Up-and-coming Greater Manchester musician Elliot James Reay, from just down the road in Bury, has just joined fellow rising solo artist and already established US superstar Benson Boone on his upcoming American tour.
Yes, a lad from Bury is opening for the bloke who belts out that ‘Beautiful Things’ tune that’s been stuck near the top of the charts for what feels like the last year.
Fittingly joining Boone for the US leg of his American Heart tour supporting his sophomore album of the same name, 23-year-old Elliot James Reay has already played a trio of shows warming up the crowds ahead of the headliner and is quickly gaining new fans across the pond.
Especially since his music harkens back to some of their most famous music icons of all time.
The youngster is still having to pinch himself at the mere notion of being on the road with such a big name so early in his career, posting on social media this week, “How do I explain this one to my friends back in Bury?
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“A dream come true to be opening for Benson Boone in St Paul last night, I’m eternally grateful for the opportunity to sing to you all and thank you for all the love you gave me!”
Roy Orbison-obsessed Raey – who also takes plenty of look and feel from the likes of Elvis and Billy Fury, among other old school, soulful American singers – has gone from releasing covers on YouTube to dropping his first-ever EP back in June and now playing full Stateside stadiums.
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What a whirlwind journey it’s been for the local lad already.
The Manc songwriter and guitarist featured as one of our artists of the month last December, and we’re glad to see he’s only gone from strength to strength.
It’s fair to say that he’s matured a lot in the time since then, let alone the last 12 months or so, and booking a slot as a support act for as big as Benson Boone is right now is nothing short of huge.
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We said late last year, and we’ll say it again: we see a bright future ahead for this talented young Macunian, and we wish him all the best for the dozen or so remaining US tour dates.
If you haven’t listened to his stuff before, you can get a little taste with his latest single HERE.
Or, if you want to take our advice, why not watch a great music video filmed around some very familiar city centre sites down below?
He’s certainly got his own style, even if it his heavily inspired by some of the greats.
Drink prices for Parklife 2026 revealed, with big new discount leading to £5.04 pints
Daisy Jackson
As tens of thousands of music fans flock up to Parklife for the 2026 edition of the hit Manchester festival, the question they’ll all be asking is – what are the drink prices looking like?
Well thanks to sneak preview inside the festival site this afternoon, we can exclusively let you know exactly how much beer, wine, spirits and more will be costing you in Heaton Park this weekend.
The bars will be the same for Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts on Friday 19 June too, who’ll be performing on the main The Valley stage before Parklife kicks off.
Brand-new for this year is a cheeky trick to get a 20% discount at the bars right across Heaton Park.
That means beers could cost as little as £5.04, pre-mixed cans like White Claw could be as cheap as £6.40, and wine could be £6.80.
The new discount scheme is thanks to Parklife partnering with PayPal, so if you’re a PayPal customer you might be able to nab 20% off drink prices throughout the weekend.
To claim your discount, you’ll to sign up for a PayPal account and set up a virtual card on your phone’s wallet – then whenever you pay with that card, the discount is automatically applied.
Without it, you’re looking at between £6.30 and £7 for beers and ciders, around £12 for a spirit and mixer, and between £8 and £9 for pre-mixed cans.
Parklife 2026 drink prices
Beer and cider
Budweiser Lager – £6.70 normal / £5.36 PayPal
Corona Extra – £6.30 normal / £5.04 PayPal
Kopparberg Crisp Apple – £7 normal / £5.60 PayPal
Spirit & Mixer
Smirnoff No. 21 Vodka – £12 normal / £9.60 PayPal
Captain Morgan Original Spiced Gold – £12 normal / £9.60 PayPal
Gordon’s London Dry Gin – £12 normal / £9.60 PayPal
Johnnie Walker Black Label – £12 normal / £9.60 PayPal
Casamigos Blanco Tequila – £15 normal / £12 PayPal
*Double measures, single measures priced £8/10 for normal, £6.40/8 PayPal
Premixed cans
Smirnoff Ice – £8 normal / £6.40 PayPal
Smirnoff Miami Peach – £9 normal / £7.20 PayPal
Smirnoff Raspberry Crush – £9 normal / £7.20 PayPal
Captain Morgan & Pepsi Max – £9 normal / £7.20 PayPal
Party Punch
Beatbox Blue Razzberry – £8.50 normal / £6.80 PayPal
Beatbox Fruit Punch – £8.50 normal / £6.80 PayPal
Beatbox Juicy Mango – £8.50 normal / £6.80 PayPal
Beatbox Orange Blast – £8.50 normal / £6.80 PayPal
White Claw
White Claw Strawberry – £8 normal / £6.40 PayPal
White Claw Mango – £8 normal / £6.40 PayPal
White Claw Black Cherry – £8 normal / £6.40 PayPal
White Claw Natural Lime – £8 normal / £6.40 PayPal
Wine
Rose/white wine – £8.50 normal / £6.80 PayPal
Soft Drinks
Pepsi Max / Pepsi Max Cherry / 7UP Free – £3.50 normal / £2.80 PayPal
Rockstar Original / Tropical Guava – £4.25 normal / £3.40 PayPal
Lipton Peach – £4 normal / £3.20 PayPal
Still Water – £2.50 normal / £2 PayPal
Alcohol-free
Captain Morgan 0.0 with mixer – £9 normal / £7.20 PayPal
Corona Cero – £5.50 normal / £4.40 PayPal
Koppaberg Strawberry & Lime Zero – £5.50 normal / £4.40 PayPal
Take That to livestream sold-out Manchester stadium show this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Take That are arriving in Manchester this week for four huge shows at the Etihad Stadium.
But if you didn’t get tickets to be there for yourself, then don’t worry… as it’s now been announced that Saturday’s sold-out show will be livestreamed across the globe via Amazon Music, so no matter where you are in the world, you can still visit The Circus.
Gary, Mark, and Howard are bringing The Circus Live back to stadiums across the UK, recreating their record-breaking 2009 tour more than 17 years later, with all the over-the-top, circus-themed madness you could ever want.
Expect a hot air balloon, a huge mechanical elephant, clown face paint, acrobats, unicycles, fireworks, sparkly costumes, and loads more.
Take That are livestreaming their sold-out Manchester stadium show this weekend / Credit: Take That (Supplied)
Originally staged in 2009, The Circus Live broke UK records as the fastest-selling tour in history, with over 600,000 tickets sold in under four hours, and over one million fans attending the sell-out shows across the UK and Ireland.
And now it’s back, and Take That are set to deliver a masterclass in showmanship.
Fans will be wowed for just over two hours of incredible live production, so gather your friends and family, and sit down to watch the show from the comfort of your own home this weekend, as Amazon Music’s livestream will be available to watch on various platforms.
You can either tune in from 8:30pm this Saturday (20 June) to watch on Prime Video, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, or the Amazon Music app – which is also available on Fire TV.
If you aren’t able to watch the show live, then luckily the livestream will be available to rewatch for a further 24 hours on Prime Video.
Alongside the livestream, Amazon Music is also releasing some exclusive merchandise, including city-specific ‘The Circus Live 2026’ t-shirts for each tour date that you can get your hands on here.
Lucky enough to be going to the Etihad yourself? Everything you need to know is here.
Danny Jones -
27th August 2025 
