Stockport five-piece Blossoms are set to perform at a festival set within a forest not too far from Manchester next year in line with the rollout of their latest album, Gary.
The newest announcement sees the cheeky chappies/stylish Stopfordians set to headline Forest Live 2025 set in Delamere, Northwich, which has been running since 2001.
Blossoms are the newest addition to the concert series as both The Script, music legend Sting and Manchester’s very own Elbow are headlining various dates in other green spaces. The local lads have also announced a number of other open-air gigs along with their Forest Live date.
This marks the second year that Live Nation has partnered with Cuffe and Taylor to deliver the forest-bound festival. Other Forestry England locations taking part include Cannock Chase, High Lodge, Thetford and Westonbirt Arboretum.
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Last year, Forestry England – who is hosting the event as the organisation that looks after Delamere Forest and the surrounding areas – planted 7.4 million trees and welcomed 285 million visits throughout the 2023/24 season, as every person in England lives within an hour of one of their forests.
As for the local band themselves, Blossoms have gained a huge cult following since releasing breakout hit ‘Charlemagne’ back in 2015, amassing hundreds of millions of streams following their debut.
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Lead vocalist Tom Ogden, drummer Joe Donovan, lead guitarist Josh Dewhurst, keyboardist Myles Kellock and bassist Charlie Salt have had an unreal year, with their biggest-ever gig at Wythenshawe Park and their brand new number-one album.
Inspired by an eight-foot gorilla of the same name that was stolen from a Lanarkshire garden centre in 2023, Gary has been an instant critical and commercial success.
Come on, how stunning a setting is that? (Credit: Supplied)
Support will be provided by up-and-coming Oldham act Seb Lowe and another North West breakthrough, The Guest List.
Blossoms are set to play Forest Live 2025 in Delamere Forest on Saturday, 21 June 2025 and tickets will be available from 9am on Friday, 25 October.
Prices for the festival pass start from £61.50 and you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
Blossoms playing Castlefield Bowl for Sounds of the City 2023.Tom and Gary at Wythy Park this past summer.We’ve had very good fun watching these lads over the past few years – don’t miss out on this one.
Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)
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Fontaines D.C. announce massive return to Manchester on new European tour
Daisy Jackson
Fontaines D.C. have just announced their biggest headline tour to date, including a massive arena gig here in Manchester.
The wildly popular Irish rock band are set to play a whopping 20 arena shows across Europe and the UK this autumn.
The tour has been announced in celebration of their upcoming fifth studio album, Dopamine Chamber, which is set for release this October.
Fontaines D.C. will hit the road just five days after the album drops, kicking off their European tour in Lisbon on 21 October.
Then they’ll make their way over to the UK, with shows in Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham and London.
Fans in their home country of Ireland are told to stay tuned for live news very soon.
As we speak, Fontaines D.C. are warming up to play one of the country’s biggest festivals, with headline slots at Reading & Leeds Festival.
They’ve already released Marianne, the first single from their new album, and frontman Grian Chatten says of the album: “The album itself is a dopamine chamber. You step inside and we test these different mind- or mood-altering pieces of music on you.”
The new record has been recorded between London, the English countryside, and Palermo, where Chatten recorded vocals in a makeshift booth built from mattresses and cushions.
He said: “There’s a poignant sense of us being on the brink of some other kind of form of humanity, or non-humanity.”
Tickets will go on general sale at 10am on Thursday 3 September, with pre-sale live from 10am on Tuesday 1 September.
You can access tickets for Fontaines D.C. in Manchester HERE.
Fans who pre-order Dopamine Chamber from the official store by 6pm on Monday 31 August will gain access to the UK pre-sale.
Fontaines D.C. UK tour dates in full
Friday 20 November – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
Saturday 21 November – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
Sunday 22 November – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Tuesday 24 November – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Wednesday 25 November – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Major headliner pulls out of Manchester Village Pride
Daisy Jackson
One of the Manchester Village Pride headliners has had to pull out of their scheduled appearance, just one day before the celebrations begin.
Nadine Coyle was supposed to be headlining the LGBTQ+ event on Friday 27 August.
But in a statement shared by Manchester Village Pride today, they announced that the former Girls Aloud star is ‘under the weather’.
Nadine will be pulling out of her headline slot to ‘rest and recuperate’, but added that she hopes to see Manchester for Pride again soon.
Thankfully, Manchester Village Pride has already found a suitably fabulous replacement for the main stage on Friday – B*Witched.
The iconic Irish girl group will be encouraging ticket-holders to dig out their double denim and dance to hits like C’est La Vie and Rollercoaster.
In the statement shared by Manchester Village Pride, Nadine’s team said: “Nadine is so sorry to have to step out of Manchester Village Pride this year. It was her very first Pride many years ago and she loves getting to spend time with you all.
“Nadine’s voice has been under the weather and she only wants to give absolute best to you all which sadly won’t be possible this weekend as she needs time to rest and recuperate.
“We hate to do it so near the day. Nadine was really hoping she was going to be well enough and hopes she can see you in Manchester for Pride again soon.
“Thank you for being so kind and understanding and we hope you have a wonderful weekend.”
Manchester Village Pride added: “We know how excited many of you were for a massive hit of 2000s pop nostalgia, and we promised you a party. We’ve been working around the clock, and we are beyond thrilled to announce that pop royalty B*WITCHED are stepping in at the eleventh hour!”
Thomas Melia -
22nd October 2024 
