The re-emergence of country music as a mainstream genre in recent years can be put down to a handful of individuals, one of which is the North Carolina-born hit machine, Luke Combs.
The bearded ‘Prince of Country’ rolled into town with his band and his beers to put on a show in the penultimate UK location before heading to the capital to round off a sell-out tour of just about every country with an arena but make no mistake, this man is no prince — he’s a king.
As the arena filled up and anticipation built ahead of a perfect Tuesday night soundtracked to a drunken sing-song, spirits were already high as the lights went out to make way for the national anthem of beer drinkers: ‘Sweet Caroline’.
With the crowd primed and ready, Luke emerged and raises the roof with an opening of ‘Lovin On You’ and ‘Hannah Ford Road’ before addressing the crowd of 18,000 admirers donning trucker caps and cowgirl boots, confessing, “I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time.”
Luke Combs looked at home in the AO Arena (Credit: The Manc Group)
Making Manchester’s AO Arena feel more like the Grand Ole Opry with his unique storytelling and grizzly sound, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter serenaded spectators with ballads and classic country anthems leaving no arm unraised and no beer unattended.
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Luke gave his fellow band members their flowers, then also an opportunity to show off their musical ability and vocals mid-show, declaring the lead guitarist ‘the best singer I’ve ever heard…’
In the middle of his crowd-pleasing performance of ‘1, 2, Many’, Combs pulls out his trademark move of throwing a beer to one eager fan so they can shotgun it together — a memory they are unlikely to ever forget and one we dearly wish belonged to us.
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For his big finale, Combs roars out the fan favourite, ‘The Kind Of Love We Make’, declaring his love for the city and sending fans away with stories of ‘I was there’ and a serious case of beard envy.
It was just about him though, the band deserved every bit of the props he dished out.
In case our affection for the Southern powerhouse wasn’t already totally unconditional, he reaffirmed our loves in spades in that moment and with that whole performance.
Nobody yet knows when the Asheville native will be back on UK shores, but given Combs’ track record of putting together music we don’t think you’ll have long to wait, you may, however, need to get in the queue a bit earlier next time.
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If you’re not already a country music fan, we strongly urge you to give Luke Combs a try and we’re fairly certain you’ll be a convert in no time — see you at the next one we he inevitable sells out the AO Arena yet again.
We will never understand how he makes ‘Fast Car’ better than the original.
Lola Young shares first public statement since cancellations and stepping away from the spotlight
Danny Jones
UK pop star Lola Young has shared her first public statement since cancelling the remainder of her tour and stepping away from the spotlight.
Lola Young, 24, took a break from her still-burgeoning career after numerous concerning incidents on stage, including throwing up and even passing out in the middle of a performance.
The BRIT School graduate announced the unfortunate cancellation of her upcoming shows “for the foreseeable future”, including a gig here in Manchester, at the end of September.
Breaking her silence after the best part of three months, the London-born singer-songwriter took to social media in a fairly brief but heartwarming statement.
As you can see, the time away from the public eye certainly seems to have been beneficial, telling her followers that “it has helped more than you will ever know”.
In addition to embracing ADHD – even labelling her hit song ‘Messy’ as an “ADHD anthem” in multiple anthems – she was also diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder at just 17.
The latter can include symptoms such as psychosis, hallucinations, intense mood swings, bipolar mania, depression and more.
All that being said, we’re glad to hear that she’s on the mend; we saw her back in March, and you could tell from the crowd that she’s already got a very passionate cult following.
Both conditions and their associated obstacles have obviously affected her, but have equally helped influence her music and lyrical material, certainly, too.
Responding in the comments, fellow artist SZA wrote: “Love you, starfire angel. Your music is FULL of longevity and substance! We’re so grateful for you”.
Joining in support, ‘dark pop’ musician Carter James added, “Your wellbeing comes before anything. So excited for your next chapter whenever it arrives!”
We hope she’ll be doing better enough soon to get back on stage when she’s ready.
Fans are preparing to pay tribute to Mani from The Stone Roses ahead of his funeral service
Danny Jones
Stone Roses fans and Greater Manchester locals alike are getting ready to pay their respects to the late, great, Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, following his tragic passing last month.
As well as details surrounding his funeral being announced earlier this week, the iconic Manc musician’s cause of death has also finally been revealed.
While Hatton’s service featured a high-profile cortège which started all the way from his hometown of Hyde, past multiple landmarks and ending at the Etihad Stadium, those local to Mani’s family home on the edge of Stockport are also being welcomed to help send him off.
It's the funeral of Mani of the Stone Roses on the 22nd. He lived locally. This poster is asking people to line the route of his funeral cortege to "show that he truly was adored". pic.twitter.com/X0DYHl10Hp
He had been struggling with emphysema for some time; he was declared dead at his home in the suburb of Heaton Moor, and is said to have died peacefully in his sleep.
As you can see from the posters put in various places around the area, residents wishing to pay their own tributes to Mani before his private funeral service at Manchester Cathedral are encouraged to line the long street leading down from St Paul’s and Heaton Moor United Church as he heads towards the city.
Departing Parsonage Road from 10am on Monday, 22 December, before turning right onto Heaton Moor Rd, then Wellington and eventually on to the Cathedral, you can expect plenty of people to show up.
One of those people will be his former bandmate and another influential guitarist, John Squire, who is one of many famous musical names to have honoured him in their own way over the last few weeks.
Other members of The Stone Roses, as well as Primal Scream (who he joined in 1996), are expected to join the close family and friends at the service itself.
Nevertheless, we have no doubt that plenty will be observing the funeral in their own way.
So, for those of you also looking to honour him, you know what to do; and to quote the poster itself, “together we can show this local legend and his family that he was truly adored.”
The Manc Audio -
18th October 2023 
