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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There’s a big listening party for Taylor Swift’s new album happening in Manchester this week
Emily Sergeant
One of the biggest, if not the biggest, popstars in the world right now will be releasing a brand-new album this Friday, and there’s a dedicated listening party happening in Manchester especially for the occasion.
In case you aren’t a Swiftie, or you just generally weren’t aware, Taylor Swift announced back in early February that she would be unleashing her eleventh studio album, titled The Tortured Poets Department, on the world on 19 April.
Just like anything the 34-year-old singer-songwriter does, the surprise announcement of the new album – which is a follow-up to her 2022 critically-acclaimed and GRAMMY award-winning album, Midnights – pretty much broke the internet when it happened, and her dedicated fans have been counting down the days ever since.
Now, after months of eagerly waiting, the big day is finally happening this Friday, and in a bid to properly mark what a massive day it will be, one popular Manchester venue has decided to host a dedicated listening party, so that Swifties can unite under one roof and celebrate the special occasion together.
Fairfield Social Club (FSC) which has recently opened its doors in the heart of Manchester city centre, is inviting fans to “gather with your closest Swifties” and head on down to its Green Quarter venue this Friday for a night that’s “dedicated to Tay Tay and her legacy”.
Not only will you get to hear The Tortured Poets Department in full from start to finish surrounded by dozens of fellow fans, but there’ll also be a bunch of other Swift-themed activities too.
There’s a big Taylor Swift new album listening party happening in Manchester this week / Credit: FSC
These include a Taylor Swift pub quiz with questions to all about her life and groundbreaking career to test your knowledge, friendship bracelet-making sessions, and just the chance to share the love and swap stories with other Swifties.
If all of that didn’t sound brilliant enough as it is, there’s also set to be a selection of themed cocktails to sip whilst you spend time ruminating on what Taylor meant in the lyrics of her songs only released a few hours prior.
Oh, and the best bit? FSC promises there “won’t be a Scooter Braun in sight” on the night.
The Tortured Poets Department Listening Party is taking over Fairfield Social Club this Friday 19 April from 7pm right through until 10pm – with tickets now on sale setting you back just £6 each, and already selling fast.
Smash-hit musical Kinky Boots starring Strictly’s Johannes Radebe is coming to Manchester next year
Emily Sergeant
Smash-hit musical Kinky Boots is heading out on a tour of the UK next year, and the talented cast will be stopping off here in Manchester.
The Broadway and West End phenomenon, which is based on a true story and is an adaptation of a 2005 film of the same name, has become known and loved by musical theatre fans all across the globe since its stage debut back in 2012, and has scooped up several Tonys, Olivier Awards, and GRAMMYs along the way.
And now, it’s set for a revival starring Strictly Come Dancing‘s Johannes Radebe, and the production will be touring the UK and Ireland from January 2025.
Kinky Boots The Musical features a score by Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, and this new production will be directed by Artistic Director, Nikolai Foster – who has famously helmed productions of The Wizard of Oz and Billy Elliot, to name a few – as well as starring the fan-favourite Strictly pro as Lola, alongside and rising star Dan Partridge as Charlie Price.
Smash-hit musical Kinky Boots starring Strictly’s Johannes Radebe is coming to Manchester / Credit: Ollies Rosser (via Supplied)
In case you’re unfamiliar with the Kinky Boots story, here’s brief rundown.
After inheriting his family’s failing shoe factory and with a relationship on the rocks, life is proving to be very challenging for Charlie Price, but that is until he meets Lola – a drag queen whose “sparkle and unsteady heels” might just hold the answer to saving the struggling business.
The 2025 revival production is already being billed as “guaranteed to raise you up” and “celebrate everybody’s individuality” when it arrives here in Manchester next February.
👢 On sale to ATG+ members 👢
Kinky Boots The Musical, is strutting back to Manchester in a new production starring Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe and rising star Dan Partridge.
“Kinky Boots is one of the things I’m proudest of in my career,” commented Cyndi Lauper, on the musicals return to the road across the UK.
“I’m so excited that audiences will get to see it again, in a new production, as it’s like a happy pill, and we could all use some of that right now, so I can’t think of a better time or place to relaunch this special show in its place of origin.”
Daisy Jackson -
15th June 2023 
