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.
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.
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.
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.
Country star Tyler Childers is coming to town for his biggest Manchester show to date
Danny Jones
US country music star Tyler Childers is returning to Manchester for his biggest ever show in this city, and tickets go on sale very soon.
Fresh off the back of his new album, Snipe Hunter – which was only just dropped back in July – the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is riding a fresh wave of excitement after years of hard work within the genre, mixing in plenty of classic bluegrass and folk into his modern take on the classic American sound.
As one of the most-streamed and well-respected contemporary country musicians on the scene right now, the Kentucky-born solo star and understated acoustic guitarist often falls into that category of your favourite artist’s favourite artist.
Now Tyler Childers is coming to our most legendary arena as part of his UK and European tour early next year, and we’ll certainly be queuing online for tickets.
As far as AO Arena shows booked in for the new year go, we’re very excited about this one.
His seventh studio album has been well-received by his die-hard followers and newcomers alike, delivering that same traditional Appalachian storytelling and hard-bitten humour, as well as plenty of attitude and anecdotal idiosyncrasies, not to mention plenty of vocal range as always.
Having not long come back from a pilgrimage to India, Lawrence County king teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin (along with some help from Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn) to create one of his most eye-opening, broad and best records yet.
Post-release, the Associated Press went on to label him “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists”, and we tend to agree.
The LP immediately spawned plenty of fan favourites, and we certainly have ours – and the video has definitely had a hand in it:
It may just be his best work yet.
Experimenting with his current unique take on country rock sound more than ever, you couldn’t ask for a better time to go and see him live.
Once again, Tyler Childers comes to the AO Arena in Manchester on Sunday, 8 March 2026, with an official pre-sale available via Three+ from 9am on Wednesday, 10 September.
As for general admission, tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (12 Sep); you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
We don’t know about you, but we’re very much enjoying our country moment at the minute…
Lil Baby cancels entire European tour including Manchester Co-op Live date
Daisy Jackson
A major act at Co-op Live has cancelled their gig today, just weeks ahead of their scheduled appearance.
Rapper Lil Baby has called off his entire European tour, which included a massive gig here in Manchester.
Fans have been notified via email that the shows will no longer be going ahead.
The Grammy award-winning artist was set to play the Co-op Live on Friday 26 September as part of his WHAM World Tour.
But Lil Baby will no longer be performing in Manchester – along with cancelled shows in London and across Europe – due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
A statement from AXS sent to fans said: “The event organisers have been in touch to let us know that due to unforeseen circumstances, Lil Baby’s performance has now been cancelled.
“We will be automatically refunding your tickets to the method of payment you used to buy your tickets, so you don’t need to do anything further.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Lil Baby has released four chart-topping albums, with his seminal album My Turn going seven-time Platinum.
Fans have been voicing their dismay at the cancellation of the tour, with one writing on X: “All rappers do is cancel SMH. Lilbaby cancelled tour cba.”
Another wrote: “Why the hell has lil baby cancelled his show.”
Someone on TikTok said: “I woke up to this email now my day is ruined cos Wdymm.”
And someone else posted: “I PURPOSELY TOLD MY PEOPLE NOT GOING ON HOLIDAY FOR MY BDAY BECAUSE LIL BABY PERFORMING IN LONDON ON 27 THE NEXT DAY! FOR HIM TO CANNNNCEEELLLLL 2 WEEKS BEFORE.”
The Manc Audio -
18th October 2023 
