As nights out go, it doesn’t get much more Manc than this – Courteeners, back in their home town, in a field, in front of tens of thousands of adoring fans.
This gig – their third in Heaton Park – is for a very special occasion. The group are here to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their eponymous debut album, St Jude.
It’s an album that means so much to so many – a coming-of-age record, the soundtrack to countless sticky nights out in our city, the album that proved Manchester’s music scene had so much life after the Madchester era.
It’s also a record-breaker, recently hitting number one and going Platinum 15 years after its initial release.
So with 40,000 Courteeners fans pouring in to the outdoor arena that will later become Parklife’s main stage, you know you’re in for a night of rowdy noughties indie nostalgia.
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Songs from that iconic St Jude album are peppered in throughout Courteeners’ set, which ends up spanning almost two hours.
It’s hard to pick out the songs that meant most to us all.
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At any other gig it’s pretty obvious which are the crowd favourites, the ones that get everyone chanting together and throwing pints and bouncing in unison. At a Courteeners gig in Manchester – it’s all the same. It’s all one massive, very loud, non-stop sing-along.
You know the sort. You make friends with 200 new people because everyone who walks past wants to sling their arm over your shoulder and have a cuddle and belt some lyrics into your face.
Snippets of conversations overheard in front of the stage are heartwarmingly nostalgic.
During Acrylic, I hear one person turn and say ‘Oh my god this was my polyphonic ringtone at uni’.
During Please Don’t, we catch someone easily in their 40s giddily preparing to scream ‘It’s got f*ck-all to do with me’ at their friend before bursting into peals of laughter.
When How Come hits the speakers, someone immediately bursts into tears and wails ‘I miss uni’, despite definitely graduating in 2009.
As wild and rowdy as a Courteeners crowd always is, the atmosphere is almost aggressively happy. There’s a moment where all the people who are on shoulders congregate together for a two-storey cuddle with strangers.
Even during a very quiet acoustic section, where we’re left begging for the speakers to be turned up a bit, there are enough people squawking along to keep energy levels high, especially when the tempo picks up enough for Smiths Disco
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It means as much to the band as it does to us, that much is clear. Liam takes a moment to tell the audience: “We’re nothing without everyone standing in this field.”
And then the sentimental moment is over, replaced with screams and flares in all different colours, with Not Nineteen Forever arriving in a burst of colourful streamers blasted from the stage.
Courteeners wrap up with What Took You So Long, leaving Heaton Park once again in a blaze of grinning glory.
The K’s kick off Manchester’s BRITs Week celebrations early with jam-packed intimate gig
The Manc
If you were ‘Hoping Maybe’ to see The K’s at some point this year, this is your sign do it, as the rising indie band did not let the occasion of playing an intimate BRITs-backed gig get to them – they were buoyed by it.
Beloved city centre venue Gorilla was overflowing for The K’s last night, hosting an unreal small-cap set as part of Brits Week ‘26 for a very important cause: War Child.
Perfectly teed up by fellow nearby band, Florentenes from Bolton, The K’s took to a familiar stage many years on from their debut, and instantly had the crowd ready and raring for an hour of pure tunes and some very, very sweaty brows.
Earlestown’s finest certainly carried that Northern charm and energy throughout the whole night; their indie and almost nostalgic lyrical storytelling has you moshing one minute, whilst grasping your mate and ascending into live music heaven the next. There really aren’t many feelings like it.
Sobbing and swaying in the vast ocean of shoulders whilst screaming the lyrics to ‘Helen. Oh I’, I questioned how any compliment will ever compare to launching “thousand ships every time” from a kiss.
The K’s were yearning before Wuthering Heights made it vogue (again).
Musically, the band were seamless and a well-oiled machine, and so were the audience as they wholeheartedly echoed every lyric back at the lads and bounced it off the walls.
The K’s have come a long way since their first visit to Gorilla (Credit: Lucy Wagstaffe)
Every primary school assembly proudly led us to this moment, and it did not disappoint, displaying their increasingly seasoned and successful career, which I can only imagine is going to go from strength to strength this year.
I don’t think we even one more fan could have squeezed one more passionate fan into Gorilla on the night; it was heaving with people and pride; the sweat dripping down the walls indicated things are big for these local lads, and we couldn’t be prouder.
They are another prime example of shining a deserving light on Northern artists! And having the 2026 BRIT Awards up here with us is a testament to that.
Featured Images — Lucy Wagstaffe (supplied via War Child UK)
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Florence + The Machine at the Co-op Live, Manchester – the star has never been better
Clementine Hall
Florence + The Machine make a triumphant return to the stage in a thrilling exploration of female rage.
When you think of Florence Welch, you can’t help but picture her barefoot complete with flower crown and bouncy skirts racing around the stage in a fairy-like fashion.
And yes whilst she still is this, the band’s new era is suddenly a lot darker and haunting with their new album Everybody Scream exploring topics of loss and grief.
Florence and her coven-like quartet of dancers did not leave the stage once throughout the 21-track setlist, but not once did it feel tired.
Image: The Manc
The album’s title track kicked off the show before transitioning into fan-favourite anthem Shake It Out.
Florence’s voice is just as recognisable as ever, as is her long auburn hair that she swishes with her as she strides up and down the stage alongside her flowing sleeves.
Beneath the powerful vocals, the haunting atmosphere grew stronger as Seven Dials and Which Witch saw the dancers, coined as ‘the witch choir’, crawling up and down the stage in a Michael Jackson Thriller-style fashion.
Daffodils saw Florence interact with the crowd – embracing a woman pressed to the front of the barrier sporting a bright yellow flower crown.
It’s clear to see how much their music means to so many, and being at a Florence gig you feel as though you’re really part of something special.
A highlight came half way through the two-hour spectacle, as Florence dedicated Never Let Me Go to her sister in the crowd who she stated was “clever enough to marry a man from Manchester”.
Image: The Manc
We couldn’t agree more Florence.
Spectrum (Say My Name) really ignited a fire in the crowd, the entire arena was up and moving to the iconic track.
Her most vulnerable moment of the night comes as she returns for the encore, when she sings You Can Have It All which is written about her near-fatal ectopic pregnancy she experienced in 2013.
It’s raw and haunting, and we feel every note as she summons the strength to perform a song so revealing.
Of course, as the first two notes of Dog Days Are Over the crowd erupts into chaos.
Florence asks us to put our phones down, “you won’t get a good video and if you’re holding your phone, you can’t move” she states, and so we did what we were told.
It’s proof of the power that Florence holds over her audience, and from then on we were left to dance with complete abandon as the show ended in a feeling of pure joy and euphoria.
Daisy Jackson -
10th June 2023 
