Ben Howard brought his 10th anniversary tour of I Forget Where We Were to Aviva Studios on Monday night under a moody Manchester sky and while the gig was by no means perfect, it was still as transportive as we’ve come to expect from the seasoned solo artist.
Still up there with one of the most boundary-pushing singer-songwriters in the country for our money, as one person in The Manc office put it, Ben Howard has always seemed like a talent who simply loves making art but has absolutely no interest in the fame that comes with it.
It seems like a pretty astute assessment, especially judging by his performance at the home of Factory International, which for many will no doubt have been a great start to the week but for the man himself, it looked like a tough one to get through.
That being said, there are few things that can hold back that kind of talent and it was still a stunning set for so many reasons.
Ben and his technicolour tree. The stage design and bespoke visuals really added to the experience. (Credit: The Manc Group)
First off, a special mention needs to go to support artist Billie Marten, who we’ve been waiting to see live for some time and did not disappoint. A pitch-perfect warm-up act that felt completely in line with the tone of the evening of music ahead.
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A soft, sweeping, beautiful voice much like the headliner. Definitely one to get in the earphones if you haven’t done so already.
But on to Ben himself, the 37-year-old opened the show on seemingly top form, welcoming more than half a dozen band members with him onto the stage and doing what he does best: starting quietly before building out the songs from an acoustic guitar to what feels like producing an album track live on stage.
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Although his career may have started with just him and his instrument, it doesn’t take long to understand why he has so many other session musicians on these tours: there are just so many layers to these truly enchanting soundscapes he creates that merely playing a backing track wouldn’t do it justice.
From the haunting horns knitting together these 10-year-old tracks (still hard to believe, we know), to the multiple guitars and strings elevating the overall profile of each song to something closer to an orchestra, you don’t get to hear many albums this authentically realised in every aspect.
A big shout-out to the venue as well; it was our first time visiting Aviva Studios for a straightforward concert and the one thing that struck us besides the sheer size of the place – no, seriously, the room was beyond massive – was the acoustics.
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You could hear every inch of that extremely fulsome sound no matter where you were in the enormous gig space gig and they were only further complemented by the visuals which were genuinely mesmerising at times.
Both visually and sonically, we couldn’t really fault anything about the performance for the majority of the evening, but then things started going wrong and it resulted in an unfortunate tail-off from a visibly frustrated performer.
It wasn’t just some moody auteur pageantry playing into the ‘troubled artist’ vibe either as far as we could tell – he even apologised for losing his temper at one point.
We’re not entirely sure what headspace Ben Howard was in on the night but let’s just say he gave Manchester an honest performance, at the very least.
Highlights included ‘Oats in the Water’, ‘End Of The Affair’, ‘Rivers In Your Mouth’ and ‘Conrad’. (Credit: The Manc Group)
He continued to have technical issues the longer things went on and battled through them charmingly, for the most part, but it became apparent that it was becoming too much of a distraction to plough through as he would have liked to.
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With so much distortion and various effects being pumped out, it was almost like he was fighting with the pedals more than they were doing him any favours and at one point he simply decided to do away with them and revert to the stripped-back string-picking that he has always excelled at.
We kind of wish he would have just stuck that rather than try and persist when things were clearly going wrong; at one point he even kept playing with three broken strings and that was arguably more impressive than any other moment in the entire set.
It culminated in him walking in the middle of the encore whilst his band were still left to play out the title track people had people waiting all night to hear. There were rumblings of confusion in the crowd and some understandable grievances; it’s not the first time it’s happened either, sadly.
Whatever the case may be, we hope he’s ok and that no one involved has to struggle through the same issue we did. He’s already said music in general is more difficult following his two mini-strokes, but it still goes without saying that he’s one of the most unique singers and guitar players around.
‘Keep your head, keep your heart strong.’
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Not how we wanted it to end but it still gave room for the fans to show their appreciation for the fantastic band. (Credit: The Manc Group)
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.
The Warehouse Project reveals return to Rotterdam for second-ever overseas event
Danny Jones
The Warehouse Project has confirmed it will be returning to Rotterdam in 2025 for just its second-ever overseas event.
After debuting abroad in 2023 with an action-packed few days in the city of Rotterdam – whose art scene, music culture and even canal network bears lots of similarities to Manchester – Warehouse Project is coming back for more.
There’s just over a month left of the 2024 WHP calendar; you’d think they’d be getting ready to wind down and enjoy the Christmas breather, but not so: the organisers are already planning what is set to be one of their biggest and best long weekends to date.
Set to take place over the early May bank holiday, the Dutch port city will once again play host to one of Manchester’s legendary club nights.
The second biggest city in the Netherlands behind Amsterdam, the next edition of Warehouse’s international series is set to return to Rotterdam RDM – a warehouse space very reminiscent of both Depot Mayfield and their original home at Victoria Warehouse.
WHP x RDM II is already being billed as an “unforgettable weekend” and if any of this year’s mainline events here in Manchester are anything to go by, they’re bound to live up to that promise.
There’s also a full FAQ page for anyone looking to find out more information regarding Rotterdam, the venue itself, travel and more.
As well as revealing the dates (2-4 May 2025), the organisers have already teased a good chunk of the lineup, with the likes of Chris Stussy, Peach, Four Tet b2b with Sammy Virji, salute and many more already confirmed.
With a slew of incredible acts, multiple afterparties on boats and other local venues, as well as plenty of opportunity to see the rest of Holland’s ‘Manhattan on the Maas’, this is going to be SO good.
We were lucky enough to have been sent to sample their inaugural Rotterdam date back in April of 2023 and, we have to say, it was an absolute blast.
Take it from us, if you’re considering being a part of this next event you won’t regret and we’ll be putting together an extensive guide to help you feel prepared for raving overseas. Registration for early access is already live, so sign up fast if you want to give yourself the best chance of being there.
Limited presale and accommodation packages will be available to those who have applied at 9am on Monday, 2 December (UK customers only). General admission tickets will go live from 9am n Tuesday, 3 December sale for UK and Dutch customers starts Tuesday 3rd December at 9am GMT/10am CET.
Rotterdam 2025 will be here before you know it, so take a boots-on-the-ground at what an international Warehouse Project date looks like down below:
Danny Jones -
22nd October 2024 
