One of the biggest rap, R&B and pop names on the planet rocks up to Manchester this week and we really ‘Stay’, never say his ‘Goodbyes’ and soak up all the ‘Congratulations’…
That’s right, Post Malone is coming to 0161 for not one but two nights on the trot and it’s going to be an absolute party.
It’s been a couple of years since Post Malone was last in the UK for a show, playing Reading Festival back in 2022, and it’s been four whole years since the New York-born rapper was last in Manchester.
Luckily, us Mancs get to make the most of this visit, with Posty set to play two massive shows at AO Arena on Tuesday and Wednesday (16-17 May). With that in mind, here’s everything you need to know.
Thankfully, if you’re looking to get in on the Twelve Carat Tour, there are still a fair few tickets left to see Post Malone in Manchester either night, with even more available on the second night (Wednesday).
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Better still, they all range between various different locations and prices around the Arena too, with tickets in the lower seated section starting from just under £100 and VIP standing spots around his impressive stage area setting you back £126.50.
The cheapest seats up towards the back of the venue will cost you £76.55, but you best be quick if you want these before they get snapped up by someone else. You can always opt for the Champagne, Suite and Heineken Sky Lounge experiences if you really want to splash out.
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Whatever level of flashy you want to go, you can grab yours HERE.
Post Malone’s supports for his Manchestergigs are two-fold: American rap duo Rae Sremmurd — one half of which, Swae Lee, combined with the 27-year-old on the hit track ‘Sunflower’ for the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film — as well a guest appearance from another name that is yet to be confirmed.
Who it could be is a total mystery; as far as we can tell from the previous gigs on the UK leg of this tour, there has little been little info leaked about who else has got it on the action, but all we know is that an additional support act is set to be confirmed soon.
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Who do you think it could be or, maybe the better question is who would you like to see?
Doors for Post Malone at the AO Arena will be open from 6pm, with the first support act (whoever they might be) taking the stage at 7.
After a swift half-hour set, Rae Sremmurd will take the stage at 8pm until 8:40; from then there’ll be a quick 20-minute interval for you to fill up on snacks and booze before Posty himself starts playing, with the gig set to run to 10:30pm.
Of course, you always have to make room for an encore and with so many bangers to his name, your guess is as good as ours as to what he’ll close the show with.
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Chances of him doing a Manc cover or some kind? He does love that guitar of his…
Predicted setlist
Speaking of the music itself, judging by the tracks and the running order from his recent three-night run at London’s O2 Arena, this is what we are expecting when it comes to Post Malone’s setlist for Manchester AO Arena:
It’s set to be a brilliant double bill at Manchester’s iconic AO Arena and with tickets still left to grab, you still have a chance to see Post Malone do what he does best right on your doorstep: put on a brilliant performance with more genre’s in one night than you’ll get from virtually any other musician around.
From the clips we’ve seen of his world tour so far, this bloke is just enjoying himself, having an absolute party on stage every night and taking crowds along for the ride.
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We hope to see a few of you there and if there are any other details you need, you can always check out the Arena’s info pack down below:
Review | Villanelle debut: Liam Gallagher’s son’s band release their first track – here’s our review
Danny Jones
Liam Gallagher’s son, Gene, and his band Villanelle, have officially released their debut single to the masses, and since we’re still very much immersing ourselves in everything even remotely to do with Oasis, we thought we’d give this first track a review.
Now, if you’re expecting a familiar Britpop vibe like his dad and uncle used to bash out back in the day, you’d be very wrong…
It’s one thing to settle into something similar to what you’ve grown up around and try to continue a lineage if you’re from a successful family – especially with a legacy as important and influential as the one left by Liam and Noel – but we’re glad to report they’ve done something pretty different.
24-year-old Gene Gallagher and his bandmates Ben Taylor (guitar), Jack Schiavo (bass), and Andrew Richmond (drums) haven’t just tried to do an impression of Oasis; instead, they’ve found their own sound, and while it does give somewhat of an old-school flavour, it’s not what we expected.
It takes literally milliseconds for you to click into realising the vibe they’re going for.
‘Hinge’ is a simplistic but hard-hitting, grungey and dark debut from Villanelle, who, despite having played a number of in-progress songs live over the last year or so, have only just dropped their first studio single.
In fact, they’ve actually taken the admittedly bizarre and unorthodox first steps of having already played live with Liam Gallagher on the Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour before they actually released anything people can easily listen to outside of their live performances.
Nevertheless, the young four-piece introduces Villanelle as the latest post-punk outfit amidst the ongoing revival of the classic rock genre.
That is to say that punk is a tried and true classic style of music, not that these lads are trying to sound like The Rolling Stones…
Anyway, we’re getting sidetracked: Villanelle draw plenty of influences from both original and contemporary examples of this sonic subculture, and while it isn’t explosive per se, ‘Hinge’ is short, direct and hits the same formulaic notes.
It’s also fair to say you can hear a bit of the recognisable LG whine in Gene’s vocals at times, too. Listen to it in full down below and see if you agree.
Even the basic found-footage style video fits into the same category.
To call it straightforward isn’t intended as any kind of a diss, by the way – some of our favourite tunes and best artists spearheading the renaissance of the punk scene write like this.
What we will say is that it looks like bloody good fun to both play and listen to in a small, sweaty room, with plenty of pits and people bouncing off the walls.
Gallagher Sr. might be surprised to see his son going for a slightly heavier, more hardcore route with his sound, but he can’t accuse him of forgetting his roots as the child of a ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star.’
The boys are actually hitting the road this winter, including a date at The Castle Hotel in the Northern Quarter, if you fancy grabbing a ticket.
You can grab your tickets to see Villanelle on tour HERE, and in the meantime, let us know what you think of their debut track down in the comments.
Johnny Marr teases his work on upcoming Gorillaz album
Danny Jones
Legendary Manchester musician Johnny Marr has revealed he features on the new Gorillaz album, adding even more interest in the highly anticipated release.
The Mountain is the ninth studio LP from the musical collective led by Damon Albarn, which is set to drop in early 2026, more than three years on from their last album, Cracker Island.
Although the virtual band made up of several real-life creatives (though the ex-Blur frontman and artist, Jamie Hewlett, technically remain the only two consistent core members) hasn’t been away for too long, each new project brings a wave of excitement.
With that in mind, we have no shame in admitting we have even more interest in Gorillaz’s latest album now that we know Johnny Marr is attached to it.
I’m pleased to share that I appear on four tracks on the upcoming Gorillaz album The Mountain. It’s a privilege to be a part of this record along with so many great artists. #Gorillaz#JohnnyMarrpic.twitter.com/KXVZxgyGg9
In the new rundown of tunes already posted earlier this month, the former Smiths songwriter and lead guitarist features on four different songs on the new record. You can see it in full down below:
Gorrilaz – The Mountain tracklist
1. The Mountain (feat. Dennis Hopper, Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar, Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash) 2. The Moon Cave (feat. Asha Puthli, Bobby Womack, Dave Jolicoeur, Jalen Ngonda and Black Thought) 3. The Happy Dictator (feat. Sparks) 4. The Hardest Thing (feat. Tony Allen) 5. Orange County (feat. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson and Anoushka Shankar) 6. The God of Lying (feat. IDLES) 7. The Empty Dream Machine (feat. Black Thought, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 8. The Manifesto (feat. Trueno and Proof) 9. The Plastic Guru (feat. Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 10. Delirium (feat. Mark E. Smith) 11. Damascus (feat. Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey) 12. The Shadowy Light (feat. Asha Bhosle, Gruff Rhys, Ajay Prasanna, Amaan Ali Bangash, and Ayaan Ali Bangash) 13. Casablanca (feat. Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr) 14. The Sweet Prince (feat. Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar) 15. The Sad God (feat. Black Thought, Ajay Prasanna and Anoushka Shankar)
As you can see, the 61-year-old appears for the first time on song seven, ‘The Empty Dream Machine’, as well as ‘The Plastic Guru’, ‘Casablanca’, and the penultimate track on the album, ‘The Sweet Prince’.
It’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the captivating soundscape already teased by the group, with Gorillaz having now shared ‘The Happy Dictator’ featuring art pop duo Sparks.
A strong and politically loaded start.
Marr – who only released his fourth batch of solo material, Fever Dream Pts 1-4, back in 2022 – has continued to craft and produce with countless other artists over the past few decades, sharing the studio with fellow icons such as Noel Gallagher, Billy Bragg, Talking Heads and many more.
He even helped create the score for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 soundtrack with legendary composer Hans Zimmer.
That being said, we can only hope to hear some of his famous guitar tones sprinkled throughout this album, though it’s still unclear as to exactly how much input he had on The Mountain overall.
What we do know about the album is that it’s the first to be released via Albarn’s new record label KONG; it’s 15 tracks, and was largely made following extended recording sessions across India, with the likes of Ajay Prasanna, Omar Souleyman and Anoushka Shankar, joining IDLES, Jalen Ngonda and other collabs.
Perhaps most excitingly, the announcement of ‘Gorillaz no.9’ came alongside a series of tour dates, including one right here in Manchester. We can’t wait to see 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and Noodle ‘live’ in 0161.
Danny Jones -
15th May 2023 
