Audio

Ne-Yo and Akon at Co-op Live, Manchester – stage times, tickets, setlist and more

Here comes the hamster ball...

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall - 1st May 2026

It’s finally time for Ne-Yo and Akon to reach Manchester, with three shows planned at the Co-op Live arena.

This is the first time that the two R&B greats have headed out on a joint headline tour, and it’s been all anyone can talk about on social media since the tour began (the inflatable ball crowd surf, hello?!).

Both artists are Grammy Award winners and come with their own formidable back catalogues 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.

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This 2026 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, with a unique back-and-forth set throughout the show.

Ne-Yo and Akon will be at the Co-op Live on Friday 1, Saturday 2, and Wednesday 6 May.

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You might have already seen some pretty iconic videos of their tour already circulating the internet, so it’s safe to say you’re in for a treat.

The nostalgic gigs will feature everything from slow jams to club anthems, with a party atmosphere throughout.

Are there tickets left for Ne-Yo and Akon at Co-op Live in Manchester?

Good news – yes! There’s still fairly decent availability for all three dates of Ne-Yo and Akon in Manchester.

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You can see the latest availability for Friday 1 May HERE, Saturday 2 May HERE, and Wednesday 6 May HERE.

Ne-Yo and Akon setlist for 2026 tour

Judging by previous nights of the tour, the current set list is looking like this…

Ne-Yo

  • The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson cover) (Snippet)
  • ⁠Miss Independent
  • ⁠Because Of You
  • Nobody
  • ⁠Champagne Life
  • ⁠One in a Million

Akon

  • Akon’s Beautiful Day
  • Smack That
  • I’m So Paid
  • Locked Up
  • Soul Survivor (Jeezy cover)

Ne-Yo

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  • She Knows
  • Single
  • Mirror
  • Sexy Love

Akon

  • Bananza (Belly Dancer)
  • Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill) (Wyclef Jean cover)
  • Bartender (T‐Pain cover)
  • Body on me (Ashanti cover)
  • Dangerous (Kardinal Offishall cover)

Songs Ne-Yo/Akon Produced

  • Let Me Love You (Mario cover)
  • Titanium (David Guetta/Sia Cover) / Take A Bow (Rihanna Cover) / Drunk In Love (Beyoncé Cover) / Irreplaceable (Beyoncé Cover) / Just Dance (Lady Gaga)

Akon

  • Don’t Matter
  • Danza Kuduro (Remix)
  • The Sweet Escape (Gwen Stefani song)
  • Shut It Down (Pitbull song)
  • Angel
  • Ghetto
  • Sorry, Blame It On Me
  • Lonely

Ne-Yo

  • So Sick
  • Mad
  • NIGHTS LIKE THESE
  • Simple Things
  • Up Out & Gone
  • Beautiful Monster
  • Closer

Akon

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  • QUE CALOR (Akon crowd surfs in an inflatable ball)
  • I Wanna Love You
  • Right Now (Na Na Na)
  • Beautiful
  • Sexy Bitch (David Guetta cover)
  • Til the Sun Rise Up (Bob Sinclair cover)

Ne-Yo

  • Let’s Go
  • Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself)
  • Time of Our Lives
  • Give Me Everything

Encore:

Play Hard (David Guetta cover) – Akon & Ne-Yo on stage

Stage times for Ne-Yo and Akon at First Direct Arena

  • Doors open: 6.30pm
  • Gig starts: 8pm
  • Gig ends: 11pm

How to get to Co-op Live

Tram

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For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.

Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.

Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Bus

You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live.

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Getting there by car and parking

If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.

The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.

Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:

  • Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
  • Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
  • Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.

There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:

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  • Ashton Moss (Ashton line) – 183 spaces and 12 disabled spaces
  • Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
  • Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces

Walk/cycle

Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.

Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.

For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Audio

Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed

Danny Jones Danny Jones David Bowie picture after sleeping on train station platform after Stockport gig 1970

A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.

Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…

As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.

In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.

Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.

Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.

The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.

It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.

For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.

Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.

It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.

As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”

They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.

You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.

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Featured Images — David Maynard via Stockport Music Story/Stockport Council

Audio

Five Greater Manchester-based music artists you should listen to | April 2026

Danny Jones Danny Jones Best new Manchester music bands and artists to check out

Ay up, you lot – we’re back with another box office batch of music from in and around Greater Manchester for you to get your teeth stuck into.

We’d like to think you know the deal by now, but if not, here’s a quick rundown for you…

Every month, we look back on the local bands and artists, either hailing from or now based in the area, that are spending regular time in our rotation.

It doesn’t matter if they’re still just young prospects or they’ve been at it for decades: if it’s good and it’s been in our ears, it goes on the list. Ready? Let’s go, then.

Five Manc bands and artists we’ve been listening to recently

1. Harry Lyon

First up is April’s cover star: the wonderfully talented Harry Lyon, who is another born and bred and now quietly plying his trade here in Greater Manchester and already showcasing a great level of versatility early in his career.

He moved to the city from Sheffield not too long ago, and his creative output has only ramped up since he got here. Toying with everything from alt-pop/indie to straight singer-songwriter stuff that wouldn’t sound out of place on the radio, his often R’n’B-esque vocals mean he can turn to multiple styles.

We actually lucky enough to bump into him in person earlier this month over in Stretford, and you’ll be glad to hear he’s also as sound a person as we hoped he’d be; he even teased a new single on the way, but for now, we’ll recommend ‘Violet’, ‘Backwards’ and the piano version of ‘While We’re Still Young’.

In fact, he does acoustic versions for most of his songs, and a fair few of them genuinely rival the originals in their own way.

@harrylyonmusic

Can't a guy worry about violet in peace

♬ original sound – Harry Lyon

2. Black Grape

From an up-and-comer to some Manc veterans that often get overlooked in the shadow of their even longer-standing and more well-known predecessors, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say something controversial here… We think we might prefer Black Grape to Happy Mondays.

Before you bite our heads off, let us explain: while the Mondays are obviously way more iconic and had a huge influence on the overall Madchester scene, we would argue that their progenic spin-off are almost a more honed evolution of at least some of what the Ryders and co. first created a buzz around.

Not only do the likes of ‘Kelly’s Heroes’, ‘Nine Lives’, ‘String Theory’ and more have so much more guitar in them (which will always score extra points for me), but more importantly, there is so much more successful experimentation with different instruments, cultural sounds and blends of energy.

It can be hard to know where to start, but those three examples aren’t bad options, and ‘In The Name of The Father’ is also such a vibe – we’re hoping we see it on the setlist for Outwards Fest next month.

3. Hungry

For fans of Sports Team, Spangled, Deadletter, and pretty much any current post-punk pioneers, these former students who originally hail from Cambridgeshire but have come up in and around the local rock scene have been making a splash for a little while, and now it feels like things are hitting a fever pitch.

Sometimes the idiosyncratic lyrics put you in mind of rising Oldham star, Seb Lowe; there’s even one intro that could be the start of a more upbeat and melody-forward King Krule, and you even get notes of Slaves/Soft Play at times. Whatever you hear, personally, you won’t find a bad song – we haven’t yet.

As the lyrics on ‘Are You The Best Yet?’ state, some of this stuff literally makes our knees go weak. We can’t remember the last time a band came around that has you eagerly awaiting the inevitable guitar break, let alone when you fully lock into one and pull a face (we’ve all got our own).

They’re so, SO good, and they help prolong some songs that, while brilliant, could feel more like fast-paced flashes in the pan without them. It all amounts to something extra and ups an already healthy dose of swagger: that’s definitely what you get on the recent ‘Cambridge Is On Fire’ and most of their tracks.

4. Dead Stilettos

In at number four is another one to watch within the genre. Some industry figures have equated them to the likes of the Amyl and the Sniffers, Lambrini Girls, Viagra Boys, and so on, but we think there’s a much cooler sense of darkness going on with their approach – however familiar the repetitive guitar playing and aggressive, shouty vocals may be.

Luckily, their discography – not unlike that of their aforementioned punky peers – isn’t that extensive just yet, so you can easily work your way through all their releases soon enough, and they’ve also got a big gig at White Hotel coming up just after they drop their debut LP, Hodge Podge. Watch this space…

Our present picks would be ‘American Boy II’, ‘Marina’ for the foreboding sense of build and that central riff alone, and you simply have to listen to their latest single, ‘Creeping Offences’, which, understandably, is the best track in terms of production they’ve dropped yet.

We want to see them live before passing any decisive judgement, but we like what we’re seeing so far.

5. A Certain Ratio

Now, we’ve touched on electronic-influenced alternative group in Black Grape, but what about another truly influential act from within that fluid space? Probably one of your bands/favourite DJ’s favourite artists, whether you know it or not, A Certain Ratio were tastemakers long before even they knew.

If the previous two are post-punk, then these lot are the funkier forerunners, known for their trademark muted strumming patterns, heavily distorted, codified and multi-layered mixes, ACR have been going nearly half a century now, and they were doing all this stuff long before virtually anyone else.

You’ll inevitably fall down a bit of a rabbit hole listening to their stuff, but ‘All Comes Down To This’ is a good starting point, and ‘1982’ has always made us think of what a Doctor Who-themed rave might sound like.

Oh, and purely because it still sticks with us as an eye-opening first listen, it really doesn’t get much better than this one:

And once again, that’s all she wrote.

We hope you dive into at least some of these names over the long bank holiday weekend, as three uninterrupted days of listening couldn’t have timed any better.

As always, if you have any local shouts that you think we need to get on like yesterday, please let us know in the comments; it’s also worth checking out our new dedicated monthly and regional artist spotlight series over on Audio North.

Last but not least, be sure to check out last month’s list down below, and we’ll catch you again for another load of listening at the end of May!

Five Greater Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this past month | March 2026

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shot/Lucy Craig)/Southdown Sessions (screenshot via YouTube)

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