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Bob Vylan dropped from Manchester music festival following Glastonbury controversy

It's not the only planned set to have been scrapped.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 2nd July 2025

English punk rap duo Bob Vylan have been dropped from an upcoming music festival in Manchester following the recent controversy surrounding their set at Glastonbury 2025.

The media storm surrounding their much-talked-about and heavily televised Glasto appearance has seen them reportedly dropped by their agency and their US Visas cancelled, along with multiple concerts – one of those being right here in Greater Manchester.

Bob Vylan were scheduled to play RADAR Fest at Victoria Warehouse in Stretford this weekend, but now the organisers have informed gig-goers that the artists will not be performing in their planned slot on Saturday.

The alternative music event did provide any additional details, posting nothing but this image:

radar festival cancels bob vylan set
Credit: RADAR Festival

For anyone unaware, Vylan were heavily criticised for the pro-Palestine chants, which Glastonbury itself has deemed as having “crossed a line”, labelling the chants against the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as antisemitic.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also commented on the situation.

In addition to RADAR, Vylan were also due to appear at Kave Fest in France the following Sunday, 6 July, but the music event has also decided not to host them.

The BBC also opted not to broadcast Northern Irish band Kneecap as part of their coverage this year, as the Belfast rap trio have also been outspoken on the issue, among many other musicians of late.

Responding to the decision on social media not long after the news broke, the act simply shared the post on their Instagram story along with the caption: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester, we will be back.”

The pair have said that they are being “targeted for speaking up.”

At present, an official police investigation has been launched into both Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances, with footage from both shows to be reviewed in order to decide whether their respective comments amounted to a criminal offence.

A statement added: “This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our enquiries are at an early stage.”

You can see the rest of the remaining RADAR Festival 2025 lineup down below.

RADAR Festival returns to Manchester with huge lineup this summer and you can still get tickets
It gets underway on Friday, 4 July.

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Featured Images — NMK Photography (via Flickr)

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Transport ‘masterplan’ announced as more than 300,000 fans hit Manchester for Oasis reunion gigs

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of Oasis’ huge run of reunion gigs starting next week.

Manchester is all set for a sensational summer of sound, and as more than 300,000 music fans prepare to descend on our city next week as a little-known band called Oasis (sarcasm detected) reform for the first time in over a decade, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now announced its plan to transport everyone to and from Heaton Park.

With the Gallagher brothers staging five nostalgia-drenched gigs starting from next Friday (11 July), the transport network wants to make sure no one is left ‘looking back in anger’ over their travel arrangements.

Travel arrangements for the hotly-anticipated reunion shows have involved months of planning by TfGM and its partners, so over the next couple of weeks, you can expect to see additional staff on the network, more frequent, all-double tram services running to Heaton Park from Victoria station, and a shuttle bus service running from the city centre.

TfGM’s state-of-the-art control room will also be operating 24/7 to monitor and coordinate the public transport system and respond to any emerging incidents as they materialise.

Here’s everything you need to know.

A Metrolink tram in Manchester city centre
Oasis reunion rehearsals have begun says Liam Gallagher
Greater Manchester’s transport ‘masterplan’ has been released ahead of the Oasis gigs / Credit: TfGM | Simon Emmett (Publicity Picture)

Travelling by tram

The best way for fans to beat the traffic and get to the 80,000-capacity outdoor venue over the five dates will be to travel using the Metrolink network.

On each night, there will be a six-minute service from Victoria Station to Bury – the only city centre station with a direct tram to Heaton Park – and this service will be capable of carrying 4,000 passengers an hour, with concertgoers travelling from other lines told to change onto a Bury-bound tram at Victoria.

If you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane, as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights.

Both the Bowker Vale and Heaton Park stops are just a few minutes away from the park gates, but as as the Heaton Park stop will be closed at 9pm on all nights, if you have a ticket for front standing, your best option is to get off and on again at Bowker Vale, which is the closest stop to the venue entrance on Sheepfoot Lane.

For the shows on 11, 12, and 19 July, the final trams will leave for the city centre at 2:02am and for Bury at 1:16am, and on 16 July, the last trams will run at 1:32am to the city centre and 12:46am to Bury.

Travelling by tram to Heaton Park is recommended by TfGM / Credit: TfGM

Travel by shuttle bus

Alternatively, there will be frequent shuttle buses from Lever Street in the Northern Quarter from 1:30pm on each event day, with the last bus departing at 7:30pm.

Buses will then start running back to Manchester after the event – with the city centre drop-off point being Shudehill Interchange – from a temporary bus station inside Heaton Park from 10pm, and buses will continue to run until all passengers have cleared the bus station.

Limited shuttlebus tickets, priced at £10, are available, but these must be purchased in advance through the Bee Network app.

Further details on how to buy the tickets can be found on the Bee Network website.

Driving to the venue

There will be increased congestion and various road closures in place around Heaton Park and the surrounding areas on each of the event dates.

Those who have to drive or need to be dropped off and picked up are encouraged to consider taking advantage of the 24 ‘park and ride’ sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park for free and hop on a tram to your destination.

The park and ride sites on the Bury line are Whitefield, with 331 spaces and 13 disabled spaces, and and Radcliffe with 480 spaces and 22 disabled spaces.

Shuttlebus services will be in operation on all dates of Oasis’ run of gigs / Credit: TfGM

And if all of that wasn’t busy enough as it is, Manchester will also be playing host to a number of other big events during Oasis’ run of shows – including Kool & The Gang at AO Arena and Billie Eilish at Co-op Live.

So as you can see, public transport and roads will be busier than usual during this exciting time, so TfGM encourages everyone to allow plenty of time for their journey and check the Bee Network app or website for the latest travel advice.

Read more:

All the latest travel updates for Oasis Live ’25 shows can be found here.

Featured Image – TfGM

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Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Live music crowd

Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.

If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.

From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.

The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.

This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.

Manchester skyline
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)

Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.

So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.

Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10. 

Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.

2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied

“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.

“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”

While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.

Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.

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“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.

“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”

Featured Image – Alex Bracken (via Unsplash)

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