High-flying indie five-piece Blossoms have credited Courteeners as a “big reason” that they became a band in a recent interview.
The Stockport outfit – who enjoyed an utterly stellar 2024 amidst the release of their critically acclaimed album, Gary – have not long finished their most recent tour, but they claim it may never have happened without the Middleton group.
And they don’t just mean in terms of inspiration: as they explained, it was the Courteeners’ generosity and support during their early days that helped them get a foot in the door.
Speaking to Radio X earlier this week, Blossoms were invited to look back on what was unquestionably a massive year for music and review it from A-Z; when they arrived at the letter C, there was only one answer that came to mind.
When you are supporting the Courteeners at 7 but have to set a fiendish riddle for Batman at 9.
Tom from @BlossomsBand pulling off some clobber that not many others could at Old Trafford this weekend!
— XS Manchester – 106.1 FM, DAB+ & App (@XSManchester) September 27, 2021
Drummer Joe Donovan said of the fellow Greater Manchester music icons: “They’re a big reason that we’re a band – having a band so close to home, that felt like we can do this.”
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Speaking about the Middleton-based indie rockers, he went on to insist, “We can’t thank them enough for being so kind to us.”
Blossoms not only supported Courteeners at their massive 2023 Heaton Park show but have twice been warm-up acts for Liam Fray and co. at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
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The first occasion came back in 2017 towards the start of their career, having not long released their debut record and still a year before they would release their sophomore outing.
All three gigs were obviously massive, both in helping put the local lads on the map and get their music out to new audiences and in helping nurture what is clearly a close relationship between the two bands.
During lockdown, Fray and the Blossoms combined for an ‘isolated’, stripped-back and ultimately viral cover of the classic 2008 Courteeners track, ‘Please Don’t’, from their first-ever LP St. Jude, which was recently re-released as a 15th Anniversary Edition.
Cut to a few years later and each band is still riding their own waves of popularity, with the Stopfordians only getting bigger as time goes on and Courteeners returning with their seventh studio album, Pink Cactus Café, back in October – on which Blossoms bassist Charlie Salt featured.
As they put it, their forerunners turned collaborators gave them “the belief” to not just play but keep making music and releasing it into the world, not to mention giving them the confidence to perform the kind of charismatic and much-talked-about live shows they’re known for today.
We have no doubt Blossoms x Courteeners connections will remain strong for years to come and you can almost bank on them sharing a festival stage or big headline billing again in the near future.
It won’t be long before the former are back on the road either, with plenty of gigs coming up this spring and summer, and we’re sure you’ll hear more live news from the Courteeners soon enough too.
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press Image (supplied)
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A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester
Danny Jones
Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.
Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.
Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.
Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.
Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.
As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.
It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.
With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.
Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.
Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)
Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.
The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.
Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.
Olly Murs cancels Manchester gig after walking off stage six songs into huge arena show
Daisy Jackson
Olly Murs has now officially cancelled his show in Manchester tonight, a day after walking off stage just six songs into a huge arena gig.
The Heart Skips a Beat star had been performing in Glasgow last night when he abruptly stopped the show, apologised to fans, and left the stage.
The gig was cancelled around 30 minutes into his show, which is part of a huge UK arena tour that was meant to be heading to Manchester tonight.
A tearful Olly said that he was seeing a doctor last night and would update fans of the rest of his shows ‘as soon as I know anything’.
It’s now been confirmed that his gig at the AO Arena will not be going ahead.
Olly Murs said in a statement: “30 minutes into my set in Glasgow I lost my voice & unfortunately had to leave the stage midway through the show. This has never happened before and not something I take lightly.
“I’m sorry to all the fans who came out to the show last night and am forever grateful for your support.
“To everyone in Manchester and Birmingham I’m deeply sorry, but am unfortunately going to have to cancel my shows this weekend. I have contracted a respiratory infection and have been instructed to go on a strict 48 hour voice rest by the doctor to ensure no further damage to my vocal cords.
“I have been enjoying this tour so much, and am so sorry to let down my fans – but have to put my health first. I’m hoping to be fighting fit in a few days to finish this amazing 15 year celebratory tour with a bang.”
In a video he shared to Instagram last night, Olly Murs said: “Firstly I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I had to walk off after six songs and cancel the show. I’ve never done this in 15 years.
“Most of the time as singers you can kind of get through it if your voice isn’t 100% – I walked out tonight thinking my voice was great, I maybe felt a little bit run down but I didn’t think I couldn’t do the show. I wouldn’t have come out there otherwise.
“So to walk off after six songs, as I said, I’m so sorry. As you can probably hear from my voice, I just sounded rubbish and it’s unfair for you guys that spent all that money to come and see me. You deserve the best show and me being at my best, and I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart.
“Hopefully I can recover from this.
“I’m actually going to see a doctor tonight which is great, so I’ll give you guys an update as soon as I know anything. Obviously I wanna try my absolute best to make these shows possible at the weekend.
“So yeah, so sorry for everyone tonight, apologies from the bottom of my heart. Gutted.”
Danny Jones -
8th January 2025 
