After pop-punk mega group Fall Out Boy announced they were once again hitting the road for their latestlap of the Earth and its best arenas, fans scrambled for tickets to catch another glimpse of the band that once took up prime real estate on their iTunes playlists.
In support of their eighth studio album, So Much (For) Stardust, the band from a sleepy suburb north of Chicago embarked on a tour that has already taken them across North America and Europe, before heading off to South East Asia and Australia at the end of this year.
Thankfully, one of those stops was at Manchester’s very own AO Arena…
Having sold over nine million albums and counting, the American rock icons know a thing or two about how to sell out an arena, so as we entered the concourse the droves of early-arriving fans sheathed in black merchandise and brightly coloured hair comes as no surprise.
Fall Out Boy opened their AO Arena show with a bang. (Credit: The Manc Audio)
With Sunday pints at the ready, a sudden darkness triggers deafening screams from the congregation of both first-timers and day-oners who’ve waited five long years to sing their favourite emo anthems with the guys who first put them together.
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In a blaze of pyro and smoke, the foursome burst onto the stage with the energy of four teenagers after a wholesale crate of Red Bull, lifting the roof off the arena with their iconic, deafening sound. It’s like they haven’t aged a day.
Blatantly ignoring fire safety protocols, bassist Pete Wentz had strapped a flame thrower to the neck of his guitar and was sending plumes of fire into the sky at every possible opportunity.
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It doesn’t take long to pull out the big guns — no, not the aforementioned fiery guitar of death, but the hits we’ve come to know and love the band for over nearly two decades.
Never gets old.
Riveting performances of ‘Sugar, We’re Going Down’ and ‘Uma Thurman’ set the tempo early on in the show, with the raw harmony of the crowd taking over virtually every chorus they’ve practised in their cars over and over again.
Lighting up their 11th appearance in Manchester, the band continued to dig into the archives of their storied discography, giving fans both in the stands and fans in the mosh pits a mix of the big radio hits and some of the lesser-known tracks which separate the hardcore from everyone else.
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The set felt like a miniature Tomorrowland, with winking trees, oversized starfish, talking moons; a giant Doberman and even a mystic eight-ball looming high in the sky which Wentz used to determine which song would be next on the hit list — whether genuinely random or completely scripted, it was cool.
Frontman Patrick Stump then took a moment mid-set to give fans a piano rendition of everyone’s favourite power ballad, ‘Don’t Stop Believin”, which left some fans feeling like they were stuck in some Glee-based alternative reality or the final episode of The Sopranos (if you know, you know).
Fall Out Boy gave Mancs a bit of every flavour on Sunday night.
They even made time for a bit of magic, as Pete disappeared behind a black sheet and reappeared in the middle of the crowd to give floor-dwelling fans a close-up masterclass on bass, much to the delight of everyone in his immediate vicinity and those on his route back to the stage. These boys like pageantry.
Closing out an epic show, the guys go back to their roots with some classic Fall Out Boy, performing band favourite, ‘Saturday’, from their debut album, Take This to Your Grave.
It was an incredible way to end the weekend and, from the fans, a warm welcome back on a cold October evening. If only the clocks had gone back mid-performance, we could have gotten one more hour of Fall Out Boy smashing the AO Arena. Guess you can’t have it all — either way, what a show.
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‘Til next time, thanks for the memories. For instance, any excuse to relive the pleasure of seeing them at that very last-minute surprise Band on the Wall gig earlier this year too:
Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
The Manc Audio -
30th October 2023 
