Manchester has missed out on the top spot and has been ranked the second best city in Europe for live music lovers.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
Sabrina Carpenter and Gracie Abrams were some of the most-recent global popstars to take to the Manchester stage, and in the last few days, music icons like Stevie Wonder and John Legend have announced they’re stopping off in our city this year.
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Manchester has been ranked the second best live music city in Europe / Credit: Josh Sorenson | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)
We have a wealth of live music venues in and around the city centre, ranging from massive arenas like the AO Arena and the newest addition of Co-op Live, and stadiums such as the Etihad and Emirates Old Trafford, right through to other middle-sized indoor and outdoor venues like the Apollo, O2 Victoria Warehouse and The Ritz, Castlefield Bowl, and Aviva Studios, and of course the smaller stops like Manchester Academy, New Century Hall, Albert Hall, and the Bridgewater Hall.
And that’s without even getting into the countless other grass-roots and independent small venues like Band On The Wall, Night & Day Cafe, The Deaf Institute, Gorilla, and loads more.
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So, you’d think with an illustrious reputation like that, we’d be the best musical city in Europe… sadly though, we’ve missed out on the top spot to the German capital of Berlin, and have had to settle for second place.
We missed out on the top spot to the German capital of Berlin / Credit: Bruno Cervera (via Unsplash)
After all, the famous saying does go ‘first the worst, second the best’.
It’s all according to a new study by hospitality group Accor, which analysed the top European cities for live music by collecting data, such as the total number of available gig listings in 2025, global monthly search trends, and venue ratings, from popular event and ticketing websites.
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Manchester came runner up with an overall gig city score of 87.2 out of 100, thanks to having a total of 966 gigs planned this year already and a venue rating of 4.57 stars out of five.
The only other two UK cities on the top 15 list is London following behind us in third place, and Birmingham in seventh place.
Featured Image – Alex Bracken (via Unsplash)
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Co-op Live appears to tease major Mariah Carey Christmas gig sending fans into a frenzy
Emily Sergeant
All we want for Christmas… is Mariah Carey in Manchester.
And maybe, just maybe, our Christmas wish might come true very soon, as Co-op Live has taken to social media today to tease its next gig announcement with its hundreds of thousands of followers, and without jumping to conclusions, it does appear to be hinting at the queen of Christmas herself making an appearance.
Look, we know it’s only July and right in the middle of summer, but even if you think it’s too early to be talking about the festive season, you have to admit that the potential of Mariah Carey coming to Manchester is worth getting excited any time of the year.
The US pop powerhouse last performed in our city nearly a decade ago now when she brought her famous All I Want For Christmasshow to the UK for the first time ever, taking to sold-out Manchester Arena stage on 10 December 2017.
Mariah has not performed in Manchester since, but all that could be set to change as Co-op Live has hinted that an announcement is ‘coming soon’.
Taking to its official social media platforms today, Co-op Live posted a very festive-themed AI video of snow falling on the arena as the camera zoomed in and the instrumental of Mariah’s absolutely iconic hit ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ playing in the background, and the caption hinting at the song’s title too.
Of course, we could be wrong, it might not be Mariah at all, but if the 300+ comments from fans in a frenzy thinking the same as us are anything to go by, it’s looking like we might be right.
“The countdown to Christmas is on,” Co-op Live said in its video, before letting fans know that they would be getting some form of confirmation soon.
So, is it Mariah then? What do you think? Only time will tell, so stay tuned.
Featured Image – Picryl
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DMA’S announce VERY intimate shows ahead of major tour
Daisy Jackson
DMA’S have just announced details of some of their most intimate gigs yet, with the Aussie trio set to perform at record stores and tiny music venues around the UK.
The indie-rock heavyweights have just announced a handful of very intimate shows this summer, ahead of their much larger tour in 2027.
DMA’S will be treating fans to up-close acoustic gigs in cities including Manchester, Leeds, Middlesbrough, Dundee and Bristol.
The shows are to celebrate the release of their self-titled fifth album, which is due for release on 21 August.
DMA’S will be playing the outstore gigs the week after the album is released, kicking things off in Kingston on 24 August.
Then they’ll head out to some of the nation’s finest record stores and intimate event spaces, which means a show at The Yard here in Manchester.
DMA’S announce VERY intimate shows ahead of major tour. Credit: Roman Jody
DMA’S Manchester gig will be with Crash Records and Piccadilly Records, using the Cheetham Hill creative hub and record studio for the actual show.
Then they’ll end up back up North with a gig at Wardrobe in Leeds.
The announcement follows the release of the band’s latest single Killing Time, a fast-paced, euphoric and instantly infectious anthem that continues to build anticipation for the album.
This is a rare chance to see DMA’S – Johnny Took, Matt Mason and Tommy O’Dell – in an intimate setting, when they normally dominate some of the biggest stages in the world.
DMA’S have accrued over 500 million streams across their catalogue, four multi-platinum singles, multiple ARIA Award nominations, and 13 songs in triple j’s coveted Hottest 100.
These intimate outstores mean that fans won’t have to wait all the way until 2027 to see the boys live again, when they’ll be playing huge shows including two nights at the Manchester Academy.
DMA’S intimate record store shows
Monday 24 August – Kingston, Circuit (with Banquet)
Tuesday 25 August – Manchester, The Yard (with Crash & Piccadilly)
Wednesday 26 August – Middlesbrough, Empire (with Jacaranda)
Thursday 27 August – Dundee, Fat Sams (with Assai)
Emily Sergeant -
19th March 2025 
