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.
The smash-hit daytime rave where you can still be in bed early is returning to Manchester
Clementine Hall
That’s right: Day Fever, the daytime rave designed to still get you tucked in at a reasonable hour, is coming back to Manchester city centre this year.
Following their biggest raft of shows across the UK and Ireland in 2025, the smash-hit night out that is very much aimed at those of us 30 and over – but fellow sleepy heads are obviously more than welcome – Day Fever are targeting big things in 2026.
Launched in early 2024 by actress Vicky McClure and Reverend & The Makers frontman, Jon McClure, Day Fever has become a cultural sensation.
From its debut in Sheffield to a tour that sees thousands of ravers hitting the dance floor each month, the message is clear: people want to dance and let loose, but still be in bed before 9pm – and let’s be honest, who can blame them?
The founders (L-R): Jon McClure, James O’Hara, Jonny Owen, Vicky and Chris McClure. (supplied)
Running from 3-8pm, Day Fever provides a proper night out that doesn’t completely write you off for the entire weekend.
“It started as a WhatsApp idea”, says Jon McClure. “Jonny just said, ‘A daytime disco, how good would that be?’ We’re all a bit nuts, so we just said, ‘Come on then!’”
“It feels like a massive house party at your nan’s,” laughs Vicky. “No drama, no egos, just people acting daft, getting dressed up, and having the best time.”
From here in 0161 and our mates over in Leeds, to Newcastle, Glasgow and many more, each Day Fever event has its own unique flavour.
There’ll be local DJs who know their crowds keep the energy high with a nostalgic mix of Northern Soul, disco, indie, and 90s classics. “Manchester goes mad for Oasis,” says Jon, “and if Vicky’s there, we have to play Whitney, it’s non-negotiable!”
For starters, just look at the turnout they got over Christmas:
Five Greater Manchester-based artists we’ve been listening to this month | December 2025
Danny Jones
This is it: the last Greater Manchester music round-up of the year, only a couple of days late due to a mix of the post-NYE 48-hour hangover and quite possibly still being in a largely mince pie-induced food coma.
In all seriousness, 2025 has been an absolute belter not just for music but the North, in particular, and especially here in Manchester.
We know we say it all the time, but we really are blessed and well beyond lucky to live in one of the creative and audio capitals on planet Earth.
So, for one last time (an Audio North encore, if you will), please give it up for the amazing musicians based in and around Greater Manchester that we were listening to in December.
Five local artists we’ve been listening to this past month
1. Concrete Club
First off is some deeply satisfying British indie in the shape of Concrete Club – a fitting name for a band based in an ever-growing metropolis, swept up in a sea of cranes and never-ending construction. Intentional? Unsure, but given they formed in 2022, it makes sense and sounds as good as they do.
Vocally, it can take a minute to get used to frontman and bassist Jonny Brewster’s approach, as it swings between everything from Fran from Red Rum Club, Brandon Flowers and White Lies’ Harry McVeigh. There’s some serious range on show, and it makes seeing where each track goes next exciting in itself.
Not only is it extremely impressive, but once you get used to the minor whiplash, it can often feel like you’re getting an ever-so-slightly different singing style each time. In terms of tracks to start with, we’d recommend ‘Relentless’, ‘Jackie Don’t Mind’ and ‘Electric Sunrise’, but there’s plenty of breadth to enjoy in their easily-digestible discography. They even got the nod from the late, great Mani. RIP to a legend.
This one's for Mani. Our mentor, our champion and our friend. We can't describe how much we'll miss him – and we'll leave it at that.
Next up is some unapologetic girl rock, which may have been born in the West Midlands, but solo artist Lissy Taylor is fast taking her music all over, with the ride so far taking her across the UK, Europe and even the United States, before posting up here in Manchester.
We’ll admit that seeing any musician donning a Stoke City shirt whilst performing live on BBC coverage was always going to catch our eye, but after we learned she had also become the first woman from the area to ever be signed by Universal, she held our attention. She might not be the finished article just yet, but you can tell she’s a woman on a mission.
More than a decade into her career, and now based in our fair city, you can tell that Taylor has more confidence and conviction than ever: you can hear it in her music. It started in 2023 with our fave, ‘Feel For Me’, and has spread into tunes like ‘Life Changing’ and her latest single ‘Jealous’. Give them a go.
3. Plastic Heart
They say three is the magic number, and judging by what we’ve heard so far from Manc alternative rock outfit Plastic Heart, they just might be on to something. Even with just a few properly studio-produced and finished tunes on the internet, they already have a very well-defined sound, and it’s got us hyped.
A five-piece from in and around Greater Manchester, these lot look like they’re off on the right foot, as they’re not just getting themselves about on social media but, most importantly, they’re clearly busy at work writing, rehearsing and recording a solid first batch of material.
In terms of what is out there so far, you’ll get hints of Vukovi/PVRIS in ‘Hear My Call’ and ‘Tension’; plus, based on their little teaser on Instagram, we’re looking forward to the fully-fledged version of another as-yet-unreleased song, ‘Ashes’. Get on board from the start and thank us later when that first EP drops.
From yet another female-led group to another fun, albeit very kind of vocalist, but one that we have been left very intrigued by, to say the least. We’ll begin by assuring that, yes, this is their name, and no, there are no typos in the spelling; this Manchester-based project isn’t like much you’ll have heard before.
We came across them via their show alongside equally unique poet and musician Edward Barton, as they joined up with the veteran artist and all-round eccentric at The Yard, as well as having written with each other earlier in the year. At first glance, they seem just as idiosyncrantic, charmingly unserious and entirely singular as he is, but we suspect there’s more to come.
The lyrics are arguably even more anecdotal and amusing, and rather conveniently, we can only find two tracks on Spotify, so you can similarly get up to speed on this very intriguing concept before falling into what we can only imagine will go on to be a pretty wild Bandcamp wormhole.
5. Chloe Slater
One more fantastic artist doing wonders for women in music, for good measure, shall we? Plenty of you will have no doubt heard of Bournemouth-born singer-songwriter and 0161 adoptee, Chloe Slater, but we’ll confess it’s taken us far too long to dive deep into her full catalogue.
It was probably one of the biggest musical mistakes we made this past 12 months, but we will be rectifying it as one of our first New Year’s Resolutions. Going from a somewhat disaffected uni dropout to an opinionated, outspoken and politically charged lyricist – she’s been a Northerner in spirit, alright.
Touching everything from regional and generational challenges, we struggle to play favourites, but sod it: ‘Price On Fun’, ‘Harriet’, ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’, ‘Death Trap’, ‘Tiny Screens’. Just trust us and listen to every second of this up-and-comer who’s already supported fellow rising alt-pop star Role Model and, coincidentally, is a dead ringer for actor Daisy Edgar-Jones…
So that’s it for another year, only the best part is we’ll be keeping this show on the road all throughout 2026 as we hunt for more local music legends in the making.
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With that in mind, if you’ve got suggestions for Manchester-based bands we should listen to next or know a native who you believe is the next best thing, please do drop them in the comments.
Oh, and if you want even more of our favourite artists over the past year, why not check out the list of what The Manc, HootandThe Sheff team named as the top albums of 2025?
Thomas Melia -
21st January 2025 
