If there’s one artist we believe has never quite got the credit he deserves, it’s Francis Edward f***ing Turner – Frank to his loyal legions of followers around the world and the roughly 2,600 gig-goers inside Manchester Academy on Saturday, 5 April 2025.
Don’t get us wrong, Frank Turner and his long-standing touring band The Sleeping Souls are no minnow in the music industry: the 43-year-old is now two decades into his solo career and even during his time as the frontman of Million Dead, he had plenty of die hards right out of the gate.
What we mean is that for someone with the longevity, stamina, charisma, commitment to grassroots and such a rich back catalogue, he doesn’t get anywhere near enough the level of recognition he should.
It doesn’t matter which of the 10 albums he pulls from; the connection with those in the crowd is as strong as it’s ever been, if not even more powerful than the last time they saw him and the Souls, mainly because those lot up on the stage put in the same amount of energy as they always have.
Even the most avid fan would admit the Hampshire-born bard of the modern age has such an extensive back catalogue that you can be forgiven for not knowing every B-side and deep cut from back to front.
ADVERTISEMENT
The man himself joked, “You’ve had a whole year to learn these f***ing songs”, but in all seriousness, that’s not what a Frank Turner gig is about. As he has the audience repeat back to without any need for a prompt at this point, the rules are simple: “Don’t be a d***” and don’t be ashamed to dance around.
Just like he told his Manc congregation this past weekend, “If you’re at this show, you probably were never that cool to begin with”, so if he and his truly brilliant live band can put their “aging knees” through the ringer hundreds of times a year, those watching him best reciprocate in kind.
ADVERTISEMENT
And they did, from start to finish, as a Manchester Academy crowd or any venue in the city will always guarantee for that matter.
But more importantly, we suddenly realised something as he introduced the cult favourite track ‘Jinny Bingham’s Ghost’ from his eighth studio LP, Tales From No Man’s Land (2019), which was released with an accompanying podcast about historical female figures whose stories he wanted to shed light on.
It only took us seeing him for the fourth time to fully understand it, but we got there in the end…
We used that word ‘bard’ before – i.e. the old storytellers, musicians and orators, performers, comedians, historians, genealogists and so on that used to chronicle people’s lives, events taking place and the wider world around for centuries – but it felt like this most recent gig spoke to that oral tradition.
There have always been moments like this in his albums, in truth, and we only now realise that we had the same feeling the first time we heard ‘Balthazar, Impresario’ but Turner, we feel, is one of the few current artists truly keeping that almost time-travelling bard culture alive.
Be it conducting an orchestra of tipsy Northerners as they sing back in perfect harmony (just about), organising a crowd-surfing race between two mates who chose the concert as the stag do, teaching them literal historic tales of a young woman who drowned in the River Seine back in the 1800’s, he’s a rare breed of performer.
There’s plenty of call and response in Frank Turner’s music, but there’s also a real sense of history, politics and culture, not to mention a sense of proud Englishness that contemporary society can find difficult or at least a somewhat cumbersome topic these days.
Undefeated, underrated, criminally underappreciated and absolutely unbelievable live.
ADVERTISEMENT
Folk and old-school punk rock at its finest. Frank Turner can come back to Manchester Academy any time he likes. (Credit: Audio North)
Rising US star Conan Gray announces huge Manchester arena show as part of UK tour
Emily Sergeant
Conan Gray has just announced a UK leg to his upcoming tour, and he’ll be stopping off in Manchester for a huge arena gig.
In just a few short years, Conan Gray has become a star… and his star is only rising higher.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter, born in California but raised in Texas, got his start on YouTube, where he began uploading vlogs, covers, and original songs as a teenager, hoping to get his start in the entertainment industry.
He first garnered critical and fan acclaim from the release of his commercially successful singles ‘Maniac’ and ‘Heather’ before he went on to put out his debut studio album, Kid Krow, in 2020 – which placed at number five on the US charts, announcing his talent to the world and making it the biggest US artist debut of the year.
Conan Gray has announced a huge Manchester arena show next year / Credit: Supplied | Angelica Whitney (Wikimedia Commons)
After gaining millions of streams and developing a truly a faithful fanbase, Gray went on to release his second studio album, Superache, in 2022, and his third album, Found Heaven, a couple of years later in 2024.
If three albums in four years wasn’t impressive enough as it is, Gray released his fourth studio album, Wishbone, back in August and it’s catapulted him to a new level of fame, especially with the TikTok success of the single ‘Vodka Cranberry’.
Now Gray is embarking on a major world tour to celebrate his latest album, following the unforgettable Wishbone Pajama Show tour in the US, where he sold out legendary venues like Madison Square Garden, and the Kia Forum.
Manchester! @conangray brings the Wishbone World Tour to the @AOArena – Save the date: Sat 9th May 2026!
The UK arm of the Wishbone World Tour sees Gray pay a visit to us here in Manchester, as he takes to the iconic AO Arena stage next year in May.
Birmingham, Glasgow, and London are the other cities Gray will be stopping off at on his UK tour.
Conan Gray will be playing a huge gig at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday 6 May 2026 as part of the Wishbone World Tour, and tickets officially go on sale this week – with both pre-sales and general sale available.
The Three+ presale will begin on Wednesday 22 October at 9am, and the AO Arena presale will start on Thursday 23 October, again at 9am, before general sale launches on Friday 24 October at 9am.
Featured Image – Dillon Matthew Photography (Publicity Picture – Supplied)
Audio
Wu-Tang Clan announce final farewell shows in UK, including a massive Manc arena gig
Danny Jones
The one and only Wu-Tang Clan and their music may be ‘forever’, but they’re coming together for one more global run with their final live gigs here in the UK, including one huge Manchester arena gigthat is sure to sell out.
Arguably the most legendary and influential hip-hop groups ever, Wu-Tang saw their farewell tour across America wrap up this past summer, and now, after having gone from state to state, the Clan will be heading to mainland Europe and beyond for one last ride.
The scenes from the aptly-titled ‘Final Chamber’ have been nothing short of incredible in their home nation, but with a truly worldwide following, you can expect us Mancs and the overseas crowds to provide the same energy.
Narrated by British comedian and renowned lover of rap music, Romesh Ranganathan, the Wu-Tang Clan have announced a handful of additional dates, giving fans one last chance to see them live.
If you haven’t heard about the Final Chamber tour up until now, it’s seen all 10 members of the iconic collective – yes, including Cappadonna – get the show back on the road for what are undoubtedly Wu-Tang‘s biggest shows to date.
After all, if you’re going to call it a day, you might as well go out on the biggest high possible and play to the largest audiences ever.
Following three decades’ worth of music, these farewell shows broke ticket-sale records for the band, selling out 36 shows across North America with Killer Mike and producer El-P’s duo Run The Jewels as the main support act.
Now THAT is some lineup.
Confirmed to play their final ever Manchester show early next year, Wu-Tang Clan will be saying goodbye to their Northern following with a Co-op Live debut.
What makes this even more special is that this is just one of two shows they are currently scheduled to play in the UK – the only other being The O2 in London.
You could keep your fingers crossed for extra dates being added for what we can only imagine will be huge demand, but this could very well be the only other chance you get to see Wu-Tang Clan live in Manchester before they hang up the mic.
Co-op Member presale access for their March 2026 show will be available from 10am on Wednesday, 22 October, with general admission tickets going live at the same time this coming Friday (24 Oct). You can get ready to grab ours HERE.
Until then, you can see more from Wu-Tang’s ‘Final Chamber’ tour so far down below.
Danny Jones -
6th April 2025 
