joint venture between Oak View Group and City Football Group.
It also has a ‘smart bowl’ design that will bring gig-goers closer to the artist, and there’ll be no corporate branding to detract from the spectacle on stage.
Co-op members will gain first-in-line access to The Black Keys tickets through a designated presale from 10am on Wednesday 6 March 2024.
General sale tickets for The Black Keys show in Manchester will be available through See Tickets from 10am on Friday 8 March 2024.
Country star Tyler Childers is coming to town for his biggest Manchester show to date
Danny Jones
US country music star Tyler Childers is returning to Manchester for his biggest ever show in this city, and tickets go on sale very soon.
Fresh off the back of his new album, Snipe Hunter – which was only just dropped back in July – the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is riding a fresh wave of excitement after years of hard work within the genre, mixing in plenty of classic bluegrass and folk into his modern take on the classic American sound.
As one of the most-streamed and well-respected contemporary country musicians on the scene right now, the Kentucky-born solo star and understated acoustic guitarist often falls into that category of your favourite artist’s favourite artist.
Now Tyler Childers is coming to our most legendary arena as part of his UK and European tour early next year, and we’ll certainly be queuing online for tickets.
As far as AO Arena shows booked in for the new year go, we’re very excited about this one.
His seventh studio album has been well-received by his die-hard followers and newcomers alike, delivering that same traditional Appalachian storytelling and hard-bitten humour, as well as plenty of attitude and anecdotal idiosyncrasies, not to mention plenty of vocal range as always.
Having not long come back from a pilgrimage to India, Lawrence County king teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin (along with some help from Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn) to create one of his most eye-opening, broad and best records yet.
Post-release, the Associated Press went on to label him “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists”, and we tend to agree.
The LP immediately spawned plenty of fan favourites, and we certainly have ours – and the video has definitely had a hand in it:
It may just be his best work yet.
Experimenting with his current unique take on country rock sound more than ever, you couldn’t ask for a better time to go and see him live.
Once again, Tyler Childers comes to the AO Arena in Manchester on Sunday, 8 March 2026, with an official pre-sale available via Three+ from 9am on Wednesday, 10 September.
As for general admission, tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (12 Sep); you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
We don’t know about you, but we’re very much enjoying our country moment at the minute…
Lil Baby cancels entire European tour including Manchester Co-op Live date
Daisy Jackson
A major act at Co-op Live has cancelled their gig today, just weeks ahead of their scheduled appearance.
Rapper Lil Baby has called off his entire European tour, which included a massive gig here in Manchester.
Fans have been notified via email that the shows will no longer be going ahead.
The Grammy award-winning artist was set to play the Co-op Live on Friday 26 September as part of his WHAM World Tour.
But Lil Baby will no longer be performing in Manchester – along with cancelled shows in London and across Europe – due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
A statement from AXS sent to fans said: “The event organisers have been in touch to let us know that due to unforeseen circumstances, Lil Baby’s performance has now been cancelled.
“We will be automatically refunding your tickets to the method of payment you used to buy your tickets, so you don’t need to do anything further.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Lil Baby has released four chart-topping albums, with his seminal album My Turn going seven-time Platinum.
Fans have been voicing their dismay at the cancellation of the tour, with one writing on X: “All rappers do is cancel SMH. Lilbaby cancelled tour cba.”
Another wrote: “Why the hell has lil baby cancelled his show.”
Someone on TikTok said: “I woke up to this email now my day is ruined cos Wdymm.”
And someone else posted: “I PURPOSELY TOLD MY PEOPLE NOT GOING ON HOLIDAY FOR MY BDAY BECAUSE LIL BABY PERFORMING IN LONDON ON 27 THE NEXT DAY! FOR HIM TO CANNNNCEEELLLLL 2 WEEKS BEFORE.”
Daisy Jackson -
4th March 2024 
