Legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd are returning to Manchester for a limited UK tour at one city’s foremost venues.
Six years since their last visit, we’re sure they’ve missed ‘That Smell’ of a Manchester crowd and it’s safe to say safe we’ve missed them too.
Known for our love of live music and gigs, there’s no better place to stop off at other than Manchester when you’re playing a world tour, especially celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band’s formation.
Their name needs no introduction, however, if you need a reminder of this band’s remarkable career then ‘Don’t Ask Me No Questions’.
Just kidding, the well-seasoned country and blues veterans from Jacksonville, Flordia are one of the most acclaimed acts to ever come out of the US; in 2006 they received one of the biggest honours any artist could wish for, getting inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
With 14 official studio albums, several EPs and numerous live recordings, there are definitely more than enough songs to pack into one unforgettable night.
As one of just four dates here in England, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Manchester tour show is taking place at none other than the AO Arena, which has also reached a milestone in 2025 as they celebrate 30 years of unbelievable gigs. What better way to party than with a good ol’ fashioned rock show?
They won’t be travelling solo either, they’re also bringing Georgia-based rockers Blackberry Smoke as a support act, notable for their 2012 single ‘One Horse Town’ along with many others.
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Rockin’ it out like they always do, bring on Manchester. That iconic Lynyrd logo will look immense in AO Arena this year.Credit: Supplied
They’ve chosen the right venue to belt the hits too and, ironically, they’ve chosen a Tuesday for their Manchester date, meaning you’ll be able to walk out of the concert singing ‘Tuesday’s Gone’ with more conviction than ever.
One thing is for sure, with a legacy as big as this, the rockers are guaranteed to have a great time. There might not be any founding members left following the passing of guitarist and songwriter Gary Rossington in 2023, but you can bet the current lineup will do the originals justice and then some.
Lynyrd Skynyrd visit the AO Arena in Manchester on Tuesday 15 July 2025 with tickets going on sale from Friday 24 January at 10am. You can grab yours HERE.
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.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/Audio North
Audio
Manchester United officially launch second Adidas fashion collab with The Stone Roses
Danny Jones
After several weeks of teasers, the latest fashion collab between Adidas, Manchester United and The Stone Roses has officially revealed.
We have no doubt this one will be lapped up just as quickly as the first.
Following images of the new Stone Roses x Man United kit and the focal point of this new collection being leaked online earlier this month, the second drop by Adidas has now been unveiled in full.
Releasing another stylistic video to the tune of the legendary Manc band’s famous anthem, ‘I Wanna Be Adored’, players both past and present from the men’s and women’s team star in the launch video.
As you can see, not only did the players get involved with the shoot as expected, but the clip also includes a snippet of archive footage featuring a young Ian Brown in a short but profound talking head.
The Stone Roses frontman, and indeed other members of the band, have never made their love of United a secret – none more so than the late, great Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield – and the supporters have also shared plenty of it back.
Be it through ‘This Is The One’ being chosen by Gary Neville as the official walk-out song at Old Trafford and various chants sung to Stone Roses tunes, to the previous collab back in February 2024, the two iconic cultural brands pretty much go hand in hand.
Besides the next multi-coloured paint-splashed shirt, which leaked first, as well as a new bucket hat (again, very era appropriate), there are scarves, a graphic design t-shirt, two sets of shorts and even two different pairs of shoes.
Images of the white Stone Roses trainers also popped up in leaks across various Man United fan accounts on social media, but few had seen the black ZX 600 Adidas trainers until now.
What do you make of the latest batch of lifestyle fashion from the club?
Meanwhile, with just days left in the transfer window, it remains to be seen whether new interim manager Michael Carrick will be rewarded for his first two wins against the top two in the league with any reinforcements before the end of January – but there are some rumblings…
Thomas Melia -
21st January 2025 
