Pop phenomenon Melanie Martinez has just announced arena gig here in Manchester as part of her The Trilogy Tour.
The singer is currently performing as her alter-ego ‘Cry Baby’, which involves her wearing an other-worldly mask that transforms her into a cat-like creature with four eyes and gigantic ears.
The pink fantastical character will be visiting Dublin, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and London on the UK and Ireland leg of the tour.
Melanie Martinez will be performing at the huge new Co-op Live Arena in Manchester in September this year.
Fans can expect to hear hits from all three of her groundbreaking multi-platinum albums – Cry Baby, K-12, and Portals.
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The 28-year-old singer, who first found fame on The Voice, has amassed a whopping 14 billion streams across the globe, including her TikTok viral song Play Date.
She recently wrapped up the PORTALS Tour, named after her third studio album, which received widespread critical acclaim.
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It landed at the top of the albums charts in several countries, peaking at number two in the UK albums chart.
Melanie Martinez is coming to Manchester on her The Trilogy Tour. Credit: Justin GreenwoodMelanie Martinez is coming to Manchester on her The Trilogy Tour. Credit: Justin Greenwood
The hit singles from the album include Void and Death, the latter of which is joined by a cinematic companion video that was directed, conceived and costume-designed by Martinez herself.
Melanie Martinez has become an online sensation with her Cry Baby universe.
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Billboard said: “The avant-garde pop auteur creates bold, expansive worlds with each project…While the dramatic five-minute track can be connected to her artistic reawakening, the kinetic drums and electronic elements will also make listeners feel reborn, too.”
She’s even partnered with Flower Shop Perfumes Co. to launch a new four-fragrance collection, Portals Parfums, which arrive in a one-foot-tall bottle in the shape of her multi-eyed Cry Baby head.
Melanie Martinez will be performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester on 21 September.
General release tickets will go on sale on Thursday 28 March, with artist pre-sales from Monday 25 March.
Melanie Martinez The Trilogy Tour – European dates in full
SEPTEMBER 18 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena 20 – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena 21 – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live 23 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro 24 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena 26 – London, UK – The O2 29 – Brussels, BE – Forest National OCTOBER 1 – Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome 2 – Paris, FR – AccorArena 4 – Lyon, FR – LDLC Arena 5 – Barcelona, ES – Palau Sant Jordi** 7 – Madrid, ES – WiZink Centre** 10 – Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena 11 – Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle 12 – Hamburg, DE – Barclays Arena 15 – Lodz, PL – Atlas Arena 16 – Prague, CZ – O2 Arena 18 – Bologna, IT – Unipol Arena 19 – Milan, IT – Mediolanum Forum
The Strokes at Co-op Live, Manchester – actually very hard to explain
Daisy Jackson
Manchester has waited a long, long time for this – The Strokes back on stage in our city.
I’ve been a fan of the band for as long as I can remember, but have never managed to catch them live, partly because they’ve left it TWENTY YEARS between shows here.
But back they are, with an enormous gig at the Co-op Live on their Reality Awaits tour.
The Strokes are known as one of the most solid indie bands of the 2000s, going triple platinum with their debut album Is This It and releasing massive anthems like Last Nite, Reptilia, and Someday.
They’re also known as a bit of an unpredictable live act – some will say they’re one of the best on the circuit, others will say they’re disappointing, and it really can depend on the night.
What they’re not known for is their audience interaction, so when frontman Julian Casablancas tries to have a bit of a chat with the audience, we all sort of stare blankly back at him. He’s speaking to us? What do we do?
“Wow, tough crowd,” he says, which is the first time I’ve ever heard anyone describe a Manchester audience as tough.
Then he turns back to drummer Fabrizio Moretti and says: “This is f*cking hideous, let’s play some songs.”
The setlist seems to get a shake-up every couple of shows, which is a nice surprise for us – and apparently also Julian, who regularly pops over to ask his bandmates what’s up next.
It doesn’t really matter that he’s not done his homework, because the second that drum kicks in, along with the impeccable guitar work of Schiltz, Fraiture and Hammond Jr., he snaps into action.
It’s impressive that their songs still have such singalong quality when Casablancas enunciates like a man with a dislocated jaw. For certain songs he’s so incoherent that if you weren’t a fan you’d walk in this room and wonder what the f*ck was going on.
But then, that’s sort of why us The Strokes fans love them so much. There’s a calamitous beauty to the work they put out and it’s so fun to belt out some words, even if they’re not the right ones.
I was hoping that seeing it live would sell that divisive new album, Reality Awaits, to me, but it didn’t. It’s too autotuney, too languid, and too often the victim of everyone’s toilet breaks.
Their earlier tracks still land best in a live setting, especially Reptilia, an absolute juggernaut in their back catalogue.
Rollercoaster set and tricky crowd interactions aside, we all had a great time – I’m just not sure I could say the same about Julian Casablancas.
Sam Fender describes his own ticket prices as ‘b*llocks’ and demands change for fans
Daisy Jackson
Sam Fender has kicked off about ticket prices for his own tour, ahead of his huge stadium summer next year.
The Geordie star announced his Proper Massive stadium tour last week, which will visit some of the UK’s biggest venues including The O2 in London, Etihad Stadium in Manchester, and St James’ Park in his home city of Newcastle.
But after ticket prices for the tour were announced, Sam Fender surprised us all by joining in with a moan about how expensive they were.
He described the ticketing strategy for his tour as ‘b*llocks’ and said he was ‘not happy’ with ticket prices.
And proving just how much sway an artist can have on ticket prices, Sam Fender then demanded that things be redone.
Sam first appeared in the comments on Gavin Davis’ Instagram account, which frequently shares tour leaks and ticket prices.
There, he wrote: “I’m not happy with these prices, they’re getting changed. It got inflated well more than I’d had in mind, it should only be inflated in relation to the cost of putting the show on.
“The standing will not be split as well, I had no idea about it. I have no idea how this was normalised in gigs.
“It’s bollocks and it won’t be happening on this tour.”
Then later, on his own Instagram stories, Sam Fender posted: “I’ve managed to get Front Standing tickets removed from the UK stadium tour. Whoever buys a standing ticket gets as much chance as anyone to be at the front.
“No more £120 standing tickets either.
“Costs are astronomical compared to two years ago, I can’t control the venue and ticketing fees, that’s a sad reality of today’s industry.
“This is gonna be the biggest and best show we’ve ever put on. Can’t wait to see everyone on the road next summer!”
The ticket prices for the Proper Massive tour are now confirmed by Sam Fender himself as being £85 for GA standing, and £55/£75/£95 for seats.
Daisy Jackson -
22nd March 2024 
