Noel Gallagher and his mighty High Flying Birds are back in Manchester this week with a massive outdoor show at the wonderful Wythenshawe Park and it’s set to be a night to remember.
With 0161 set for a massive weekend as people travel into the city for the likes of Festa Italiana and ManiFest, over to Stockport for Moovin Festival and to Bolton for the annual food fest — not to mention that little thing called Pride 2023 — there is A LOT going on this weekend.
However, for those of you revellers who’ll be heading over to M23 for the older Gallagher brother’s huge homecoming gig, we’ve got you sorted.
It’ll be no surprise whatsoever to hear that this thing is going to be absolutely massive with an estimated capacity of around 25,000 people.
ADVERTISEMENT
That being said, with such a large expectancy, those of you who still haven’t grabbed a ticket are in luck: there are still a fair few ticket options available for now but we wouldn’t advise waiting around much longer. After all, he is a Manc music legend and one of the biggest names on the planet.
You can still grab general admission tickets for £60.50 upwards and even a few resales from £46 on Ticketmaster, as well as VIP packages if you fancy treating yourself.
ADVERTISEMENT
If you do end up scrambling for one, as always, we advise being very cautious whenever buying from reseller sites and we beg you to stay well and truly away from ticket touts. No gig is worth being stung over and making the problem even worse.
Credit: Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (via Instagram)
Support acts
When it comes to the support acts on the night, you really are getting proper value for money with this one as not only are you seeing Noel and his High Flying Birds, but you’ll also be graced with the presence of fellow British rock legends, Primal Scream.
As if that wasn’t good enough, you’ll also be getting alternative American band and synth-pop icons Future Islands (a real Manc Audio favourite) as your second support. But it doesn’t stop there; you also have locally-formed rockers, Picture Parlour, as well as Leicester singer-songwriter, Billy Nomates.
ADVERTISEMENT
Some lineup that.
We’re just praying they all join each other on stage at some point for one big supergroup moment. Come on, you lot, make it happen.
Stage times for Noel Gallagher’s at Wythenshawe Park
As for at what time you’ll get to see who, doors to the event are due to open from 2pm and although all timings are subject to change, here’s your rough running order and each artist’s expected set times:
We often turn to Setlist.fm when looking for what artists are going to play ahead of a big gig and while you can definitely find that info for the High Flying Birds’ most recent gigs on there, on this occasion we also have the added assurance of the man himself confirming it for us.
ADVERTISEMENT
Obviously, setlists change on the fly all the time due to various circumstances, especially when you’re talking about someone with a catalogue as huge as Gallagher’s, but we think this is a fairly safe bet — here’s what he’s been playing most recently.
Old, new, a cover and some Oasis – you’re getting a bit of everything.
How to get there
Last but not least, there’s just the small matter of getting there. While we’d always recommend travelling as green as possible/using public transport where you can, there are still some car park tickets that you can buy online from the Live From Wythenshawe website for £16.91.
As for those of you catching a ride, there is yellow signage to the north of the site which will lead you to the pick-up/drop-off point on Wythenshawe Road, M23 0AB.
There are also three tram stops to choose from: Wythenshawe Park, Moor Road and Baguley. However, it’s worth noting that both Wythenshawe Park and Baguley will be closed from 9pm so you won’t be able to get back home this way.
ADVERTISEMENT
Finally, you can always catch one of the shuttle buses back into the city centre, which will set you back just £3.50 on the day. The service will be operating in a loop from Sale and the city centre, running from 1pm-8pm on the way to Wythenshawe Park and then from 8pm-1:30am when heading home.
For more information, you can find all the up-to-date travel stuff HERE or check out (TfGM) Transport for Greater Manchester’s guidance and even use their interactive map below.
Featured Image — @themighti/Sharon Latham/Ignition (via Instagram)/Wikimedia Commons
Audio
Blossoms at O2 Ritz Manchester – five-night hometown residency is already a triumph
Daisy Jackson
Blossoms are a band who were born and forged here in Greater Manchester, and now they’re back retracing their steps with a five-night residency across the venues that launched them into the big leagues.
Their star has risen all the way to arena level and headline shows at Wythenshawe Park at this point, especially here in their hometown, so the chance to see them back in these cosy-ish little venues is special, and a little bizarre.
For night two of their landmark sold-out gig series, it was the turn of the O2 Ritz, that sweaty spot off Oxford Road where the floor bounces downstairs and you stick to the carpets upstairs.
Poetically, the first time I ever saw Blossoms was in this very room in 2016, when they had the mid-afternoon slot at Neighbourhood festival and the queue to get in went all the way back to St Peter’s Square.
Since those days, Blossoms have come a long, long way, and their live show has evolved and matured from five lads thrashing on their instruments to this well-oiled, hip-swaying, flares-wearing, chart-topping machine.
There’s even choreography now – how fancy!
A stand-out moment from the show is actually a song from their new, fifth studio album Gary, which is still barely eight weeks old.
A spoof recording of legendary Manchester indie club 42s rings out, then all five band members abandon their stations, slinging keytars and marching drums around their necks so that they can dance together in front of neon signs.
Blossoms have just done their second of five shows in Manchester, this time at the O2 Ritz. Credit: The Manc GroupBlossoms on stage at the O2 Ritz in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Blossoms promised more disco with this album and they bloody meant it. It’s not just the flares and the blow-dries and the moustaches (though those do help) – it’s in the funk and groove that’s gradually crept into their music exponentially with each album release.
This is still indie rock but it’s the most danceable of its genre. Good luck keeping your shoulders from wiggling and jiggling in here. Good luck keeping that grin off your face.
And Gary is one of the most unexpectedly fun albums to be released in the last year – the fact they called it Gary, named after a giant fibreglass garden centre Gorilla, should’ve been our clue. It could border on silly were it not such a masterpiece.
It seems like the only thing Blossoms are trying to prove is that you can be wildly successful without taking yourself too seriously. They just seem like a group who want to have a good time and it’s totally infectious.
Case in point – when each band member is introduced, keyboardist Myles Kellock plays the riff of Satisfaction by Benny Benassi and The Biz. Unexpected.
Blossoms also clearly give a sh*t about their live shows and graft at it – I’ve seen these guys an awful lot and it’s because their tour dates are plentiful and consistently worth the ticket price.
This is definitely the biggest era of their career so far, but have they peaked? Not even close.
The Warehouse Project reveals return to Rotterdam for second-ever overseas event
Danny Jones
The Warehouse Project has confirmed it will be returning to Rotterdam in 2025 for just its second-ever overseas event.
After debuting abroad in 2023 with an action-packed few days in the city of Rotterdam – whose art scene, music culture and even canal network bears lots of similarities to Manchester – Warehouse Project is coming back for more.
There’s just over a month left of the 2024 WHP calendar; you’d think they’d be getting ready to wind down and enjoy the Christmas breather, but not so: the organisers are already planning what is set to be one of their biggest and best long weekends to date.
Set to take place over the early May bank holiday, the Dutch port city will once again play host to one of Manchester’s legendary club nights.
The second biggest city in the Netherlands behind Amsterdam, the next edition of Warehouse’s international series is set to return to Rotterdam RDM – a warehouse space very reminiscent of both Depot Mayfield and their original home at Victoria Warehouse.
WHP x RDM II is already being billed as an “unforgettable weekend” and if any of this year’s mainline events here in Manchester are anything to go by, they’re bound to live up to that promise.
There’s also a full FAQ page for anyone looking to find out more information regarding Rotterdam, the venue itself, travel and more.
As well as revealing the dates (2-4 May 2025), the organisers have already teased a good chunk of the lineup, with the likes of Chris Stussy, Peach, Four Tet b2b with Sammy Virji, salute and many more already confirmed.
With a slew of incredible acts, multiple afterparties on boats and other local venues, as well as plenty of opportunity to see the rest of Holland’s ‘Manhattan on the Maas’, this is going to be SO good.
We were lucky enough to have been sent to sample their inaugural Rotterdam date back in April of 2023 and, we have to say, it was an absolute blast.
Take it from us, if you’re considering being a part of this next event you won’t regret and we’ll be putting together an extensive guide to help you feel prepared for raving overseas. Registration for early access is already live, so sign up fast if you want to give yourself the best chance of being there.
Limited presale and accommodation packages will be available to those who have applied at 9am on Monday, 2 December (UK customers only). General admission tickets will go live from 9am n Tuesday, 3 December sale for UK and Dutch customers starts Tuesday 3rd December at 9am GMT/10am CET.
Rotterdam 2025 will be here before you know it, so take a boots-on-the-ground at what an international Warehouse Project date looks like down below:
Danny Jones -
22nd August 2023 
