Audio

Oasis promoters drop biggest Knebworth hint yet after securing license around key date

Now we've had the reunion, we have faith that just about anything can happen...

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 7th August 2026

Not that we’re the type to get carried away, but we’ll confess that our curiosity, interest and general levels of anticipation have been piqued, as Oasis’ main promoters have recently renewed the license to host events at the infamous Knebworth.

My word, is this it? Like the reunion, is it ACTUALLY going to happen?…

We’re sure the raw, uncontrollable excitement will come should it be fully confirmed, but for now, all we know is that our colleagues in music media, SJM Concerts, have renewed the land in and around Knebworth Park and House for live entertainment once again.

Moreover, the company have also done so on a rather fitting date decades on from the original and legendary outdoor gigs.

As can be found on the planning application section of the North Hertfordshire Council website – the county in which the storied Britpop gigs took place – a fresh license to hold new events.

ADVERTISEMENT

If/when the announcement happens, the already granted permission will allow for a capacity of up to 125,000 and a curfew of 3am.

We know the original Knebworth shows were beyond iconic, but let’s say this would be nailed on to be nothing short of absolutely box office.

ADVERTISEMENT

Besides having also helped promote Oasis’ colossal Live ’25 reunion tour last summer, it’s also worth noting that they secured said license just over a week before the 30th anniversary of the pair of nights back in 1996: 10-11 August, to be specific.

The licence is said to have come into effect this past Saturday (1 Aug) and is believed to be indefinite.

What added even more fuel to the fire of these well-established rumours over the past year was when Baroness Sharon Taylor of Stevenage told the House of Lords the band would be playing FIVE whole nights at Knebworth in the future, before later clarifying that she was speaking in “hypothetical terms.”

ADVERTISEMENT

All that being said, it’s fair to say we’ll be keeping a very keen eye on socials over the next few days, in particular, just in case.

The Manc has reached out to SJM for an official comment (surprise, surprise), but we are yet to receive a response regarding the matter.

Your silence speaks volumes, just saying.

This coming Monday, 10 August 2026, will mark the official 30th anniversary of Oasis at Knebworth 1996, and with the likes of ‘Wonderwall’ seeing a chart resurgence as the go-to England anthem at this year’s World Cup, we’re choosing to be optimistic. What about you?

Oasis’ Wonderwall on the brink of becoming UK number one for first time ever 30 years after initial release
It’s gained a whole new lease on life.

Read more:

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

Featured Images — Jayembee69 (via Flickr)/Press shot (via SJM Concerts)

Audio

Blossoms deliver most rock and roll performance in years as Declan McKenna joins them on stage

Danny Jones Danny Jones Declan McKenna joins Blossoms on stage at Deaf Institute Manchester

Last night, we were fortunate enough to be there in the flesh not only to see Blossoms play a special anniversary show in Manchester, but to witness Declan McKenna join them on stage.

A tiny part of us was wondering if we’d see Rick Astley roll out into the venue, but let’s just say we’ll absolutely take this.

Celebrating a decade to the day since the release of the self-titled debut LP – yes, we feel old, too – Blossoms announced the one-off intimate show at The Deaf Institute, a venue they hadn’t played in 12 whole years (good lord…), and it served as much more than a night of nostalgia.

But we’ll admit, the highlight was almost certainly seeing the ‘Brazil’ and ‘British Bombs’ singer join Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Myles Kellock and Joe Donovan on stage for their smallest gig since god knows when.

We’ve gotten somewhat used to seeing the Enfield-born solo artist popping up at random venues across the country and even performing DJ sets at local pubs.

If you haven’t seen that Kylie Minogue clip before, you really need to…

However, we don’t think anyone in the crowd was expecting this cameo, let alone hearing them perform a co-written track off the new record live in front of the audience for the very first time.

As if all of this wasn’t already a bit bonkers and left-field, the song in question, entitled ‘Additional Driver’, was self-admittedly so surprising in SO many ways that Tom felt he needed to explain the full story behind it and why Declan shouted “shoulda got the 192” before they started playing.

Yes, in some kind of Greater Mancunian fever dream, we’ve finally got artists writing lyrics about the region’s most infamous bus route that we’re sure most, if not all of you, can relate to.

But it wasn’t just this moment that had us debating in our heads, ‘are they the best Manc or maybe in Northern band full stop going right now?’, it was seeing them slip so seamlessly back into the more straight-down-the-line indie rock from their first chapter of studio material that did it.

Everyone knows and loves the biggest bangers from that inaugural outing: ‘Getaway’, ‘Charlemagne’, ‘At Most a Kiss’, ‘Honey Sweet’, etc.; but it’s hard to forget just how quintessentially rock and roll tunes like ‘Blow Rose’, ‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’, ‘Texia’ and even some of the other deep cuts/early releases are.

Don’t get us wrong, we love how much the dressing up (musically and quite literally) they’ve done over the years as their production, creativity and experimentation has increased, but it’s always hard to beat that feeling you get when finding an artist’s first album – especially one as good as Blossoms‘.

In fairness, listening back to ‘Deep Grass’ all these years later, we’ll still remember how spacey, psychedelic and downright different that intro felt back in the day; it now feels like a fitting end to that maiden outing and the perfect jumping-off point for what has been a real sonic exploration ever since.

For a lad born in SK2 and lucky enough to have seen these lads right from the start, stuff like this will never not feel surreal to me.

Long live ‘Blossoms from Stockport‘, and roll on Songs From The Wedding Cake this October.

Credit: Audio North

Read more:

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

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Audio

Nostalgic rock icons Weezer announce huge arena show in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Weezer have announced a huge Manchester gig at Co-op Live. Credit: Brendan Walter

Weezer have announced a massive gig in Manchester as part of an upcoming arena tour, celebrating a brand-new album release.

The nostalgic rock icons will be playing at the Co-op Live next spring, alongside gigs in UK cities including Leeds, Newcastle, and Glasgow.

The American rockers have announced The Gathering 2027 World Tour and released the music video for C.E.O, starring Tony Hawk, Curry Barker, and more.

They’ll also be releasing a self-titled new album, Weezer, on 21 August, which Rolling Stone has already called ‘one of the best Weezer albums of this century’.

It’s set to be their 20th (twentieth!!!!) studio album, joining chart-topping records like Make Believe, Maladroit, and the Green Album.

Weezer will be performing hits from their huge back catalogue, including Buddy Holly, Hash Pipe, and Say It Ain’t So.

The huge tour will kick off in the States in February next year before heading across to Japan and Europe.

And Weezer will have some huge support in the form of fellow American rock group, Taking Back Sunday.

Weezer will be performing at the Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday 25 May, 2026.

You can pre-order the new album from the Weezer webstore before 3pm on Monday 10 August to get pre-sale access.

Then the general sale begins from 10am on Friday 14 August, with tickets on sale HERE.

Weezer, The Gathering World Tour – UK and European dates in full

  • Wed 12 May – Dublin, Ireland – 3Arena
  • Fri 14 May – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Sat 25 May – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
  • Mon 17 May – Leeds, UK – First Direct Arena
  • Wed 19 May – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
  • Fri 21 May – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Sat 22 May – London, UK – Alexandra Palace
  • Sun 23 May – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Tues 25 May – Paris, France – Zenith
  • Wed 26 May – Amsterdam, The Netherlands – AFAS Live
  • Sat May 29 – Oslo, Norway – Spectrum
  • Sun 30 May – Stockholm, Sweden – Hovet
  • Tues 1 June – Helsinki, Finland – Veikkaus

Read more

Featured image: Brendan Walter

More Audio

Kendal Calling festival review 20206

Art & Culture

Kendal Calling turns 21 in fine form with a brilliant bunch of headliners – and that was just the start…

Affiliate

A reimagined dance music celebration is coming to Manchester later this year

Kendal Calling festival guide 2026 key info

Affiliate

Kendal Calling festival guide 2026 – stages, times, travel, and everything you need to know

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches