Beloved indie veterans Bright Eyes are coming back to Manchester for the first time in more than three years as part of a brand new UK and European tour.
Formed back in 1995, the Omaha outfit has remained a cult favourite among music lovers all over the world, exciting fans with their latest comeback after an 11-year hiatus in 2020.
However, the Nebraska band have struggled with touring issues ever since, having to postpone a raft of shows during Covid and even after the pandemic was over, they had to cancel the remainder of their 2024 shows back following frontman Conor Oberst’s persistent vocal issues.
Bright Eyes confirmed that the lead singer had “developed a condition that is exacerbated by excessive singing” back in September, but with their new album finally out Oberst and co. are crossing back over the Atlantic to pick up where they left off.
JUST ANNOUNCED: We're delighted to share that @brighteyesband are coming to our venue on the 21st of June, following the release of last year's new album 𝘍𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘤𝘦, 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘴!
Releasing their fifth studio LP Five Dice All Threes towards the end of last year – their first new outing in half a decade – the long-standing group have already got back on the road in North America and are due to land in the UK this summer.
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Kicking off a run of 16 continental dates at Rock City in Nottingham, Bright Eyes arrive in Manchester on Saturday, 21 June and are set to play the legendary Albert Hall – a venue singer-songwriter Oberst himself played as a solo act back in 2017.
The last Manc venue they played was the equally iconic O2 Apollo back in 2022 and while they might have been away for a hot minute, their die-hard fandom hasn’t gone anywhere.
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As for the new self-produced record itself (recorded at Obert and Mike Mogis hometown studio), its been described as capturing an “uncommon intensity and tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation.”
Bascially, if you like the usual emotional introspection Bright Eyes deliver, this is more of it.
Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)/The Manc Group
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Blossoms announce new album and HUGE Manchester arena gig on UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Blossoms are back with a new album and UK arena tour later this year.
Tom, Joe, Josh, Charlie, and Myles – also known as Stockport’s finest, Blossoms – have today announced their sixth studio album, Songs From The Wedding Cake, alongside an upcoming UK arena tour this autumn to celebrate.
The new album and tour comes fresh off-the-back of the success of their previous studio album, Gary, named after an eight-foot fiberglass gorilla.
Songs From The Wedding Cake takes its title from a Stockport nickname for the town’s iconic Victorian town hall, which is where Tom got married. It’s an apt frame for a record built around one guiding idea – taking the ordinary moments of life and putting them through an extraordinary lens.
The result is said to be Blossoms at their ‘most expansive’ and ‘most personal’, providing an irresistible cocktail of 80s-flecked funk, heart-on-your-sleeve anthems, and dance-floor indie bangers.
Blossoms have announced a new album and a huge Manchester arena gig on UK tour / Credit: Supplied
In their own words, as taken directly from their Instagram announcement this morning, Songs From The Wedding Cake is: “What an absolute joy this record was to make. Written and recorded over the last year, it’s a collection of songs about what might seem like ordinary moments, viewed through an extraordinary lens.
“Joking about divorce, hire cars, crying at the Kardashians, Wikipedia rabbit holes, trips to The Range, falling asleep in a taxi, your arm going numb because someone’s asleep on it, the 192, being an additional driver on your wife’s insurance and losing her 20 years’ no-claims bonus (ffs), dancing in the kitchen to Grease, crying at videos of dogs on Instagram, picking up parquet flooring, saying the wrong thing, growing older together… you get the idea.”
Alongside the album, the indie rockers have also announced an accompanying UK arena tour for the autumn, and of course they’ll be stopping off in Manchester.
The lads will be taking to the Co-op Live stage on Saturday 28 November.
They’ll also be playing in other major UK cities London, Cardiff, Glasgow, and Birmingham along the way, with tickets for the tour set to go on presale next Tuesday (23 June) at 9:30am, before general sale commences on Thursday, also at 9:30am.
The band will be joined across all tour dates with very special guests, The Royston Club.
Songs From The Wedding Cake will be released to the world on Friday 2 October, and you can get tour tickets when they go live here.
Featured Image – Press
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Parklife 2026 – stage times, line-up, tickets, travel, and everything else you need to know
Daisy Jackson
Parklife 2026 is heading back to the fields of Heaton Park in Manchester this month, for another huge instalment of the legendary local festival.
Tens of thousands of fans will be making their way to the park ready for the party of the year, which attracts the biggest names in dance, electronic, pop and house music.
With headline sets this year from Zara Larsson, Calvin Harris, Skepta and Sammy Virji, it’s shaping up to be another epic year.
Parklife is consistently one of the biggest events in the Manchester cultural calendar and has lined up plenty of new developments this year.
From brand-new stages to that fancy VIP area unveiled last year, plus all the travel, tickets, and other info you need to know is below.
When is Parklife 2026?
This year’s Parklife is taking place on Saturday 20 June and Sunday 21 June.
As a reminder, this is a non-camping festival, so you’ll need to navigate your way there and home again each day.
Gates will be open between 12pm and 11pm on Saturday, and 1pm and 11pm on Sunday.
Last entry will be strictly 5pm on both days.
Stage times
Parklife 2026 will bring huge names back to Heaton Park. Credit: Sam Neill
Parklife has shared its full list of stage times and splits ahead of the big weekend, with live updates dropping on the app over the weekend.
You can see the full list of stage times HERE, but I’ll round up the major headliners below too.
On Saturday, East End Dubs will headline the new Panorama Stage from 9.30pm, with Rossi. on stage beforehand from 8pm.
Sammy Virji will headline the main Valley Stage from 9.30pm, with Skepta performing between 8pm and 9pm.
As for Sunday, the Valley Stage will be headlined by Calvin Harris from 9.25pm, Zara Larsson from 7.40pm, and Rudim3ntal from 6pm.
The Panorma Stage will have KETTAMA on from 8pm and Chris Stussy from 9.30pm.
Tickets for Parklife 2026
Parklife tickets are £100.75 each for Saturday, and £105.85 each for Sunday, with tickets still on sale.
You can see the latest availability and grab your tickets for Saturday HERE or Sunday HERE.
Weekend tickets for both days are also still available at £161.75 – see those HERE.
VIP and Backstage tickets and upgrades
The new ‘Backstage’ VIP viewing area at Parklife 2025The new ‘Backstage’ VIP bar area at Parklife 2025
Last year, Parklife unveiled its new-look VIP and Backstage areas right in the heart of the festival site, with dedicated viewing areas overlooking The Valley stage.
A VIP ticket also gets you fast-track entry to the festival, posher loos, a VIP cocktail bar, a separate street food market, and even access to a hair and makeup salon.
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If you really go all out on the Backstage ticket, that gets you an even posher VIP zone to hang out in, backstage toilets, covered seating areas, a pamper station, and a premium backstage bar.
You can upgrade to VIP for £46.05 on Saturday HERE, or Sunday HERE, or make your whole weekend VIP for £62.85 HERE.
Travel pass and how to get to Parklife
Parklife takes place up at Heaton Park, and while a lot of festival-goers do choose to walk home after the music stops, there are a lot of public transport and dedicated services to help you get home safe too.
The Parklife Travel Pass offers the best flexibility and the quickest ways to get to the festival as it covers any bus or tram service, including the direct Parklife Shuttle Bus.
The Travel Pass costs £8 for one day, or £14.95 for the weekend, and you can purchase it on the Bee Network app.
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Trams will operate every seven minutes between Victoria and Heaton Park – use the Heaton Park stop for entry to the festival, but bear in mind this stop will close from 9pm so you’ll need to use Bowker Vale to get home after this time.
The Parklife Shuttle Bus runs throughout the day, departing from Minshull Street to right outside the festival site. The first bus will leave at 10.30am on Saturday and 11.30am on Sunday, while the last buses will go at 4.30pm on both days. For return, departures are from outside the Woodthorpe pub by the West Gate to Shudehill, starting from 6.30pm and continuing until everyone is off the festival site.
Official car parking is available through the Parklife app, for spaces in the Sheepfoot Lane car park. Bear in mind there’ll be a number of road closures which may cause delays leaving the car park.
There is no longer an official pick-up point, with Sainbury’s no longer in use for pick-up and drop-off. Instead, those being collected from the festival should organise an area at least 1km away from the park.
Weather forecast
It’s looking like pretty great weather for Parklife 2026 so far (which is a relief because the last few years have been wet).
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According to the Met Office, Manchester will remain rain-free throughout both days of Parklife.
On Saturday, you can expect some cloud and lots of sunshine, with highs of 22º and lows of 14º.
Sunday will be much warmer, reaching 26º and getting as low as 17º.
The Hangar stage is so 2025 – this year, Parklife will be debuting a brand-new Panorama Stage, with a whopping curved 100m LED screen.
The festival’s new arrival will also have on-stage and behind-booth access, plus multi-tiered dance platforms right across the surrounding festival site.
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Parklife has shared new CGIs and a video of how the stage will look and this looks like it’s about to push the festival to a new level.
Banned items, lockers, and more
The list of banned items for Parklife 2026 is long, and includes the obvious (no drugs, no weapons, no glass) and the less obvious (no bikes, dogs, or hover-boards).
You are allowed to take an umbrella but it must be a compact one, can take sun cream but it needs to be in a 200ml or less original container, and you can take in an empty plastic bottle up to 500ml which you can refill at water points around the festival site.
Make sure you check the full list of banned items HERE so you don’t get caught out.
There are also lockers on site this year that you can pre-book, which you can access throughout the day for peace of mind while you party.
Danny Jones -
22nd January 2025 
