Stevie Nicks will be performing in Manchester tonight with a huge, rescheduled show.
The Fleetwood Mac icon wowed crowds at London’s Hyde Park last Friday, in a gig that included a surprise appearance from Harry Styles himself.
And given that Harry is a key investor in the new Co-op Live arena in Manchester, where Stevie Nicks will perform tonight, all eyes are firmly glued on that stage.
Her enormous discography spanning both her years with Fleetwood Mac and her solo career includes hit songs like Dreams, Leather and Lace, and Landslide.
These are Stevie Nicks’ first UK shows in almost seven years, and she’s among the first rock acts to perform at Manchester’s shiny new Co-op Live arena.
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If you’re still heading down to her rescheduled concert, here’s everything you need to know.
Why did Stevie Nicks reschedule her Manchester show to the new date?
Stevie Nicks was originally set to perform at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Tuesday 9 July.
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But due an injury, the star pulled out of the scheduled gig, as well as her Glasgow date which was called off just hours before doors opened.
In a statement shared on Instagram stories, it was announced that she required a ‘minor surgical procedure’ which will put her out of action for ‘a few days’.
She didn’t take much time off though and is heading back to Co-op Live on 16 July.
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Are there still tickets available for Stevie Nicks at Co-op Live?
There are still quite a few tickets for tonight’s show, with a range of prices and seats available.
Seats in the upper tier are priced at £87.50 each, or £109.95 for an aisle seat.
Tickets in the lower bowl are also £109.95.
Then for the very best seats in the house, on the ground of the Co-op Live arena bowl, you’re looking at between £177.50 and £210.95 apiece.
Scottish star Nina Nesbitt will be warming up the crowds for Stevie Nicks with her beautiful indie-folk sound.
She’s perhaps best-known for her single Stay Out, which peaked at No. 21 on the UK singles chart.
Nina first caught the world’s eye supporting Ed Sheeran back in the early days of her career, more than a decade ago.
She has announced she’ll release her new album, Mountain Music, in September this year, ‘an album for the girl who grew up in the small town, the twenty-something trying to find her way in the big city and the person I am now looking back at the view of it all’.
The below setlist is the one Stevie Nicks followed at Hyde Park last week – featuring that unbelievable surprise appearance from Harry Styles.
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Artists do often change these up before their show, but this should give us a good idea of what’s coming.
Outside the Rain Dreams If Anyone Falls Gypsy For What It’s Worth Free Fallin’ Wild Heart Bella Donna Stand Back Gold Dust Woman Leather and Lace Edge of Seventeen Encore: Rhiannon Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around (with Harry Styles) Landslide (with Harry Styles)
Travel info – how to get to Co-op Live, parking etc.
Tram
Now, as for how you’ll get to shows at Co-op Live, luckily it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
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Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Bus
If you want to take another new and improved arm of Manchester’s public transport system, not only is there a whole host of routes that drop you off close to the venue but there’ll also be a free shuttle bus from the city centre to and from events between 20 April-30 June 2024.
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue but this must be pre-booked ahead of time and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day – though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
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Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the boke all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Bez and Shaun Ryder are starring in a new gangster movie – nope, not kidding
Danny Jones
No, you didn’t misread the headline and you’re not on acid: Manchester music legends Bez and Shaun Ryder are set to feature in a brand-new gangster film.
Yes, the ones from the Happy Mondays – why are you having such trouble processing this?
Seriously though, we did a little double-take ourselves when we came across this news, but the familiar Manc faces look to be among the ensemble of a brand-new gangster movie by Irish writer, actor, producer and filmmaker, Ciaron Davies.
And this is just a little leak or rumour that may have been blown out of proportion: you can take it from the horse’s mouth as Happy Mondays frontman, Ryder, recently shared the news on social media.
As you can see, the new film is called Geezers and is billed as a “British crime caper” written and directed by Davies, featuring Shaun as hard-man Robbie and Bez as ‘Monk’. If you saw Ryder shaking off that snake biting his hand like it was nothing then you already know he’s hard as nails.
Although it’s not strictly listed as a comedy per se, ‘caper’ would suggest plenty of humour and light-heartedness, so we’re thinking more like The Gentleman, Italian Job, or maybe even Four Lions, rather than a serious crime thriller.
Now, while we’ve seen both of the Salfordians on screen before not only in the likes of music videos, interviews, panel shows and even as two of the funniest guests to ever go on Celebrity Gogglebox, this latest venture will serve as their respective acting debuts.
According to the IMDb page, the synopsis of the film is as follows: “Crime caper about a stolen bag of money. Caught in the crossfire are ‘The Geezers’ a bunch of wannabe criminals who have bitten off more than they can chew. With 24 hours to grab the cash, London may just go up in smoke tonight.”
Shame it’s not set on the mean streets of Manchester, or better yet Salford, but you’ve still very much caught our interest.
You can see the first promotional poster for the film down below.
As for Davies, he has been involved with a number of small-budget TV film projects, as well as appearing in shorts and even video games, so it’s fair to say that getting 62-year-old Ryder and his ever-energetic hype man, 60, involved is quite the coup for his movie-making career.
Although the film has no release date just yet, we know that filming locations having included parts of Warrington and Pinewood Studios, will be produced by Loose Gripp Films and distributed by publishers High Fliers.
Given the high-octane nature of Geezers and its genre, the feature will involve lots of action, stunts, violence and even martial arts – though how much kung-fu these two will have learned for the project remains to be seen…
All we know is that the film is supposedly “coming soon” and if you don’t want to see Bez and Shaun Ryder doing their best impression of a Guy Ritchie gangster movie then you’re lying to yourself. Praying for a Rowetta cameo to put the cherry on top.
Featured Images — Shaun Ryder (via X)/Loose Gripp Films/IMDb
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Blossoms at O2 Ritz Manchester – five-night hometown residency is already a triumph
Daisy Jackson
Blossoms are a band who were born and forged here in Greater Manchester, and now they’re back retracing their steps with a five-night residency across the venues that launched them into the big leagues.
Their star has risen all the way to arena level and headline shows at Wythenshawe Park at this point, especially here in their hometown, so the chance to see them back in these cosy-ish little venues is special, and a little bizarre.
For night two of their landmark sold-out gig series, it was the turn of the O2 Ritz, that sweaty spot off Oxford Road where the floor bounces downstairs and you stick to the carpets upstairs.
Poetically, the first time I ever saw Blossoms was in this very room in 2016, when they had the mid-afternoon slot at Neighbourhood festival and the queue to get in went all the way back to St Peter’s Square.
Since those days, Blossoms have come a long, long way, and their live show has evolved and matured from five lads thrashing on their instruments to this well-oiled, hip-swaying, flares-wearing, chart-topping machine.
There’s even choreography now – how fancy!
A stand-out moment from the show is actually a song from their new, fifth studio album Gary, which is still barely eight weeks old.
A spoof recording of legendary Manchester indie club 42s rings out, then all five band members abandon their stations, slinging keytars and marching drums around their necks so that they can dance together in front of neon signs.
Blossoms have just done their second of five shows in Manchester, this time at the O2 Ritz. Credit: The Manc GroupBlossoms on stage at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Blossoms promised more disco with this album and they bloody meant it. It’s not just the flares and the blow-dries and the moustaches (though those do help) – it’s in the funk and groove that’s gradually crept into their music exponentially with each album release.
This is still indie rock but it’s the most danceable of its genre. Good luck keeping your shoulders from wiggling and jiggling in here. Good luck keeping that grin off your face.
And Gary is one of the most unexpectedly fun albums to be released in the last year – the fact they called it Gary, named after a giant fibreglass garden centre Gorilla, should’ve been our clue. It could border on silly were it not such a masterpiece.
It seems like the only thing Blossoms are trying to prove is that you can be wildly successful without taking yourself too seriously. They just seem like a group who want to have a good time and it’s totally infectious.
Case in point – when each band member is introduced, keyboardist Myles Kellock plays the riff of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi and The Biz. Unexpected.
Blossoms also clearly give a sh*t about their live shows and graft at it – I’ve seen these guys an awful lot and it’s because their tour dates are plentiful and consistently worth the ticket price.
This is definitely the biggest era of their career so far, but have they peaked? Not even close.
Daisy Jackson -
16th July 2024 
