Elton John is set to touch down in Manchester this week as the legendary musician continues his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour.
Elton has just played 10 (yes TEN) shows at the O2 in London, and now he’s heading up north.
He’ll be doing three huge shows at the AO Arena as part of this tour, his final ever.
It’s all ahead of his headline performance at Glastonbury too. We all knew Elton John wasn’t going to retire without a fanfare, come on…
His unparalleled career spans six decades, five Grammy Awards, and a frankly unbelievable 31 studio albums.
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His massive hits include Rocket Man, Saturday Night’s Alright (for Fighting), I’m Still Standing, and Candle In The Wind, which became the fastest- and biggest-selling single of all time after he performed it at Princess Diana’s funeral.
He was also the subject of the award-winning 2019 film Rocketman, starring Taron Egerton.
The tour has had to be rescheduled a couple of times but it is finally here. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re seeing Elton John in Manchester.
Elton is in town for three nights this week (it’s a really big week for live music – Coldplay are just up the road and Arctic Monkeys are on their way too).
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He’ll be performing on Wednesday 31 May, Friday 2 June, and Saturday 3 June.
Tickets for Elton John at AO Arena, Manchester
Unbelievably, there are still a few tickets left for Elton John – and all three dates too.
It’s mostly down to single seats around the arena, which are priced between £136.35 and £807.35 (ouch).
There are also some restricted view tickets on sale, with discounted prices to make up for it – they’re up at £74.45.
No one. He’s doing this one solo – to be fair, he’s got enough hits to fill a few hours…
Stage times
Despite the lack of support act, ticket-holders for Elton John are in for a long old night of live music.
The iconic singer is going to fill almost three hours with his hits.
Here are the expected stage times.
Doors open – 6pm
Show starts – 7.30pm
Show finishes – 10.15pm
Elton John’s expected setlist and songs
Elton John performing in 1972. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Based on his most recent show in Belgium, here are the songs you can expect to hear.
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Bennie and the Jets Philadelphia Freedom I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues Border Song Tiny Dancer Have Mercy on the Criminal Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) Take Me to the Pilot Someone Saved My Life Tonight Levon Candle in the Wind Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding Burn Down the Mission Sad Songs (Say So Much) Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me The Bitch Is Back I’m Still Standing Crocodile Rock Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting Encore: Cold Heart Your Song Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
How to get to the AO Arena
Credit: AO Arena
The AO Arena is right in the heart of the city centre, so it’s fairly easy to get to.
On foot: The AO Arena is located within the Manchester Victoria Station complex in the city centre, on the corner of Trinity Way, Hunts Bank and Great Ducie Street. You can enter through the station (up the stairs), through the Trinity Way Tunnel, or from Hunts Bank.
By tram: Also super straight-forward – hop off the tram at Manchester Victoria and you’re right by the stairs to the venue. It’s also a short walk from Exchange Square and Shudehill. Trams run directly to Victoria Station from Rochdale, Bury, Altrincham, East Didsbury and the Airport.
By train: While Piccadilly is the city’s largest train station, plenty of trains do pass through Manchester Victoria. You can plan your journey through the National Rail website.
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Parking: The postcode if you’re driving to the AO Arena is M3 1AR. There’s an on-site CitiPark car park with 958 spaces, which can be pre-booked here. Bear in mind that Trinity Way is closed after concerts to allow gig-goers to leave safely, though cars are allowed out of the car park with direction from staff.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Beloved Manchester club night Funkademia leaves Mint Lounge after 14 years
Danny Jones
One of the best-loved and longest-standing clubbing institutions in Manchester, Funkademia, is relocating once more as it leaves Mint Lounge after 14 years.
Started all the way back in 1995, there isn’t an older weekly club night in the history of this city, but the local weekend event and raver’s rite of passage is about to leave the cult favourite Northern Quarter venue after nearly a decade and a half and set up shop in another new home.
From its infancy at the old Boardwalk on Little Peter Street and popping up in the Mint Lounge back circa 2014, to the continued residency at Exhibition on Fridays, there have been many iterations of Funkademia and now the next chapter beckons from student-central over on Oxford Road.
It’s the start of a new era and it gets started this weekend.
Following in the footsteps of many famous promotions before them, future Funkademia nights will now be hosted by the legendary Deaf Institute.
Celebrating with a launch party on Saturday, 21 September, the iconic event will take over all three floors of the venue; The Music Hall will spin classic funk, disco, and soul beneath the disco ball, while the main bar (a.k.a. The Boombox Room) pumps R’n’B and hip-hop throughout the night.
Then, heading downstairs to the intimate bar and private hire room – regularly used for special events and celebration space – you can expect ‘big boudoir vibes’ and pure grooves spun by an array of special guests every Saturday.
Mint Lounge home held its final blowout at the venue this past spring bank holiday and they bid a fond farewell to the venue in true Funkademia fashion, but we’re glad it’s found such a wonderful new home.
The Deaf Institute is still one of our favourite venues in Manchester and always will be; plus, with almost three decades of dancing history behind them and no sign of slowing down any time soon, the future of Funkademia is in good hands.
Co-promoter Jamie Scahill said of the relocation: “We’re thrilled to be bringing Funkademia to The Deaf Institute, a venue we’ve all spent many late nights at and have long admired. After an incredible run at The Mint Lounge, it felt like the right time to move to a new home where we can continue to evolve and deliver the unforgettable nights that our crowd has come to love.
“There’s nowhere else quite like The Deaf Institute, and it’s the perfect place for us to start this new chapter. We can’t wait to see both familiar and new faces on all three dancefloors.”
As for the new home itself, General Manager Curtis Willson went on to add: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome Funkademia to The Deaf Institute. This is a legendary night that has been a cornerstone of Manchester’s nightlife for nearly 30 years, and we’re honoured to be a part of its next phase.
“Our venue is all about celebrating music and creating memorable experiences, and we know that Funkademia will bring exactly that every Saturday night. It’s going to be something special, and we can’t wait for the party to start this September.”
Tickets for Funkademia’s opening night at Deaf and all subsequent dates are available now at just £5 via Skiddle, with 100 early-bird tickets for all September dates still priced for only £3. You can grab yours HERE.
Doors open from 7pm every week, with DJs playing “all killer, no filler, to keep the dancefloor movin’ until 4am” – and believe us, they always stay true to their word.
Blossoms announce massive Manchester residency with five shows at five different venues
Danny Jones
Stockport’s finest Blossoms puzzled everyone when they decided to skip out on any shows in Greater Manchester on their recent tour announcement – turns out they were just waiting to announce not one but FIVE massive gigs right here in the city centre.
With the fifth studio album Gary out this week, their utterly incredible gig in front of 30,000 at Wythenshawe Park still very fresh in our minds, not to mention talk of them supporting Oasis on their reunion trail also in the air, the high-flying indie five-piece are… well, doing just that.
That being said, we did double-take when Blossoms announced their brand-new UK tour last month and we couldn’t spot a single SK or even 0161-based date; safe to say we were very relieved when we realised they were just teasing us ahead of a historic Manchester residency.
August’s outdoor all-dayer might have been the biggest single show of their career so far, but revisiting some of the most iconic Manc stages they’ve played before in less than a week is something special.
Yes, while their popularity might mean they’re not able to squeeze their hordes of adoring fans into the likes of Night and Day Cafe any more, Blossoms’ will not only be playing multiple Manchester gigs, they’ll be retracing their steps and going back to the much-loved venues that put them on the map.
We’ve seen them at The Plaza and Edgeley Park on their home turf, Castlefield Bowl here in town and even at festivals such as Kendal Calling, Leeds, Glasto and more – seeing a bunch of blokes from around our way in the big leagues warms our heart – but the band and the fans never forget those early gigs.
That being said, the local lads will be playing Manchester Academy, the O2 Ritz, Albert Hall, Victoria Warehouse and O2 Apollo over the course of just five nights. Some feat – only the ones bound for greatness get to line up those kinds of billings.
With some of the support acts already announced, including Leigh’s very own The Lottery Winners, you can find the full list of additional shows down below:
Tuesday, 19 Nov 2024 — Manchester Academy 1 – Special guests TBA
Wednesday, 20 Nov 2024 — Manchester O2 Ritz – Plus special guests Neon Waltz
Thursday, 21 Nov 2024 — Manchester Albert Hall – Special guests TBA
Friday, 22 Nov 2024 — Manchester O2 Victoria Warehouse – Plus special guests The Ks
Saturday, 23 Nov 2024 — Manchester O2 Apollo – Plus special guests Lottery Winners
Speaking on the five residency gigs, Blossoms said: “We wanted to do something special with the Manchester shows for this run of gigs. We played each one of these venues on our way up, so it’s great after our Wythenshawe Park show to go and do these venues and remember where everything started for us. It’s a love letter of shows to the city! We can’t wait x.”
Tickets for Blossoms’ Manchester shows will be released just hours after Gary is finally dropped, with general sale going live at 9:30am this Friday, 20 September.
It won’t surprise any of you to learn that tickets for the other dates on the rest of their UK tour this October and November are almost sold out, so if you’re looking to see them anywhere else other in the country you best be quick about it.
You can grab yours HERE and we’ll see you at one of the five venues we hopefully get tickets for – at least we all get five chances!
Daisy Jackson -
30th May 2023 
