This time of year really keeps you on your toes – Manchester’s calendar is full of gigs and festivals, and new ones are being added at light speed.
There are some huge gigs going on sale this morning, with new arena shows and other massive music events announced for later in the year.
Tickets are likely to fly out for all of these, so you’ll want to be poised at your laptop and ready to start shopping from the first on-sales at around 9.30am.
There’s everything from festival favourites to legendary rockers heading back out on tour.
Here are some of the Manchester gigs going on sale today, and how you can get tickets.
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Little Simz – 6 November
Little Simz gig tickets for Manchester go on sale today. Credit: Publicity picture
Little Simz has announced a brand new tour with her biggest UK gigs to date – and it will all kick off right here in Manchester this November.
The multi-award-winning rapper has already picked up awards for Best Solo Act, Best New Artist, Best New Album and even the 2022 Mercury Prize — all within the last three years.
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Just over a day after shutting down the Saturday set at Parklife 2023, she announced a limited run of just four shows that promise to be her biggest yet.
Tickets for Little Simz’s gig in Manchester on sale from 10am on Friday 16 June through See Tickets.
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The Prodigy – 17 November
The Prodigy Live Photo 2023 – Credit Andrea Ripamonti
Hot off the back of their blistering headline set at Parklife, The Prodigy have announced a massive UK arena tour.
The electronic music titans will be taking to the stage at the AO Arena in November.
It’s all part of their Army of the Ants tour, which will also visit venues across the UK, supported by SOFT PLAY (formerly known as Slaves) throughout.
General sale for tickets for The Prodigy at AO Arena Manchester begins at 9.30am on Friday 16 June with See Tickets.
Queens of the Stone Age – 14 November
Queens of the Stone Age Manchester AO Arena tickets. Credit: Andreas Neumann
These rock heavyweights will soon be hitting the road again on a huge European tour, including a visit to Manchester.
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The Seattle rockers have announced their The End Is Nero tour ahead of their headline slot of The Other Stage at Glastonbury.
You’ll be able to see the group back on stage in support their upcoming eighth studio album In Times New Roman…, which is due for release today.
Bring Me The Horizon tour including Manchester gig – and how to get tickets
Bring Me the Horizon have had a heck of a few years, selling more than five million albums globally, playing to sold-out audiences in more than 50 counties, and wowing crowds at festivals all over the planet.
The metal group, formed in Sheffield way back in 2004, are on their way back to the live circuit early next year with their Post Human: NeX GEn tour.
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You’ll catch them at the massive AO Arena on Saturday 13 January 2024.
Tickets go on sale with See Tickets from 10am on Friday 16 June.
American rap icon Ice Cube is another big name selling gig tickets for Manchester today – and he’s being supported by some fellow heavyweights from the music scene.
The ‘It Was A Good Day’ singer is going to be supported by hiphop group Cypress Hill, as well as rapper The Game.
Tickets for general admission will be priced between £63.25 and £96.25 including booking fees.
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Tickets for Ice Cube with Cypress Hill and The Game go on sale today at 10am from See Tickets here.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Featured Images — Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
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An ‘extraordinary’ new Live Aid musical is coming to Manchester on its UK tour
Emily Sergeant
An ‘extraordinary’ new musical based on Live Aid is coming to Manchester as part of an upcoming UK and Ireland tour.
Producers Jamie Wilson Productions say they’re ‘thrilled’ to announce that Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical will head out on a big UK and Ireland tour starting out in March 2027, and visiting loads of major cities along the way – including Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Nottingham, and plenty more.
The production take us back to 13 July 1985 – the day music united the world.
Live Aid was an unprecedented global music event that brought 1.5 billion people together, and they all have a story to tell about ‘the day rock ‘n’ roll changed the world’.
Now, more than 40 years on from that famous day, audiences in Manchester will get to discover the behind-the-scenes story of Live Aid in a whole new way, as Just For One Day – The Live Aid Musical is the story behind the greatest gig in music history.
What makes Just For One Day special? Nostalgia, relevance to today and a message for the new generation 🤘 pic.twitter.com/wRBV4Ar1Hv
— Just For One Day | The Live Aid Musical (@liveaidmusical) June 9, 2025
With hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, and more all featuring, these iconic artists made history at simultaneous charitable concerts in London and Philadelphia.
The musical is written by John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, with musical supervision, arrangements and orchestration by Matthew Brind, choreography by Ebony Molina, and casting by Stuart Burt.
“Just For One Day brilliantly reimagines why Live Aid worked then and why the humanity of that day still matters now,” commented Bob Geldoff.
“I’m delighted that more of the UK and Ireland will finally get to see this extraordinary and compelling musical. The reaction the show gets continually surprises and amazes me, standing ovations and people come back time and again, introducing the Live Aid story to new generations.”
Daisy Jackson -
15th June 2023 
