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Ne-Yo and Akon announce huge joint arena show in Manchester

Holy nostalgia

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 27th January 2026

Two R&B greats are heading out on a joint headline tour for the first time, as Ne-Yo and Akon announced the Nights Like This global tour.

Both artists are Grammy Award winners, and each has a formidable back catalogue of chart-topping hits.

For Ne-Yo, that includes songs like Miss Independent, So Sick, and Closer; while for Akon, he’s responsible for huge tracks like Smack That, Lonelty, and Right Now (Na Na Na).

Between them, they’ve shaped and defined radio, nightlife, and pop culture for decades.

This newly-announced tour will see the pair performing on the same stage – for Manchester, that’s the Co-op Live arena – for a co-headline Nights Like This tour.

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They’ll perform in a unique back-and-forth set throughout the show, visiting venues right across the UK and Europe, as well as heading across to the USA and Canada.

Ne-Yo and Akon announce huge joint arena show in Manchester

The nostalgic gigs will feature everything from slow jams to club anthems, with a party atmosphere throughout.

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Ne-Yo and Akon will perform at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 1 May 2026, with tickets on sale from Friday 30 January at 10am.

There will be an artist pre-sale on Wednesday 28 January at 10am.

Nights Like This EU/UK 2026 tour dates

  • Fri 24 Apr – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
  • Mon 27 Apr – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena Newcastle
  • Tue 28 Apr – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
  • Thu 30 Apr – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
  • Fri 1 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
  • Mon 4 May – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham
  • Fri 8 May – London, UK – The O2 Arena
  • Tue 12 May – Paris, FR – Accor Arena
  • Fri 15 May – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
  • Sun 17 May – Antwerp, BE – AFAS Dome
  • Tue 19 May – Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion
  • Wed 20 May – Cologne, DE – LANXESS arena
  • Fri 22 May – Oslo, NO – Unity Arena
  • Sat 23 May – Stockholm, SE – Avicii Arena
  • Sun 24 May – Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
  • Tue 26 May – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena
  • Wed 27 May – Prague, CZ – O2 Arena
  • Thu 28 May – Berlin, DE – Uber Arena
  • Sat 30 May – Vienna, AT – Wiener Stadthalle
  • Sun 31 May – Lodz, PL – Atlas Arena

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Audio

Olivia Dean to play intimate Manchester gig as part of BRITs Week 26 for War Child

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

More huge names have been added to the line-up of intimate charity shows ahead of the BRIT Awards coming to Manchester.

BRITs Week 26 for War Child will see major artists playing their most intimate shows, taking over grassroots venues across the UK.

These exclusive shows are in aid of War Child, to help fund aid, education, and specialist mental health support for the rights of children whose lives have been affected by war.

Already announced are Fatboy Slim, Myles Smith, and Josh Baker who will be performing at intimate venues in cities such as Manchester, Nottingham, and Newcastle.

And now, another wave of acts have been announced for BRITs Week 26 including the lady of the moment, Olivia Dean, who will be performing at the Albert Hall.

Image: The Manc Group

Also joining the gig series is Spiritualized who will be taking to the stage in London, and The K’s who will be performing at our very own Gorilla.

The gig series, delivered by DHL, will be the biggest yet and offers fans a chance to see one-off performances from some of the most exciting names in music in smaller, iconic venues, with all proceeds going towards War Child’s vital work.

BRITs Week will take place around The BRIT Awards 2026 with Mastercard, taking place on Saturday 28 February at the Co-op Live – the first time in the awards’ 50-year-history that it’s left the capital city behind.

The very special opening night show on 12 February will see Grammy Award-winning Fatboy Slim performing at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle.

And up here in Manchester, War Child has teamed up with The Warehouse Project to put on two nights at YES – one with Mixmag’s Year Defining DJ Josh Baker, and the other with DJ Mag’s One to Watch Rossi.

The full lineup for BRITs Week 26 for War Child is below

  • 12th February – Fatboy Slim – Boiler Shop, Newcastle, supported by Max Jones 
  • 16th February – Lambrini Girls – The Garage, London, supported by Bimini
  • 18th February – Spiritualized – EartH Theatre, London
  • 20th February – The K’s – Gorilla,  Manchester
  • 24th February – Myles Smith – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham, supported by Saint Raymond
  • 25th February – Jack Savoretti and Katherine Jenkins OBE – Emerald Theatre, London, supported by Gabriella Cilmi
  • 25th February – kwn – Patterns, Brighton, supported by CARI
  • 25th February – Josh Baker – YES, Manchester, supported by Deliah and Alexandria
  • 26th February – Rossi. – YES, Manchester, supported by Olive F
  • 26th February – Olivia Dean – Albert Hall, Manchester
  • 27th February –  Jacob Alon – Music Hall at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

Clare Sanders-Wright, Head of Live Music at War Child, said, “This year’s BRITs Week shows are off to yet another brilliant start and we’re thrilled to add these new names, including three more headliners in Olivia Dean, Spiritualized, and The K’s to our lineup as well as some really exciting support acts for the gigs.

“BRITs Week for War Child wouldn’t be possible without the incredible generosity of the artists, their teams, and our partners, including DHL and we couldn’t be more grateful. 20% of the world’s children are living through conflict right now, and the money raised from these unforgettable shows will help War Child continue our vital work to protect, educate and stand up for as many of these children as possible. Because no child should be a part of war. Ever.” 

Fans can sign up to the War Child pre-sale HERE, which closes at 3pm Wednesday 28 January. Pre-sale begins 10am on Thursday 15 January.

General on-sale begins at 10am on Friday 30th January HERE.

There are also £10 prize draws to win tickets to all shows open HERE.

Read more: Huge artists announce intimate charity gigs for BRITs Week 26 for War Child

Featured image – Supplied


Audio

Enter Shikari announce biggest Manchester gig to date on new UK arena tour

Danny Jones Danny Jones Enter Shikari Co-op Live Manchester gig date

British rock band Enter Shikari have just announced their biggest Manchester gig EVER as part of the UK leg of dates on their upcoming arena tour.

This is going to be massive.

Formed in St Albans back in 1999, it seems hard to believe that they’ve been at this for more than a quarter of a century already, as the alt-rock and electronic-influenced outfit still has just as much raw youthful energy as they did back then – especially on stage.

With that in mind, the latest raft of Enter Shikari live shows will see them head up and down the country, as well as across Europe and Australia.

Sharing the news on social media, the band wrote: “We’re excited to today announce Enter Shikari’s return to the arena stages of the UNITED KINGDOM.”

2026 UK dates include not only a pair of nights at London’s legendary Ally Pally, but their first-ever Glasgow arena show, and their Co-op Live debut here in Manchester.

The statement continues: “We’ll also be playing some of our biggest ever shows in EUROPE, including our first ever German headline arena show. For all these shows, we will be joined by our good friends Holding Absence [great band], as well as the wonderful The Callous Dao Boys from Atlanta, Georgia.”

Shikari will be heading down under first this coming May, where they’ll be supported by Grandson, but more importantly, here in Great Britain, “all tickets sold for UK shows will once again include a £1 donation to the Music Venue Trust.” You love to see it.

Having come up thanks to being platformed by small-cap venues across the nation, it should be a no-brainer for all bands to “support them in their endeavours to help protect and preserve grassroots level touring in the UK.”

We had the good fortune of chatting to them back when we were still going by The Manc Audio (now Audio North) ahead of the mini Manchester residency, and you could tell they still have no intention of slowing down all these years later.

As the boys go on to add in their post: “exclusive ‘Future Historians’ and mailing list fan presales start tomorrow [Wednesday 28 January] at 10am […] So if you’re not yet signed up to the mailing list, you’ve got time to correct that.

Official Co-op members can also enjoy exclusive early access via the venue from the same time tomorrow; meanwhile, general admission goes live at 10am GMT this coming Friday, 30 January.

Get ready to grab your tickets for the most massive Manchester show in Enter Shikari history on 19 November right HERE.

There’s plenty of other big stuff happening at Co-op Live already this year – arguably none more so than the 2026 BRITs. Find out more down below.

BRIT Awards 2026 nominations and first performer announced live in Manchester

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Audio North

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