Manchester is about to get blessed by the music gods this summer as our annual free jazz festival is making its way to the city centre very soon.
Whether it’s the rich and creamy vocals of Raye that feel like a warm embrace or the lively and energetic horns of Ezra Collective that get you on your feet instantly, jazz is beloved among us Brits.
Jazz aficionados and music lovers alike are welcome to rejoice in the resounding rhythms of this special genre for free as Manchester Jazz Festival returns for an equally special anniversary.
This iconic festival, commonly abbreviated to MJF, has been blasting out triumphant horns, piano riffs, vocal scats and more for a whopping 30 years, and they’re inviting everyone to party with them.
Manchester Jazz Festival is returning to the city centre this May.This year, Manchester Jazz Festival are celebrating their milestone 30th birthday.Credit: Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Manchester Jazz Festival is taking over First Street with tonnes of family friendly activities, food and drink vendors and, of course, lots of live music.
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So much live music that they don’t just have one stage; in fact, this summertime festival will be spread across three different stages with a sweet selection of over 20 different bands too.
This year sees the event running across three dates next month, all aimed at featuring the very best homegrown contemporary jazz artists, with a showcase for rising stars on the final day.
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We got to see the likes of Nubiyan Twist, adopted Manc favourites Conor & The GreensKeepers, Mercury Prize-nominated Corto Alto and tonnes more last time around.
The first batch of activities that will be taking place on 16 May include crafting with the geniuses from Plant, an ‘interactive Alice in Wonderland show’ and even a free yoga session.
Of course, there will be plenty more announcements and updates to follow, but this is already set to be a vibrant and exciting three-day party dedicated to keeping everything groovy.
In order to keep Manchester Jazz Festival ‘jazzin up your summer since ’96‘, they rely on donations to make the event accessible for all, support northern artists and keep running incredible creative projects.
That’s why, to celebrate this festival’s milestone birthday, a ‘£30 for 30’ campaign has been set up to raise money for the charity, which you can contribute to as you like.
Manchester Jazz Festival is returning for 2025 throughout First Street and further out into Manchester city centre from 16-18 May; best of all, as mentioned, the large majority of shows are completely free with no prior booking required.
However, if you’d like to keep attending events such as this, once again, you can pledge a donation to their ‘£30 for 30’ campaign, and it really does make a big difference.
You can check out the full lineup and events programme HERE.
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MJF 2025 is set to be packed with all the usual groovy tunes and fun activities.Smiles all round, especially when you’re watching live entertainment at this impressive festival.Credit: Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Featured Images — Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
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The Weeknd finally adds Manchester stadium gig to huge tour
Daisy Jackson
The Weeknd has added a whopping seven dates to his upcoming tour – including a stadium gig here in Manchester.
The Blinding Lights singer is taking his The After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour to massive venues across Europe next year, but had previously skipped our city in favour of London.
But today The Weeknd has announced a night at the Etihad Stadium next June, along with new dates in Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon, Copenhagem, Munich and Lille.
The diamond-certified global star performed here back in 2023, with a giant moon balloon hanging over the Etihad Stadium.
The 2026 After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour was already a 40-date sold-out stadium tour, and now the Live Nation produced tour has added extra stops.
Playboi Carti will appear as The Weeknd’s support act on all EU/UK dates.
The Weeknd adds Manchester gig to upcoming stadium tour
This particular tour celebrates his album trilogy of After Hours (2020), Dawn FM (2022), and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025).
The Weeknd will perform at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester on 11 June 2026.
Tickets will go on sale via an artist presale and Mastercard presale from 12pm on Tuesday 14 October, followed by a Nespresso presale, and then general sale from 12pm on Friday 17 October.
The Weeknd UK and European dates for After Hours Til Dawn 2026 tour
Thu Jun 11 – Manchester, UK – Etihad Stadium – NEW DATE
Fri Jun 19 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken – NEW DATE
Sat Jun 25 – Munich, Germany – Allianz Arena – NEW DATE
Fri Jul 3 – Lille, France – Stade Pierre Mauroy – NEW DATE
Wed Jul 8 – Paris, France – Stade De France – NEW DATE
Fri Jul 10 – Paris, France – Stade de France
Sat Jul 11 – Paris, France – Stade de France
Sun Jul 12 – Paris, France – Stade de France
Thu Jul 16 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
Fri Jul 17 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
Sat Jul 18 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Johan Cruijff ArenA
Tue Jul 21 – Nice, France – Allianz Riviera
Wed Jul 22 – Nice, France – Allianz Riviera
Fri Jul 24 – Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium
Sat Jul 25 – Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium
Sun Jul 26 – Milan, Italy – San Siro Stadium
Thu Jul 30 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park
Fri Jul 31 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park
Sat Aug 01 – Frankfurt, Germany – Deutsche Bank Park
Tue Aug 04 – Warsaw, Poland – PGE Narodowy
Wed Aug 05 – Warsaw, Poland – PGE Narodowy
Sat Aug 08 – Stockholm, Sweden – Strawberry Arena
Sun Aug 09 – Stockholm, Sweden – Strawberry Arena
Mon Aug 10 – Stockholm, Sweden – Strawberry Arena
Fri Aug 14 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
Sat Aug 15 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
Sun Aug 16 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
Tue Aug 18 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
Wed Aug 19 – London, UK – Wembley Stadium
Sat Aug 22 – Dublin, Ireland – Croke Park
Sun Aug 23 – Dublin, Ireland – Croke Park
Fri Aug 28 – Madrid, Spain – Riyadh Air Metropolitano
Sat Aug 29 – Madrid, Spain – Riyadh Air Metropolitano
Sun Aug 30 – Madrid, Spain – Riyadh Air Metropolitano
Tue Sep 1 – Barcelona, Spain – Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys – NEW DATE
Sat Sep 5 – Lisbon, Portugal – Estadio do Restelo – NEW DATE
Lady Gaga is a tour-de-force of talent at the Co-op Live Manchester
Clementine Hall
Lady Gaga proves she’s a truly world-class act after two sold-out nights at the Co-op Live Manchester, as if we needed any reminding.
The city of Manchester has been flooded with harness-wearing, mesh-sporting little monsters over the past two days.
And that’s because the absolute icon that is Lady Gaga brought her ‘Mayhem Ball’ to the Co-op Live for two nights.
I don’t think you’ll find anyone who doesn’t know who this fabulous woman is. Over the past decade, she’s won an Oscar, headlined the Super Bowl, performed in blockbusters alongside Al Pacino, no less, and her songs are literally ingrained into our minds.
It’s been a whole 11 years (yes, really) since she performed in Manchester, and it’s safe to say she was back with a bang.
The performance was split up into five distinct acts, and each one was as exhausting and exhilarating as the next.
She begins the show by bopping out of a comically huge red dress, but this staging was only the start of what madness was about to ensue.
Luckily, we’d been prepared by the other half of the Audio North team, who had the equal privilege of seeing her on night one and were left similarly speechless.
Throughout the 30-song epic, we had crutches, sand pits, cages, skeletons, enough wigs to produce an amateur production of Annie, and we didn’t question any of it. Why would we? It’s Lady Gaga.
Kicking things off with ‘Bloody Mary’, the two and a half hour marathon didn’t leave any stones unturned.
We had all the bangers, from ‘Just Dance’ and ‘Paparazzi’ to ‘Bad Romance’ and ‘Applause’, it had us wondering why any other superstar even bothers putting a song out these days.
Pop is in a good place at the moment with the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish and so on, but you can make a strong case for Gaga having helped pave the way for every lady in the business ever since.
Gaga truly had us in the palm of her hands (or claws at one point), even more so when she left the stage to de-robe and show her more vulnerable side for the last two songs – beanie firmly on.
It wasn’t just a concert: this was a fully-fledged tour de force of talent that Manchester won’t forget any time soon.
Sometimes there’s no point in intellectualising why someone has that ‘X-factor’; sometimes you just have to take a step back and say WOW.
Thomas Melia -
10th April 2025 
