Manchester musician Robbie Cavanagh is set to release his third studio album at the end of this month – and he’s announced a homecoming gig at Band on the Wall to celebrate.
The artist, recipient of the Bob Harris Emerging Artist Award, will be performing at the iconic gig venue on Thursday 18 May.
It’s ahead of the release of Tough Love, which is due for release on Friday 26 May. Robbie and his band have announced a pair of very special live shows, the first of which will be in the newly-refurbished Bar room of Band on the Wall.
This homecoming gig will be a celebration of his history with the city, from trips to see the family’s beloved Manchester City to discovering the joys of live music around our many gig venues.
Robbie now lives in the city centre and is a familiar face on the stages of The Blues Kitchen, The Castle and Gullivers, alongside a whole host of other venues he has performed in regularly over the past 10 years.
Robbie, who has lived and worked around Manchester his whole life, says he’s a devotee of ‘real music’. That means great musicians, real instruments, and performances packed with emotion.
He says he’s in the game to create ‘fine dining music’.
‘Tough Love’ will come as a grittier and stronger-minded letter to himself and to anyone who may need a touch of tough love.
Robbie has written his album over the last five years, creating a record of ‘country tinged americana with british blood running through its veins’.
Robbie Cavanagh
While creating this latest release, he went on a journey of self-reflection and maturity, which is reflected in each track.
It’s a contrast to his previous 2017 album ‘To Leave/To Be Left’, which grappled with emotions of loss and self-pity from leaving or being left behind.
Over the years, Robbie Cavanagh has received huge nods of approval from the likes of Bob Harris on BBC Radio 2 (“One of my absolute favourite UK grassroots artists”) and BBC Radio Manchester, Absolute Country Radio and Chris Country Radio.
He and his band have also taken to the stage at festivals like Kendal Calling, Wilderness, Black Deer, Cornbury, Silverstone Woodlands, Americana Fest UK & USA, British Country Music Festival, Maverick, and Buckle & Boots.They’ve performed in the UK, Europe and USA alongside artists including The Shires, Us The Duo, Charlie Winston, Wildwood Kin, Ferris & Sylvester, The Wandering Hearts, Mary Gauthier, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Fiona Bevan, Cale Tyson, and Aaron Lee Tasjan.
After their show at Band on the Wall, Robbie and his band will make their way down to London to perform at Pizza Express’s intimate underground live venue in Holborn, a very special show hosted by ‘Nashville Meets London’, on 24 May.
Tickets for Robbie Cavanagh’s gig at Band On The Wall on 18 May are on sale now with See Tickets.
Robbie Cavanagh 2023 tour dates
18 May – Band On The Wall, Manchester
24 May – Nashville Meets London
9 June – Thorington Theatre, Suffolk
23 July – Coolham Music Club
25 August – The Long Road Festival, Lutterworth
3 September – The British Country Music Festival, Blackpool
Plus more UK live dates to be announced for autumn 2023.
Featured image: supplied
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A bring-your-own booze music venue is opening in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new nightlife concept offering bring-your-own-booze is coming to Manchester this month.
XLR will be the very first BYOB licensed music venue in Manchester, and it’s set to open on Wilmslow Road later in September.
Club-goers will pay for a ticket, then can bring their own beers and alcohol inside the club.
They say they want people to be able to make ‘the night as expensive as you want it to be’.
XLR owner Chris said that clubbing has lost its way from the early 2000s heyday and become ‘very corporate’, so it’s hoped that this new concept will break down those money barriers.
Tickets will be priced between £10 and £20, with lockers provided inside so that you can safely store your booze.
XLR will open on 24 September with appearances from Yung Singh and Bushbaby.
Owner Chris said in a teaser snippet today: “We’re bringing a really new and exciting concept to the venue this year, where customers can bring their own alcohol into the venue.
“Clubbing has come so very far away from what it used to be, sort of back in the early 2000s, and the early 90s as well.
“Clubs were meant to be about the music, whereas now it’s become very corporate, very money grab.
“The clubs used to be cheap and the bars used to be expensive.
“Clubs now, they’re just run very commercially.
“We don’t want people feeling like they’re being priced out of venues anymore.
“It’s very important that anyone can come to a club. We all know the crisis that’s going on with clubs and hospitality this year.
“When you pay for your ticket, you know you’re paying for the DJ, you pay for the promoter, you’re helping the venue to survive, you’re contributing to the culture.
“So the tickets will be £10 to £20, you can bring your own beers in, bring your own alcohol in, we’ve got lockers in place so that you don’t have to leave everything out on the dance floor.
“That’s the way that we’re gonna go this year. We hope that you get on board with the concept.
“We hope that you drink responsibly, because that’s really important as well.
“We’ll see you in September.”
See the latest from XLR Manchester on their Instagram HERE.
Soft rock heroes Foreigner announce UK tour including big Manchester gig
Thomas Melia
Foreigner are bringing their soft rock classics over the waters and to the UK as they embark on a new tour which features a Manchester stop.
Formed in the 70’s, Foreigner are a British-American rock band known for their catalogue of soft rock, including hits like ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and ‘Cold As Ice.’
These rockers have gained a newfound following of late thanks to their music making an appearance in an array of yet more contemporary TV shows like Stranger Things, Euphoria, Wednesday and more, having been heard in plenty of films over the years.
This UK tour marks the band’s return to Manchester after four years – and no, you’ve not got ‘Double Vision’: they are in fact revisiting the same iconic arena they played back in 2022, AO Arena.
The band may look a little different on their next visit as Kelly Hansen, former vocalist of Foreigner, has stepped down after 20 years and has handed the reins over to the equally impressive Luis Maldonado.
This newest gig announcement, set for 2026, will celebrate a landmark 50 years since the band formed back in 1976, and you can expect to hear all their greatest hits.
Foreigner are no strangers to the charts with a chart-topping album and single as well as five Top 40 hits and five Top 40 albums – I guess you could call them the ultimate ‘Juke Box Hero’.
The band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2024, and to celebrate, they played their timeless classic ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ with pop singer Kelly Clarkson performing alongside.
Whether you’re there for ‘Urgent’, ‘Double Vision’ or ‘Waiting For a Girl Like You’, the New York-formed rockers will be smashing out their variety of anthems at AO Arena next year.
Now, Foreigner are coming back to Manchester and the AO Arena on Thursday, 18 June, with tickets for the gig going on presale this Wednesday, 3 September at 10am GMT.
As for general admission tickets, they will be available from the same time on Friday, 5 September – you can get ready to grab yours right HERE.
They’re not the only rock legends booking big Manc arena gigs recently, either.
Daisy Jackson -
6th May 2023 
