Stretford’s finest blessed Night And Day Café in Manchester with her smooth-like-chocolate vocals and rich-like-cake ensemble was the perfect almost-weekend treat.
This tour spanned three locations: Dublin, London and Manchester (she definitely saved the best til last), with each date having its own support act.
The show at beloved Northern Quarter venue Night And Day Café saw the soul star championing another local singer-songwriter, Ewan Sim.
His setlist was as fresh as they can get, probably because his EP ‘Sense Of It All’ released the morning of the show – it’s not the first time we’ve come across him but we’ll definitely be giving it a listen in full.
Lusaint delivering a spellbinding performance at Night And Day Café, Manchester.Lusaint and her band sold out Night And Day Café in Manchester, on Friday.Credit: Audio North
Lusaint opened her showcase with a performance of ‘Neon Lights’ which was as cathartic as anticipated, with its funk sounds and loose instrumental livening the crowd.
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‘Fool For You’ has a slowed-down Eliza Doolittle doo-wop feel to it with its colourful instrumental and bird-tweet-like vocals.
The higher-pitched vocal intonations at the end of each line in the chorus scratch a certain itch in my brain and hearing this live, had me hooked all over again.
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But enough about me describing the track, check it out for yourself here, it’s not my fault if you get hooked.
Stunning.
Lusaint’s ‘Dark Horse’ was a reminder of just how personal these songs are, as she delivered a rendition that was more emotive than its studio version.
Although the venue was comfy and cosy, Lusaint felt untouchable, and with the catastrophic heights her career is reaching I’d say that description is very fitting.
Luckily for us, we recently got the opportunity to rub shoulders with the vocalist ahead of her show, just a stone’s throw away from the venue where she played.
In case you couldn’t tell through the camera, she was an absolute joy.
Watching her live is hypnotising, her music really is soul-healing, it’s no wonder that her upcoming EP is titled ‘Apothecary’, she knows how to concoct the perfect melody.
She played fans a handful of songs they can expect to hear including ‘Joking’ which might be coming as soon as next month – my Spotify Wrapped isn’t ready for this one.
Her covers of timeless classics, ‘Feeling Good’ by Nina Simone and ‘Crazy’ by Gnarls Barkley, were met with a pleasant sing-along from the crowd and an open-mouthed crowd stood wide-eyed watching Lusaint belt.
After performing at The Pink Room, Albert Hall and now Night And Day Café, we’d wager every Manchester city centre venue will soon be fighting over which stage she’ll be gracing next.
Ne-Yo and Akon announce huge joint arena show in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
Two R&B greats are heading out on a joint headline tour for the first time, as Ne-Yo and Akon announced the Nights Like This global tour.
Both artists are Grammy Award winners, and each has a formidable back catalogue of chart-topping hits.
For Ne-Yo, that includes songs like Miss Independent, So Sick, and Closer; while for Akon, he’s responsible for huge tracks like Smack That, Lonelty, and Right Now (Na Na Na).
Between them, they’ve shaped and defined radio, nightlife, and pop culture for decades.
This newly-announced tour will see the pair performing on the same stage – for Manchester, that’s the Co-op Live arena – for a co-headline Nights Like This tour.
They’ll perform in a unique back-and-forth set throughout the show, visiting venues right across the UK and Europe, as well as heading across to the USA and Canada.
The nostalgic gigs will feature everything from slow jams to club anthems, with a party atmosphere throughout.
Ne-Yo and Akon will perform at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Friday 1 May 2026, with tickets on sale from Friday 30 January at 10am.
There will be an artist pre-sale on Wednesday 28 January at 10am.
Nights Like This EU/UK 2026 tour dates
Fri 24 Apr – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
Mon 27 Apr – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena Newcastle
Tue 28 Apr – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
Thu 30 Apr – Leeds, UK – First Direct Bank Arena
Fri 1 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 4 May – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena Birmingham
Enter Shikari announce biggest Manchester gig to date on new UK arena tour
Danny Jones
British rock band Enter Shikari have just announced their biggest Manchester gig EVER as part of the UK leg of dates on their upcoming arena tour.
This is going to be massive.
Formed in St Albans back in 1999, it seems hard to believe that they’ve been at this for more than a quarter of a century already, as the alt-rock and electronic-influenced outfit still has just as much raw youthful energy as they did back then – especially on stage.
With that in mind, the latest raft of Enter Shikari live shows will see them head up and down the country, as well as across Europe and Australia.
We’re excited to today announce Enter Shikari’s return to the arena stages of the UNITED KINGDOM, EUROPE and AUSTRALIA.
Sharing the news on social media, the band wrote: “We’re excited to today announce Enter Shikari’s return to the arena stages of the UNITED KINGDOM.”
2026 UK dates include not only a pair of nights at London’s legendary Ally Pally, but their first-ever Glasgow arena show, and their Co-op Live debut here in Manchester.
The statement continues: “We’ll also be playing some of our biggest ever shows in EUROPE, including our first ever German headline arena show. For all these shows, we will be joined by our good friends Holding Absence [great band], as well as the wonderful The Callous Dao Boys from Atlanta, Georgia.”
Shikari will be heading down under first this coming May, where they’ll be supported by Grandson, but more importantly, here in Great Britain, “all tickets sold for UK shows will once again include a £1 donation to the Music Venue Trust.” You love to see it.
Having come up thanks to being platformed by small-cap venues across the nation, it should be a no-brainer for all bands to “support them in their endeavours to help protect and preserve grassroots level touring in the UK.”
We had the good fortune of chatting to them back when we were still going by The Manc Audio (now Audio North) ahead of the mini Manchester residency, and you could tell they still have no intention of slowing down all these years later.
As the boys go on to add in their post: “exclusive ‘Future Historians’ and mailing list fan presales start tomorrow [Wednesday 28 January] at 10am […] So if you’re not yet signed up to the mailing list, you’ve got time to correct that.
Official Co-op members can also enjoy exclusive early access via the venue from the same time tomorrow; meanwhile, general admission goes live at 10am GMT this coming Friday, 30 January.
Get ready to grab your tickets for the most massive Manchester show in Enter Shikari history on 19 November right HERE.
There’s plenty of other big stuff happening at Co-op Live already this year – arguably none more so than the 2026 BRITs. Find out more down below.
Thomas Melia -
16th March 2025 
