The first wave of acts has been officially announced for Outbreak Festival Manchester 2025 and the lineup is already shaping up to be a rager.
Having quickly established itself as the biggest celebration of hardcore, pop-punk and alternative in Greater Manchester, Outbreak Festival is growing fast, especially after a super successful pair of events earlier this year.
Broken down into summer and autumn events, the two lineups just gone had the likes of Hot Mulligan, American Football, Movements; Action Bronson, Soccer Mommy, comeback kings The Story So Far and many more take the stage. Summer 2025’s weekender is looking equally promising so far.
Landing back in Manchester on the 15 and 16 June, the next edition of Outbreak Fest will be here before you know it. That’s what we’re telling ourselves, anyway – we’re literally fidgeting with excitement.
Founded back in 2011 by two teenagers, Jordan Coupland and Lee Follows (and by teenagers, we’re talking literally 14), Outbreak is approaching a decade and a half on the live music circuit, having seen a noticeable ramp up in popularity over the past couple of years.
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Taking place over at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre, more commonly known as the BEC Arena – a hugely underrated venue, by the way – the next summer lineup not only features shoegaze legends Slowdive, hardcore heavyweights Knocked Loose, as well Manchester’s genre-bending Maruja and more.
One of the best things about the festival is the mix of music on show too, with alternative hip-hop favourites Danny Brown and Denzel Curry both joining the lineup.
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Better still, this is just the tip of the iceberg: there are yet more artists to be confirmed and if previous years are anything to go by, there’ll be some big hitters still to come for the BEC over in Stretford.
Outbreak is also heading outdoors and to London’s Victoria Park for the first time ever later this year, with contemporary icons Turnstile already confirmed as the headliners for the one-day festival. Fire.
Outbreak comes to London Victoria Park for the first time on Friday 13th June 2025. A curated one day event headlined by @TURNSTILEHC , with many more artists still to be announced.
We can only pray that they will be making their way to Manchester too but even if not, a name this huge must mean there’s someone just as big coming to 0161, surely?
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Sign-up for pre-sale is already live with tickets going on sale from 10am this Thursday, 28 November; as for general admission, they go live at the same time on Friday (29 Nov).
You can get ready to smash and grab your tickets to see that incredible lineup at Outbreak Festival Manchester HERE – and believe us, it will be a smash and grab…
Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Danny Jones -
27th November 2024 
