Amidst all the live music madness this week, with the intimate BRITs gigs happening, other big city centre shows and, of course, the mighty Foo Fighters coming to town, it can be hard to keep track of everything – but when we heard about a prize draw for free tickets, we couldn’t let you miss it.
That’s right, the Foos and War Child UK are getting ready to hand out limited pairs of tickets to their recently announced gig at the O2 Ritz in Manchester, which sold out in the blink of an eye.
They’re not even performing as part of BRITs Week lineup, but given it’s such a big moment for the city and an opportunity to raise money for the cause, they thought they’d throw their hats in the ring, so long as you chip in on your end.
So, ‘What’s the deal?’, we hear you ask. Well, look no further:
Put simply, all you have to do is enter the prize draw as advertised; plus, you know you’ll be doing your bit for a good cause, too, which is always an added bonus.
ADVERTISEMENT
Given that the Ritz is already pretty much at capacity (approximately 1,500), they only have a small number of tickets to give away.
There are just four pairs up for grabs, to be specific, but with hundreds of people having already entered the charitable competition, nearly £17,000 has been raised for War Child UK already.
ADVERTISEMENT
Incredible stuff.
For anyone still unclear on War Child’s mission, the organisation does crucial outreach not only here in Britain but all over the world, delivering emergency aid, specialist mental health support, and much more to children in need whose lives have been torn apart by conflicts across the globe.
This show, which has already generated huge funds towards those efforts through ticket sales, and local band The Covasettes are now even campaigning to get legendary frontman Dave Grohl to join them on stage after their stage times were shifted to make way for the Foo Fighters gig.
ADVERTISEMENT
🚨 MANCHESTER UPDATE 🚨
With @foofighters playing the Ritz after us on Friday, our gig will now take place slightly earlier. Get down for doors and give the supports a night to remember!
Once again, the show itself is fully sold out, and there’s little chance you’ll find spares floating around ahead of a truly massive night.
Better still, if you are after one last lucky shot at getting yourself in that room, why not help raise some money for War Child while you’re at it?
As we’re sure you know, the gig itself is on Friday, but if you want to stand a chance, you must donate and choose your number of entries – £10 for one, three for £20, or £50 for a total of 10 entries – before 10am GMT this Thursday, 26 February.
Five Greater Manchester-based music artists you should listen to | April 2026
Danny Jones
Ay up, you lot – we’re back with another box office batch of music from in and around Greater Manchester for you to get your teeth stuck into.
We’d like to think you know the deal by now, but if not, here’s a quick rundown for you…
Every month, we look back on the local bands and artists, either hailing from or now based in the area, that are spending regular time in our rotation.
It doesn’t matter if they’re still just young prospects or they’ve been at it for decades: if it’s good and it’s been in our ears, it goes on the list. Ready? Let’s go, then.
Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently
1. Harry Lyon
First up is April’s cover star: the wonderfully talented Harry Lyon, who is another born and bred and now quietly plying his trade here in Greater Manchester and already showcasing a great level of versatility early in his career.
He moved to the city from Sheffield not too long ago, and his creative output has only ramped up since he got here. Toying with everything from alt-pop/indie to straight singer-songwriter stuff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the radio, his often R’n’B-esque vocals mean he can turn to multiple styles.
We actually lucky enough to bump into him in person earlier this month over in Stretford, and you’ll be glad to hear he’s also as sound a person as we hoped he’d be; he even teased a new single on the way, but for now, we’ll recommend ‘Violet’, ‘Backwards’ and the piano version of ‘While We’re Still Young’.
In fact, he does acoustic versions for most of his songs, and a fair few of them genuinely rival the originals in their own way.
From an up-and-comer to some Manc veterans that often get overlooked in the shadow of their even longer-standing and more well-known predecessors, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say something controversial here… We think we might prefer Black Grape to Happy Mondays.
Before you bite our heads off, let us explain: while the Mondays are obviously way more iconic and had a huge influence on the overall Madchester scene, we would argue that their progenic spin-off are almost a more honed evolution of at least some of what the Ryders and co. first created a buzz around.
Not only do the likes of ‘Kelly’s Heroes’, ‘Nine Lives’, ‘String Theory’ and more have so much more guitar in them (which will always score extra points for me), but more importantly, there is so much more successful experimentation with different instruments, cultural sounds and blends of energy.
It can be hard to know where to start, but those three examples aren’t bad options, and ‘In The Name of The Father’ is also such a vibe – we’re hoping we see it on the setlist for Outwards Fest next month.
BLACK GRAPE play Outwards Festival on Saturday 2nd May 😎
For fans of Sports Team, Spangled, Deadletter, and pretty much any current post-punk pioneers, these former students who originally hail from Cambridgeshire but have come up in and around the local rock scene have been making a splash for a little while, and now it feels like things are hitting a fever pitch.
Sometimes the idiosyncratic lyrics put you in mind of rising Oldham star, Seb Lowe; there’s even one intro that could be the start of a more upbeat and melody-forward King Krule, and you even get notes of Slaves/Soft Play at times. Whatever you hear, personally, you won’t find a bad song – we haven’t yet.
As the lyrics on ‘Are You The Best Yet?’ state, some of this stuff literally makes our knees go weak. We can’t remember the last time a band came around that has you eagerly awaiting the inevitable guitar break, let alone when you fully lock into one and pull a face (we’ve all got our own).
They’re so, SO good, and they help prolong some songs that, while brilliant, could feel more like fast-paced flashes in the pan without them. It all amounts to something extra and ups an already healthy dose of swagger: that’s definitely what you get on the recent ‘Cambridge Is On Fire’ and most of their tracks.
In at number four is another one to watch within the genre. Some industry figures have equated them to the likes of the Amyl and the Sniffers, Lambrini Girls, Viagra Boys, and so on, but we think there’s a much cooler sense of darkness going on with their approach – however familiar the repetitive guitar playing and aggressive, shouty vocals may be.
Luckily, their discography – not unlike that of their aforementioned punky peers – isn’t that extensive just yet, so you can easily work your way through all their releases soon enough, and they’ve also got a big gig at White Hotel coming up just after they drop their debut LP, Hodge Podge. Watch this space…
Our present picks would be ‘American Boy II’, ‘Marina’ for the foreboding sense of build and that central riff alone, and you simply have to listen to their latest single, ‘Creeping Offences’, which, understandably, is the best track in terms of production they’ve dropped yet.
We want to see them live before passing any decisive judgement, but we like what we’re seeing so far.
ADVERTISEMENT
5. A Certain Ratio
Now, we’ve touched on electronic-influenced alternative group in Black Grape, but what about another truly influential act from within that fluid space? Probably one of your bands/favourite DJ’s favourite artists, whether you know it or not, A Certain Ratio were tastemakers long before even they knew.
If the previous two are post-punk, then these lot are the funkier forerunners, known for their trademark muted strumming patterns, heavily distorted, codified and multi-layered mixes, ACR have been going nearly half a century now, and they were doing all this stuff long before virtually anyone else.
You’ll inevitably fall down a bit of a rabbit hole listening to their stuff, but ‘All Comes Down To This’ is a good starting point, and ‘1982’ has always made us think of what a Doctor Who-themed rave might sound like.
Oh, and purely because it still sticks with us as an eye-opening first listen, it really doesn’t get much better than this one:
And once again, that’s all she wrote.
ADVERTISEMENT
We hope you dive into at least some of these names over the long bank holiday weekend, as three uninterrupted days of listening couldn’t have timed any better.
Billie Eilish reveals the reason why she chose Manchester to film her new movie
Danny Jones
Global superstar Billie Eilish has revealed the reason why she chose Manchester, of all places, to film her upcoming new movie.
The answer won’t surprise you, but we were buzzing with it nonetheless.
In case you were unaware, Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour is the new documentary and live concert film directed by Billie herself, along with some help from none other than James Cameron.
Being screened not only in cinemas but also in 3D (yes, that’s still a thing), the performance-based movie captures content taken from her run of gigs right here in Manchester. Here’s why she picked us:
Though it’s still no surprise, really, we always find it so surreal seeing some of the world’s most famous artists speaking so highly about our city.
As you can see, while she did quip that the schedule lined up production-wise, it was an easy decision to pick her four – yes, FOUR sold-out nights at Co-op Live, as the place to film the project based on the atmosphere alone.
“I fricking love Manchester”, said the 24-year-old, going on to add, “Honestly, Manchester is one of my favourite audiences ever.”
Manc fans simply couldn’t get enough of her, hence why she was able to book so many big dates at the massive arena.
Here’s the big surprise she brought out for the show we were lucky enough to be at:
We love Billie and, as it turns out, she feels the same about us.
The release date for Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft tour movie is coming around early next month, with the film set to be screened in selected cinemas across the UK and beyond on May 8, 2026.
Speaking in the recent interview on the red carpet with the BBC, she also detailed how fellow Academy Award-winner Cameron contacted her first about the prospect of creating this immersive music project.
Imagine just picking up the phone to James Cameron – as you do…
Will you be watching? Better still, were you at one of the shows and plan to look out for yourself in the crowd, which is now soon to be splashed on the big screen?
Danny Jones -
25th February 2026 
