Candlelit dinners, intimate moments, cosy nights in – OR, for a few thousand of us, a Valentine’s Day spent putting our eardrums to the test and watching a slender rock star wriggle about for two hours.
I know which I’d choose, any day of the week, because despite a five-year break from touring, Cage the Elephant remain one of the most electrifying live acts on the planet.
And frontman Matt Shultz still remembered to get us flowers, flinging dozens of red roses into the audience. What a romantic.
The six-piece, formed back in 2006 in Kentucky, are back in town for the first time since early 2020.
In that time, Shultz experienced a medication-induced psychotic breakdown, something he’s spoken publicly about and that he addresses on stage, saying he feels ‘grateful’ to be back performing.
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Cage the Elephant have got a new-ish album with them in Neon Pill, but they don’t give it much weight in the setlist, which is mostly filled with songs from Tell Me I’m Pretty, Melophobia and Social Cues.
For long-time fans of the band this is a relief.
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It’s hard to beat their tracks like Trouble with its zig-zagging bass, the surprisingly moving Cigarette Daydreams which has an entire room belting along, and the slow-build, semi-Western anthem that is Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.
They get off to a very strong start, firing through Broken Boy, Cry Baby and Spiderhead before they pause to say hello to a crowd that’s been suitably loosened up by the glam-grunge sound of Sunflower Bean, the New York outfit whose lead, Julia Cumming, is either teetering on fiercely high platforms or otherwise thrashing her bass from her knees.
As usual with Cage the Elephant’s staging, most of the kit is crammed into a third of the stage. You need A LOT of space for a firecracker frontman like Matt Shultz, not to mention his guitarist brother Brad.
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I can only imagine how chaotic their house was growing up, but they’re the most entertaining siblings in rock n roll and yes, I’m aware how inflammatory that sentence is on a Manchester page.
There’s even a guitar smash towards the end from Brad, which I didn’t think was a thing we were still doing. In this economy!?
The energy they bring to the O2 Apollo is never-ending, like during Mess Around when it seems that Matt might wriggle out of his own skin, Cold Cold Cold where he gets so giddy he can’t keep both feet on the ground, and Sabretooth Tiger which is intensely lively.
The hardest working person in the crew is the poor fella trying to keep Matt spotlit as he judders and slinks back and forth across the stage.
Cage the Elephant clearly LOVE Manchester, even enquiring about the status of Big Hands (yep, still thriving).
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And by the time we hit the encore, wrapping up with Come A Little Closer, it’s pretty clear this crowd loves them right back.
Cage the Elephant setlist
Broken Boy Cry Baby Spiderhead Too Late to Say Goodbye Good Time Cold Cold Cold Ready to Let Go Neon Pill Social Cues Halo Mess Around Trouble Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked Skin and Bones Rainbow Telescope House of Glass Sabertooth Tiger Encore: Back Against the Wall Shake Me Down Cigarette Daydreams Come a Little Closer
The Pussycat Dolls announce major comeback with huge global arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Global pop icons The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour, with 50+ shows across Europe and North America.
The pop icons will be performing a massive show here in Manchester as part of the tour, which kicks off this summer.
The Pussycat Dolls have been teasing their return this week, plastering hints on venues across the UK – including the Co-op Live, which displayed a pink digital ad reading ‘Don’t cha wish you knew who we’re announcing tomorrow??’
The multi-platinum pop supergroup will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut record, PCD. They’ll be supported on the European leg of the tour, which will bring them to the UK in September and October, by Lil’ Kim.
The PCD Forever tour will span a whopping 53 dates, where they’ll perform their chart-topping hits including the 5x platinum Buttons, plus Don’t Cha, and Stickwitu.
The Pussycat Dolls were pop heavyweights in the 2000s, known for their electrifying choreography and live performances.
The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour with a Manchester date. Credit: Rankin
Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts will be back together once again this year for what will be their biggest international run in years.
They’ll be releasing a new song for the first time since 2019 – Club Song is produced by Mike Sabbath (RAYE, Jade) and written by Nicole Scherzinger with Sabbath, Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa) and Solly (Teddy Swims).
General tickets will go on sale from 10am on Friday 20 March, but fans can sign up for pre-sale at pcdforever.com by Monday to access tickets early.
Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester next year
Danny Jones
Hold on to your cowboy hats, country fans: the smash-hit Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester.
The massive live music festival specialising in all things country, folk, bluegrass, Americana and more has slowly been expanding its presence across the UK and Ireland over the last decade or so.
Starting in London at the O2 Arena, before hitting the Emerald Isle in 2015 and debuting in Scotland just three years later, it has seen some of the biggest acts from the world of country music cross the Atlantic to show off the Stateside genre, plus plenty from around the globe already immersed in the culture.
We’ll confess, even prior to the official announcement, we had a feeling this was coming when we spotted these posters dotted about in town:
Like so many of those buzzing in the comments, we cannot wait for this to come around.
With this year’s respective events taking place simultaenously place over the coming weekend, Friday, 13 to Sunday, 15 March, it’s fair to say they’ve timed the news perfectly.
Everyone from established names such as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, to up-and-coming bands as well as fast-rising artists working in and around the genre, like Nate Smith, Lainey Wilson and, of course, the now well and truly massive Luke Combs.
For instance, the likes of Keith Urban, Noah Rinker, Alana Springsteen – no relation – Zach Top and many, MANY more, are playing across London, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and Belfast’s SSE Arena for the 12th edition of the now annual celebration.
Set to arrive in our city centre for the very first time, Country 2 Country (C2C) will be making its Manc debut at none other than the legendary AO Arena, where so many of the biggest names and current generation of stars alike have played.
You only have to look at recent examples like Darius Rucker last year and the ever-growing Tyler Childers, helping kick off this season of country gigs here in Manchester.
Meanwhile, as you can see for Country 2 Country music fest’s Manchester debut, it’s coming in March 2027, and they’ll be teaming up with other local gig venues and bars to turn 0161 into a little slice of Broadway – we just hope we get a bit of Austin weather to boot.
It’s fair to say that this particular part of the music industry is definitely enjoying a big boom right now, with lots of different acts dipping their toes into the bayou, if you will.
However, C2C have been flying the flag for country music over here for ages now, and with it being hailed as remaining “one of the UK’s most spectacular annual festivals” by the likes of The Express and countless, among countless other reviews, we think it’s time you give it a go.
Better still, let’s show everyone that we can do it even better up North, and here in what everyone knows is Britain’s real musical home: Greater Manchester.
Tickets will be available from 10am next Friday, 20 March, and you can sign up to get early bird pre-sale access right HERE.
Credit: Niko Moon/Luke Dyson Photography (supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
15th February 2025 
