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Indie icons The Kooks have announced a huge Manchester gig on UK arena tour

My inner indie teenager is screaming. (Contains affiliate links)

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 16th April 2025

The Kooks have announced a huge UK arena tour, which will see the indie icons performing here in Manchester this autumn.

The new tour, which features their biggest-ever headline show, has been announced in support of their upcoming seventh studio album, Never/Know.

And The Kooks will be supported by a big North West name for their tour – Breakthrough Act of the Year, The K’s.

The Kooks are icons of the British indie music scene, releasing their breakthrough album Inside In / Inside Out almost two decades ago, spawning huge hits like Naïve, You Don’t Love Me and She Moves In Her Own Way.

The group’s newly-announced major UK tour features a stop in their hometown of Brighton.

The Kooks will be performing at The Co-op Live in Manchester, as well as venues in Cardiff, Newcastle, Birmingham and London, this autumn on the Never/Know tour.

The Kooks will play Manchester on their new UK tour
The Kooks will play Manchester on their new UK tour. Credit: Maria Villanueva
The Kooks will play Manchester on their new UK tour
The Kooks will play Manchester on their new UK tour. Credit: Jordan Munns

Their album of the same name is slated for release on 9 May, which has already featured springtime anthem Sunny Baby.

Speaking about the single, frontman Luke Pritchard said, “We’re told how bad everything is at the moment; everything’s sh*t; the world’s sh*t.

“And I was like, I’m just going to refuse to not let these be the best years of life, because I’ve got a young family. It’s about me getting to a balanced life; having a family. It’s a love song about someone making me fall back in love with myself.”

The Kooks will play at Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 3 October, with general release tickets on sale at 10am on Friday 25 April HERE.

The Kooks 2025 UK tour dates

  • Friday 3 October – Co-op Live – Manchester
  • Saturday 4 October – Cardiff Utilita Arena – Cardiff
  • Sunday 5 October – Brighton Centre – Brighton
  • Thursday 9 October – Newcastle Utilita Arena – Newcastle
  • Friday 10 October- Birmingham Utilita Arena – Birmingham
  • Saturday 11 October – The O2 – London

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Featured image: Party in the Paddock and Renae Saxby

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Country star Tyler Childers is coming to town for his biggest Manchester show to date

Danny Jones Danny Jones Tyler Childers Manchester tickets

US country music star Tyler Childers is returning to Manchester for his biggest ever show in this city, and tickets go on sale very soon.

Fresh off the back of his new album, Snipe Hunter – which was only just dropped back in July – the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is riding a fresh wave of excitement after years of hard work within the genre, mixing in plenty of classic bluegrass and folk into his modern take on the classic American sound.

As one of the most-streamed and well-respected contemporary country musicians on the scene right now, the Kentucky-born solo star and understated acoustic guitarist often falls into that category of your favourite artist’s favourite artist.

Now Tyler Childers is coming to our most legendary arena as part of his UK and European tour early next year, and we’ll certainly be queuing online for tickets.

As far as AO Arena shows booked in for the new year go, we’re very excited about this one.

His seventh studio album has been well-received by his die-hard followers and newcomers alike, delivering that same traditional Appalachian storytelling and hard-bitten humour, as well as plenty of attitude and anecdotal idiosyncrasies, not to mention plenty of vocal range as always.

Having not long come back from a pilgrimage to India, Lawrence County king teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin (along with some help from Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn) to create one of his most eye-opening, broad and best records yet.

Post-release, the Associated Press went on to label him “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists”, and we tend to agree.

The LP immediately spawned plenty of fan favourites, and we certainly have ours – and the video has definitely had a hand in it:

It may just be his best work yet.

Experimenting with his current unique take on country rock sound more than ever, you couldn’t ask for a better time to go and see him live.

To quote the words of Rolling Stone magazine, he’s “one of his generation’s most important voices”, and you really should see him live if you can.

Once again, Tyler Childers comes to the AO Arena in Manchester on Sunday, 8 March 2026, with an official pre-sale available via Three+ from 9am on Wednesday, 10 September.

As for general admission, tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (12 Sep); you can get ready to grab yours HERE.

We don’t know about you, but we’re very much enjoying our country moment at the minute…

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Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

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Lil Baby cancels entire European tour including Manchester Co-op Live date

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Lil Baby cancels entire European tour including Manchester Co-op Live date

A major act at Co-op Live has cancelled their gig today, just weeks ahead of their scheduled appearance.

Rapper Lil Baby has called off his entire European tour, which included a massive gig here in Manchester.

Fans have been notified via email that the shows will no longer be going ahead.

The Grammy award-winning artist was set to play the Co-op Live on Friday 26 September as part of his WHAM World Tour.

But Lil Baby will no longer be performing in Manchester – along with cancelled shows in London and across Europe – due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.

A statement from AXS sent to fans said: “The event organisers have been in touch to let us know that due to unforeseen circumstances, Lil Baby’s performance has now been cancelled.

“We will be automatically refunding your tickets to the method of payment you used to buy your tickets, so you don’t need to do anything further.

“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

Lil Baby has released four chart-topping albums, with his seminal album My Turn going seven-time Platinum.

Fans have been voicing their dismay at the cancellation of the tour, with one writing on X: “All rappers do is cancel SMH. Lilbaby cancelled tour cba.”

Another wrote: “Why the hell has lil baby cancelled his show.”

Someone on TikTok said: “I woke up to this email now my day is ruined cos Wdymm.”

And someone else posted: “I PURPOSELY TOLD MY PEOPLE NOT GOING ON HOLIDAY FOR MY BDAY BECAUSE LIL BABY PERFORMING IN LONDON ON 27 THE NEXT DAY! FOR HIM TO CANNNNCEEELLLLL 2 WEEKS BEFORE.”

Lil Baby has not yet addressed the cancellation.

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