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Enter Shikari announce biggest headline UK tour yet with a double bill of Manchester shows following first-ever No. 1 album
Shikari are on top form right now and Mancs will get two chances to see them early next year.
Fresh off the first UK Number 1 album of their careers, alt-rock legends Enter Shikari have announced their biggest-ever British headline tour next February.
Enter Shikari have been on the scene since 1999 and have gone on to become one of the country’s biggest exports, so it’s about time they got the full recognition they deserve, with their new album A Kiss From The World taking top spot on the album charts on Friday, 28 April — their first-ever UK No.1.
To celebrate, the veteran rockers from St Albans will be treating us to not one but two shows in Manchester, while every other city is only getting one. Guess that’s what you get when you’re a music mecca.
If you’ve never been to a Shikari gig before, you’ll want to be at one of these.
Having finished up their Manchester residency shows at New Century Hall just last month, the four-piece are wasting no time in kickstarting the next stage of this new album cycle and will be heading back out on the road come 9 February 2024.
Starting out in Leeds’ First Direct Arena, they arrive at legendary O2 Victoria Warehouse on 14 February, playing two nights in front of thousands of Mancs before bringing the tour to a close at Wembley on 17 Feb.
It may be a bit of a whirlwind tour with only six venues across seven dates — all in the space of nine days, no less — but the ‘fast and furious’ approach is very on-brand when it comes to these lads.
We spoke to them earlier this year, just before starting their run of shows at New Century and they only further confirmed that to be the case, insisting that this latest album is “full of nothing but bangers”.
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With multiple four and five-star reviews for the new album, A Kiss To The World, not to mention all of their other bangers from down the years, you’ll be getting Shikari at their very best.
Better still, the band are going to donate £1 for every ticket sold to the Music Venue Trust in support of grassroots music venues in each city on the tour. Nicely done, boys.
General sale for Enter Shikari’s Manchester shows along with the rest of the tour go live at 10am on Friday, 5 May.
You can grab yours HERE.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image — Enter Shikari
Audio
Celebrate the Manchester music scene with the return of Independent Venue Week
Danny Jones
The Greater Manchester music scene is one of the best in the world, no question about it, and what better way to champion our incredible city than with the return of Independent Venue Week?
Indie Venue Week 2025 kicks off on 27 January and it isn’t just a national observance, this celebration takes place over in the States too and is all about not only spotlighting both new, up-and-coming artists but also grassroots music spaces that help platform them.
The week-long music celebration concludes with one last hurrah on Sunday, 2 February, and we can’t think of anything we’d love more than to start the month on the right – by which we mean supporting local businesses and immersing ourselves in as much live music as possible.
We love it when our fellow audiophiles all band together (pun very much intended).
A total of 212 venues are taking part across the UK this year, from the tightly-packed 18-cap that is Grayston Unity in Halifax to the much fully-fledged live music halls like Troxy in East London and, of course, there are plenty of Manc rooms on the list too.
From Manchester’s newest intimate gig space, The Rat and Pigeon, to recently reinvigorated institutions such as New Century Hall and Night and Day Cafe, not to mention local small show favourites like The Castle Hotel and Gullivers, there’s some serious heritage to be soaked up.
Here’s what we’ve got on around these parts:
- The Rat & Pigeon – three-part gig series with Yasmin Coe, Martial Arts and Daffodils. (28-30th January)
- YES – post-punk band Do Nothing, alternative indie pop duo, Ten Fé, and US rapper E L U C I D. (27 and 31 Jan, 1 February)
- Gullivers – hosting Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor. (30 Jan)
- Night & Day Cafe – four different gig nights including Opus Kink, The DSM IV, Willie Watson, All Now and more. (28 Jan-2 Feb)
- New Century Hall – shows by Lake St Drive, Kublai Khan and Cattle Decapitation. (28 and 31 Jan, 1 Feb)
- Rebellion – an all-day black metal festival with Barshasketh headlining. (1 Feb)
But it doesn’t stop there, with tonnes of other shows around the North West region as a whole. You can find a full list of nearby events taking place during the week down below.
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The best part about this week is that no matter if you’re based in the city centre or even just outside of Greater Manchester, there’s plenty of local talent to get stuck into.
It goes without saying that independent music venues are the lifeblood of the industry – don’t let anyone tell you any different – so supporting them not just during the week of Monday, 27 January and Sunday, 2 February but all year-round is paramount to keeping it alive and well.
You can find out more details and grab tickets for all the shows for Independent Venue Week HERE.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — The Manc Group
Audio
Bright Eyes are heading back to Manchester on their new UK and European tour
Danny Jones
Beloved indie veterans Bright Eyes are coming back to Manchester for the first time in more than three years as part of a brand new UK and European tour.
Formed back in 1995, the Omaha outfit has remained a cult favourite among music lovers all over the world, exciting fans with their latest comeback after an 11-year hiatus in 2020.
However, the Nebraska band have struggled with touring issues ever since, having to postpone a raft of shows during Covid and even after the pandemic was over, they had to cancel the remainder of their 2024 shows back following frontman Conor Oberst’s persistent vocal issues.
Bright Eyes confirmed that the lead singer had “developed a condition that is exacerbated by excessive singing” back in September, but with their new album finally out Oberst and co. are crossing back over the Atlantic to pick up where they left off.
Releasing their fifth studio LP Five Dice All Threes towards the end of last year – their first new outing in half a decade – the long-standing group have already got back on the road in North America and are due to land in the UK this summer.
Kicking off a run of 16 continental dates at Rock City in Nottingham, Bright Eyes arrive in Manchester on Saturday, 21 June and are set to play the legendary Albert Hall – a venue singer-songwriter Oberst himself played as a solo act back in 2017.
The last Manc venue they played was the equally iconic O2 Apollo back in 2022 and while they might have been away for a hot minute, their die-hard fandom hasn’t gone anywhere.
As for the new self-produced record itself (recorded at Obert and Mike Mogis hometown studio), its been described as capturing an “uncommon intensity and tenderness, communal exorcism and personal excavation.”
Bascially, if you like the usual emotional introspection Bright Eyes deliver, this is more of it.
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Tickets for their Manchester gig go on sale this Friday, 24 January at 10am and we hope they bring all the ‘Bells and Whistles’.
You can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Images — Press Images (supplied)/The Manc Group
