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Olivia Rodrigo’s two Manchester shows at Co-op Live have been postponed

Do you get deja vu...

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 1st May 2024

Olivia Rodrigo’s shows at Co-op Live in Manchester have been postponed after a night of drama for the new arena.

The star was meant to bring her GUTS Tour to the city on Friday and Saturday night.

But the huge 23,500-capacity arena has now confirmed that both of these gigs will be postponed.

New dates will be announced as soon as they’re confirmed.

Co-op Live said in a statement: “Due to an on-going venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed.

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“Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund from their point of purchase.

“We deeply apologise for the significant inconvenience this will cause for many.”

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The massive arena was supposed to open for the first time to the public tonight with a performance by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.

Olivia Rodrigo's gigs in Manchester at Co-op Live have been postponed.
Credit: Nick Walker
Olivia Rodrigo's gigs in Manchester at Co-op Live have been postponed.
Credit: Larissa Hofmann
Olivia Rodrigo’s gigs in Manchester at Co-op Live have been postponed.

But it was called off at the eleventh hour, with fans turned away from the doors just minutes before they were meant to open.

Co-op Live has now confirmed that the reason for the cancellation was that a piece of the HVAC (air conditioning) system had ‘separated from the ductwork’.

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Rigorous testing on the rest of the system now needs to take place before fans can safely be welcomed inside.

Olivia Rodrigo has yet to issue a statement about her Manchester shows on 3 and 4 May being postponed.

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Featured image: Publicity picture

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A brand new grunge and hard rock festival is kicking off in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones Broken Knees Fest 2025 Manchester

Manchester grungers, hardcore heads, and fans of all things rock, pay attention because there is a brand new festival coming to the city centre – and it has possibly the best name for a live music event we’ve heard in some time.

Ahem… let us introduce you to Broken Knees Fest.

Yes, donning a name that feels increasingly more relatable the closer we get to the wrong side of 30, Broken Knees Festival 2025 marks the inaugural edition of Manchester’s newest series of rock and grunge gigs, helping spotlight rising artists across the genres from within two crucial grassroots venues.

Very loud music inside tightly-packed, small-capacity rooms? It’s a winning formula that never fails. It’s about time we broke a sweat – here’s hoping the knees just about hold out.

Hosted in the heart of the Northern Quarter, which continues to thrive as a creative hub for new music and art of all forms, the festival will be debuting at small-cap favourites Gullivers and Castle Hotel just across the road.

As you can see, the lineup is full of up-and-coming talent within the guitar-driven space, but you can bank on more than a few bringing their die-hard fans to fill the place out to the rafters.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer punk, hardcore, grunge or another specific sub-genre found somewhere in between the ever-sprawling rock spectrum, there’s something to suit all alternative tastes at this one.

With the likes of Bohmen, Mavis, One Dimensional Creatures and Smother headlining the first-ever iteration of the festival across four stages, you can expect plenty of energy and even more noise.

Set up by the events group of the same name, Broken Knees Promotions, who help platform rock and alt acts across Greater Manchester and beyond year-round, this is more than just a festival: it’s a grassroots celebration through and through.

Best of all, if you’re interested, you don’t have to wait long because it’s kicking off next month.

castle hotel gigs
gullivers gigs manchester
Gigs go off in here. If you know, you know… (Credit: Audio North)

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Broken Knees Fest 2025 is happening on the weekend of 21-22 June, and you’ll be glad to hear that, as a brand new event, prices have been kept nice and low.

The early bird window had prices starting from just £12, and although this tier has now sold out, day tickets are still only £15 while a full weekend pass will set you back £25.

You can grab yours HERE.

Until then, why not dive into another load of new Manchester music? We round up artists from all genres each month; we’ll also confess to leaning slightly more towards the heavier stuff from time to time.

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | April 2025
More coming at the end of May.

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

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

Audio

Olly Murs cancels Manchester gig after walking off stage six songs into huge arena show

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Olly Murs has addressed his abrupt exit from the stage ahead of his Manchester gig

Olly Murs has now officially cancelled his show in Manchester tonight, a day after walking off stage just six songs into a huge arena gig.

The Heart Skips a Beat star had been performing in Glasgow last night when he abruptly stopped the show, apologised to fans, and left the stage.

The gig was cancelled around 30 minutes into his show, which is part of a huge UK arena tour that was meant to be heading to Manchester tonight.

A tearful Olly said that he was seeing a doctor last night and would update fans of the rest of his shows ‘as soon as I know anything’.

It’s now been confirmed that his gig at the AO Arena will not be going ahead.

Olly Murs said in a statement: “30 minutes into my set in Glasgow I lost my voice & unfortunately had to leave the stage midway through the show. This has never happened before and not something I take lightly.

“I’m sorry to all the fans who came out to the show last night and am forever grateful for your support.

“To everyone in Manchester and Birmingham I’m deeply sorry, but am unfortunately going to have to cancel my shows this weekend. I have contracted a respiratory infection and have been instructed to go on a strict 48 hour voice rest by the doctor to ensure no further damage to my vocal cords.

“I have been enjoying this tour so much, and am so sorry to let down my fans – but have to put my health first. I’m hoping to be fighting fit in a few days to finish this amazing 15 year celebratory tour with a bang.”

In a video he shared to Instagram last night, Olly Murs said: “Firstly I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I had to walk off after six songs and cancel the show. I’ve never done this in 15 years.

“Most of the time as singers you can kind of get through it if your voice isn’t 100% – I walked out tonight thinking my voice was great, I maybe felt a little bit run down but I didn’t think I couldn’t do the show. I wouldn’t have come out there otherwise.

@bethanh2004

Olly Murs cancels Glasgow concert after 5 songs… gutted 😭 #ollymurs #glasgowovohydro #concert #blue #fyp

♬ original sound – Bethan Hewitt

“So to walk off after six songs, as I said, I’m so sorry. As you can probably hear from my voice, I just sounded rubbish and it’s unfair for you guys that spent all that money to come and see me. You deserve the best show and me being at my best, and I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart.

“Hopefully I can recover from this.

“I’m actually going to see a doctor tonight which is great, so I’ll give you guys an update as soon as I know anything. Obviously I wanna try my absolute best to make these shows possible at the weekend.

“So yeah, so sorry for everyone tonight, apologies from the bottom of my heart. Gutted.”

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Featured image: Instagram, @ollymurs

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