Manchester’s huge new arena the Co-op Live has assured fans that it will definitely, actually, for sure open this week.
The staggering new music venue beside the Etihad Stadium has been hit by a couple of high-profile delays in the last fortnight.
Although a test event with Rick Astley went ahead on 21 April, giving a small audience a glimpse inside the state-of-the-art arena, the brakes were slammed on soon afterwards.
Co-op Live pushed its opening date back while it ironed out some kinks, namely ‘power supply issues’, and underwent rigorous testing to ‘run all shows safely’.
That meant Peter Kay was rescheduled to 29 and 30 April… but then got postponed again, along with The Black Keys, who were meant to perform last weekend.
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All the delays have left fans panicking that their shows will also be delayed, with some huge shows like Olivia Rodrigo, Take That, and Liam Gallagher lined up in the coming weeks and months.
But Co-op Live has now issued a statement reassuring gig-goers that they are full steam ahead and ready to open as planned this week.
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The first act to perform here officially will now be A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on 1 May (not quite as local a name as they were gunning for, but we move).
He’ll be followed by Olivia Rodrigo and her Guts Tour, who will perform two sold-out gigs on 3 and 4 May.
Olivia Rodrigo has announced a Manchester gig at Co-op Live. Credit: Nick WalkerKeane – Photography by ALEX LAKE insta @twoshortdays WWW.TWOSHORTDAYS.COMOlivia Rodrigo and Keane will both play Co-op Live in Manchester this week when it finally opens
Then Keane will play the Co-op Live on 5 May to mark 20 years since the release of Hopes and Fears.
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Co-op Live posted: “Let’s do this! Less than 48 hours until we kick off our full opening season.
“Our scheduled shows with @aboogievsartist, @oliviarodrigo and @keaneofficial are going ahead.
“Ticket holders can expect an email with everything they need to know about this week’s events to land in your inboxes tomorrow!”
Fans have breathed a sigh of relief at the news, with one person writing: “YAY THANK GOD OMG THIS IS AMAZING WAS LITERALLY HAVJNG A MENTAL BREAKDOWN BOUT OLIVIA BEING CANCELLED.”
Another commented: “THANK GOD!!! 4th mayyyy.”
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Someone else posted: “IM SO HAPPY AHHHHHH I’VE BEEN NERVOUS ALL WEEK BUT NOW I KNOW ITS GONNA BE FINE AHHH.”
Olivia Rodrigo fans are BIG believers in an all-caps comment, clearly.
Co-op Live will open in Manchester on Wednesday 1 May.
It’s going to be worth the wait, we’re pretty sure…
Noel Gallagher says he’d be ‘bang up’ for an Oasis reunion… kind of
Emily Sergeant
Noel Gallagher has given fans fresh hope, yet again, after he’s admitted that he’d be “bang up” for an Oasis reunion in the future.
Well… kind of.
Considering it’s been going on for well over a decade, Manc music lovers worldwide are more than well-versed in the neverending Oasis ‘will-they, won’t-they’ reunion saga by now, with the Gallagher brothers known to dangle a carrot in front of fans’ noses at every chance they get, despite no concrete claims or plans ever materialising.
And by the sounds of things, Noel Gallagher‘s most recent reunion comments are no different either – but they are pretty funny, we will say that.
Oasis infamously parted ways for the final time back in 2009 after Noel made a shock exit following a fight with Liam at a music festival in France, and despite the constant calls for them to do so, the pair have never been seen on stage together since.
Now though, Noel reckons he’s found a way to reunite the band without actually having to reunite the band, and he’s “bang up” for it too.
Noel Gallagher says he’d be ‘bang up’ for an Oasis reunion / Credit: Oasis (via Facebook)
We’re talking about holograms.
“I went to see that Abba show. Have you been? It’s f**king unbelievable, Noel commented as he appeared on the Matt Morgan podcast.
“An hour and a half gig, it was very, very impressive. I genuinely thought at one point that the people on the stage, which were holograms, were… they looked that real that I thought they were actors, like playing.
“The way they walk to the stage is so realistic.”
The elder Gallagher claims the key to an Oasis reunion is a hologram / Credit: ABBA Voyage
After claiming he was “very impressed” by the show and urging everyone to go and see it if they can because “it’s well worth it”, Noel then turned the topic onto Oasis and whether or not this hologram format could be the key to getting Manchester‘s most famous band back together, adding: “If anybody wants to do an Oasis one, give us a shout. I would be bang up for it.”
The current High Flying Birds frontman then also set out his conditions for the potential hologram reunion, explaining: “I’d say ‘great’, speak to that guy over there, and then come up with a figure and then he’ll relay it to me, and I’ll say either yes or no.”
Well, could this be it then? Could this actually be the key to reuniting Oasis after all these years? It’s definitely a long shot, but not something to rule out entirely, if you ask us.
As usual, only time will tell.
Featured Image – Anthony Abbott (via Flickr)
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Neighbourhood Festival returns to Manchester city centre for 2024 with stellar first-wave lineup
Danny Jones
After a year’s hiatus, Neighbourhood Festival is officially returning to Manchester later this year and the first wave of the 2024 lineup is already out.
You’re in for a treat, you lot.
The city centre spin-off of Warrington’s popular Neighbourhood Weekender has become one of the most popular music festivals in the North and was sorely missed when they took a break last year, but luckily is back with a bang this fall.
Rocking up to a number of beloved Manchester music venues including the Ritz, Gorilla and Albert Hall, the all-dayer is set to be a stormer.
As you can see, there are some seriously good names on the list too, including lots of local talent like Anthony Szmierek, Seb Lowe, Balancing Act, Corella and Manc headliners, Pale Waves.
There are also lots of other acts from in and around the North West like Liverpool stars Red Rum Club, Courting and The Mysterines, as well as artists who’ve gone big on TikTok such as indie pop group Daydreamers and Bradley Simpson of The Vamps.
Other names we’ve picked out include Birmingham boys, Overpass, Brighton’s Chappaqua Wrestling and Portsmouth four-piece, Crystal Tides.
Honestly, there are so many ones to watch on the 2024 Neighbourhood Festival lineup and this is only the first wave of artists, we honestly can’t wait.
Manchester’s biggest city centre festival has welcomed all manner of names that have gone on to do massive things in the past, including the likes of Sam Fender, Declan McKenna and The Last Dinner Party; Yungblud, local lads The Lathums and many more.
With Neighbourhood Weekender also having been postponed until 2025 as the organisers looked to ‘take a break’ and fine-tune the event, seeing the city centre day festival back in the interim is music to our ears – literally.
NBHD returns to Manchester city centre on 5 October and tickets go on sale at 10am this Friday, 24 May at 9am. You can grab yours HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
30th April 2024 
