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Self Esteem drops new single along with THIRD Manchester show

Everything about this new album sounds so intriguing.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 24th March 2025

Rising Northern star Self Esteem has just dropped the new single from her forthcoming new album along with a bunch of big new UK tour dates, including THREE nights right here in Manchester.

The singer-songwriter, also known simply as Rebecca Lucy Taylor, has seen her popularity skyrocket in the last few of years, winning BBC Music’s Introducing ‘Artist of the Year Award’ back in 2021 and being nominated for the Mercury Prize less than 12 months later.

Fast forward to 2025 and not only has she recieved plenty of critical acclaim for her first two records but her live presence on stage has also been heavily praised and now the 38-year-old is gearing up for her next album cycle.

Announcing her latest single, ‘If Not Now, It’s Soon’, which has quickly selected as BBC Radio 1’s ‘Hottest Record’, the new track has also dropped along with 14 major UK tour dates, with a string double headers in multiple cities.

Born and bred in Rotherham but with strong ties to nearby Sheffield, her journey began as one half of folk pop duo Slow Club. They formed back in 2006 but split in 2017 as both she and bandmate Charles Watson parted ways to pursue their respective solo projects.

Set to release her third studio LP A Complicated Woman on 25 April, these latest tour dates are some of the biggest she’ll have ever played – including a massive Yorkshire homecoming gig at the Utilita Arena which will be a momentous show for our friends The Sheff to make the most of.

Discussing the new project, Taylor says: “Personally, you have to wait and one day you’ll get somewhere less painful. But the world will hopefully get somewhere less painful too. It’s about hope, perseverance and patience.”

As for those who’ve been lucky enough to get an premature listen of the album in full, the early reviews are looking seriosuly strong.

Described by The Guardian as “her best yet”, it features the likes of Nadine Shah, Moonchild Sanelly and Sue Tompkins from Life Without Buildings; Meatball and even Lancashire actor, Julie Hesmondhalgh, best known for playing Hayley Cropper in Coronation Street. Now that’s what we call a feature.

You can see the full list of tour dates below:

Self Esteem comes for three massive nights at Manchester Academy on Saturday and Sunday, 27-28 September later this year.

Her previous raft of dates for A Complicated Woman Live – an ambitious quasi-theatrical experience of the album in person and on stage at The Duke of York’s in London – sold out in a flash, and you can expect plenty of that same production value when it comes to her upcoming concerts.

Fans get an exclusive pre-sale code for all UK and Ireland dates by pre-odering the album before 1pm GMT on Tuesday, 25 March 2025, and as for general admission, you’ll have to join the queue like the rest of us when they go live (still TBC).

In the meantime, you can join us in being as obsessed with her other recent release as we are:

Read more:

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Featured Images — Scarlett Carlos Clarke/Press Shots (supplied)

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Rising pop favourite CMAT announces huge headline show in Manchester

Danny Jones Danny Jones CMAT Manchester gig tickets

Fast-rising alt-pop favourite CMAT has announced a new show here in Manchester, and as she’s pretty much an honorary Manc at this point, you can expect the tickets to be snapped up in no time.

The Irish singer – real name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson (erm, duh?) – relocated to 0161 as a 17-year-old back in 2013 to pursue her career in music, and it’s fair to say the move turned out to be a positive one.

First arriving with her old duo Bad Sea, it didn’t take the teenager too long to find a following among her Manchester cousins, and soon, CMAT was considered among the best and up-and-coming artists our city had to offer.

In fact, little else has changed in that respect besides the fact that more and more of the country and, indeed, the world knows about her now, so you can guarantee there’ll be plenty of demand for this new headline concert.

Announcing the big gig at O2 Victoria Warehouse on social media this Friday, 22 August, the Dublin-born ‘Dunboyne Diana’ from County Meath by way of Manchester, CMAT is set for multiple Northern shows over the next six or seven months alone.

The show over in Trafford is one of just half a dozen new shows confirmed in support of her upcoming new LP, Euro-Country, which debuts at the end of the month.

Dropping on Friday, 29 August, her third album follows undoubtedly the biggest year of her career yet, having supported the likes of Sam Fender and having played massive festival slots like Glastonbury this summer.

Other gigs include nights at ‘Ally Pally’ in London, Cork, Edinburgh and more. Commenting on social media amid the new additions, CMAT simply wrote: “Come and see me, CMAT, and The Very Sexy CMAT Band, play our BIGGEST SHOWS EVER next year!”

She actually has a healthy run of live performances coming up this autumn, including one at Manchester Academy One on 4 October – though, as we’ve already warned with this latest date, tickets disappeared faster than you could say, ‘I wanna be a cowboy, baby’.

Admittedly, more than half of those shows have already sold out, but that’s why we’re getting an extra show for our trouble.

With new singles ‘Running/Planning’, ‘Take A Sexy Picture Of Me’, ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’ and even the title track, ‘Euro-Country’, all having already been released since this past March, we’ve already got a decent taste of what’s to come next from Ireland’s finest.

Speaking as long-time listeners ourselves, we can assure you that these songs have gone down as instant hits among the fan base.

Arriving on Thursday, 12 March 2026, you can enjoy the pre-sale window via O2 Priority Access or by pre-ordering her new record, and general admission goes live at 10am next Thursday, 28 August.

You can get ready to grab your tickets HERE.

She’s not the only soulful female singer who’s just booked her biggest Manc date yet either…

Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour

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

Featured Images — Raph_PH (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)

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Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Olivia Dean

Olivia Dean has announced she’s set to head out on the biggest UK and Europe headline tour of her career next year.

Fresh off-the-back of supporting the North East’s finest, Sam Fender, on his run of big outdoor gigs this summer – including a massive one at Wythenshawe Park this past weekend – Olivia Dean has now announced her very-own headline tour.

And of course she’ll be making a stop off here in Manchester as she heads around the UK.

The tour announcement comes ahead of the release of her sophmore album, The Art of Loving, which is out next month on 26 September, and follows the release of a collection of singles, including the already high-charting ‘Nice To Each Other’.

The 26-year-old singer-songwriter will first head out on a tour of some of the UK’s major cities, before taking on the rest of the continent and visiting cities like Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam along the way.

From her earliest show in 2017 with a crowd of just 70 people, on to three triumphant sold-out nights at the Hammersmith Apollo, Olivia has been firmly building herself powerful live legacy and is already on her way to carving out a legendary path.

On release, the multi BRIT Award nominee’s debut album Messy received widespread critical acclaim and cemented her status as one of the most compelling voices across neo-soul and pop.

Olivia Dean
Olivia Dean announces HUGE Manchester gig at Co-op Live as part of UK tour / Credit: Jack Davison (Publicity Picture) | The Manc Group

While still relatively early on in her career, Olivia has already earned comparisons to the greats, and 2025 sees her ready to ‘scale up’ and ‘conquer’.

Olivia will kick off her tour next year in April, and will be taking to the stage of Manchester’s newest live entertainment arena, Co-op Live, on Saturday 25 April 2026, following a trip to Glasgow and before two huge gigs at London’s OVO Hydro Arena.

Read more:

Tickets go on pre-sale at 10am next Wednesday 27 August for Co-op Members, and the general sale will follow on Friday 29 August, again at 10am – with tickets available here.

You can also re-order the album for early access to tickets here.

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Feeling a little fancier? You can treat yourself to VIP tickets to Olivia’s Co-op Live show via SeatUnique, with a range of different packages available here.

Featured Image – Gwen Trannoy (Publicity Pictures)

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