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Liam Fray announces one-off acoustic Christmas gig in Manchester

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Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 24th October 2023

Liam Fray has announced he’ll be playing a special one-off acoustic Christmas gig here in Manchester this December.

The Middleton-born musician has, of course, made his name by being the frontman of Manchester indie rock band, Courteeners, for nearly two decades now – but more recently, he’s also been going solo too, and has been performing some special unplugged acoustic sets to hundreds of adoring fans.

And in just a few weeks time, he’ll be returning to his home city to do just that once again.

The 38-year-old will be taking to the stage at one of Manchester’s best-loved music venues for one night only in the lead-up to Christmas.

Fray notably performed a one-off acoustic set at the O2 Apollo back in January to raise worthy funds for the ‘A Bed Every Night’ scheme – which is run by Andy Burnham and the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity.

But many will remember that his last show in our city, however, was a sold-out headline gig at Heaton Park back in June of this year, where a whopping 50,000 indie rock fans all came together to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Courteeners’ debut album St. Jude.

St. Jude ended up going straight to the top of the UK Album Charts when it was re-released in January this year, which made Courteeners only the third band to hit number one with a reissue after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Liam Fray has announced one-off acoustic Christmas gig in Manchester / Credit:

So now, to round-out what has clearly been a successful year, Fray has announced one last live show.

He’ll be performing a one-off acoustic Christmas set at Albert Hall in Manchester city centre on Sunday 17 December, with tickets set to go on sale this Friday (27 October).

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You can grab tickets when they go on general sale at 9am here.

Featured Image – Liam Fray (via Instagram)

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US rising star Reneé Rapp announces huge Manchester arena gig as part of European tour

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Reneé Rapp has just announced a European leg to her upcoming tour, and she’ll be stopping off in Manchester for a huge arena gig.

In just a few short years, Reneé Rapp has become a star… and her star is only rising higher.

At just 25-years-old, the critically-acclaimed musical theatre and TV actress has pivoted to become an undeniable pop sensation and film star – and an iconic figure in interviews too… which isn’t a job, but it should be – after landing her breakout role as Regina George in the Mean Girls musical on Broadway back in 2019.

Even though she chose to reprise her role as Regina George in the 2024 movie adaptation of the Mean Girls musical, since 2022, Rapp has largely turned her attention to her solo music career.

Reneé Rapp will be performing at Manchester’s AO Arena next March / Credit: Supplied

2022 saw Rapp release her debut EP, Everything to Everyone, before she then went on the channel her raw talent and authentic voice even further, and release her first full-length studio album Snow Angel in 2023.

Both 2024 and 2025 have been big musical years for Rapp too – so much so that she has now amassed more than 1.4 billion streams and counting across her entire discography. 

An already-successful 2025 is about to become even more successful, as Rapp’s second album, Bite Me, is expected to be released on 1 August, and she’s also heading out on a highly anticipated US tour from late September through to late October.

Following on from her US tour, Rapp has today announced that she’ll be heading across the pond to Europe in the new year, and will be making her way over to Manchester to take to the iconic AO Arena stage in March 2026.

Amsterdam, Berlin, and Paris are just some of the other cities Rapp will be visiting before Manchester, ahead of closing out the tour at London’s Wembley Arena.

Reneé Rapp will be playing a huge gig at the AO Arena in Manchester on Wednesday 18 March 2026 as part of the ‘Bite Me Tour’, and tickets officially go on sale next week – with both pre-sales and general sale available.

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The Three+ presale will begin on Wednesday 30 July at 10am, and the AO Arena presale will start on Thursday 31 July, again at 10am, before general sale launches on Friday 1 August at 10am.

Get your tickets when they go on sale here.

Featured Image – Publicity Picture (Supplied)

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Road to Victory returns for massive Euro 2025 final screening at AO Arena

Danny Jones Danny Jones watch 2025 women's euros final at AO Arena Manchester screenings

England are in another final, and you know what that means: Road to Victory is returning to Manchester for another massive screening at the AO Arena as England’s women’s team prepare to defend their Euros trophy.

Sarina Weigman’s side made it to their second consecutive European final on Tuesday night following more late drama for the Lionesses against Italy.

The squad, which has seen a number of personnel changes since Euro 2022, managed to make it through to the final in the eleventh hour thanks to another stoppage-time equaliser from Michelle Agyemang and even more tense follow-up from a scuffed spot-kick by Chloe Kelly.

Will they ever stop giving us heart palpitations at major tournaments? Probably not, but the big watchalong party inside the AO Arena, which will see thousands turn up to watch the Euro 2025 final, is sure to deliver plenty of excitement either way.

For anyone unfamiliar with the massive fan zone – one of THE biggest in all Europe, in fact – Road to Victory is the unparalleled supporter party by AIX (Amplified Immersive Xperiences) Live, who specialise in the top-end of audio-visual matchday viewing vibes.

Having hosted huge screenings for the previous men’s Euros and the Qatar World Cup, and even inspiring a massive watchalong of last season’s Europa League final at the venue, Road to Victory (RtV) is just about as big and bold as it gets.

Think BOXPARK in London only bigger, more interactive and, dare we say it… better?

Yes, we do dare say it; having attended RtV on multiple occasions since it landed here back in 2022, we can confirm you won’t find an atmosphere quite like it anywhere else. At least not in Greater Manchester, anyway.

Case and point:

With doors to the women’s Euros screening opening at 4pm, there’ll be plenty of time for pre-match build-up before the game gets underway, and there’ll be plenty of entertainment, light displays, food, drinks and more – it’s just up to Manchester fans to be in full voice.

The Women’s European Championships certainly have a more all-ages, family-friendly feel to them, but Road to Victory and the AO Arena are still ensuring they deliver a palpable match-day energy.

Tickets are already live following England’s place in the last two of the Women’s Euros now confirmed, it’s merely a matter of securing yours and finding out who, out of Germany and Spain, will meet them in the final this weekend.

Once again, the 2025 Women’s Euros final kicks off at 5pm on Sunday, 27 July, and you can grab your tickets for the Road to Victory screening at the AO Arena in Manchester right HERE.

It’s coming home.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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