Hayley Williams, lead singer of Paramore, was up to her usual tricks on stage in Manchester last night, pulling audience members up on stage with her.
But the huge crowd at the AO Arena got an unexpected treat when one of the people handed the mic ended up being the singer of a local band.
Jess Branney from Peaness, an up-and-coming all-female group from Chester, shared the same space as the American rock band, and fans have absolutely loved it.
Paramore also invited a pair of best friends up at the same time as Peaness, with Hayley joking that the four of them were The Spice Girls.
On Instagram, Jess’s bandmate Rach Williams shared videos of the insane moment, which saw her catapulted from their usual intimate stage size (like their recent gig at Gorilla) to the mighty 21,000-capacity AO Arena.
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She wrote: “Absolutely LOSING MY SH*T at Hayley Williams talking about Peaness loooool.”
Jess later shared a video where she said: “It’s 2am. I’ve been processing in bed. I’ve calmed down a bit now.
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“Firstly, I’m sorry I messed it up – no one’s more upset than me. But um, what a night, and it’s been nice to see some footage back from different spots in the arena. Because honestly, when I was up there, I didn’t know what was going on.
“My body was reacting, flailing around, having a party, going ‘oh my god it’s Paramore’. What a night.”
She also posted on Twitter: “Can’t believe that just happened. Like, Hayley Williams knows our band. I pushed my air into her personal microphone. WTFFFFFF. Thanks for all the love but holy heck what a night and what a band @paramore are.”
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Other people on Twitter were showering Jess and Peaness with praise after the Paramore gig – although some did struggle with their band name.
One person wrote: “JESS of the p*nis (?) band, wherever you are, please know you slayed mizbiz (i thought for a sec hayley was still on the mic)
Someone else wrote: “Living for Jess from @peanessband getting pulled up onstage to sing with @paramore and smashing it!”
Another said: “Okay so everyone who was at @paramore in Manchester (and actually just everyone regardless) should go and follow @PeanessBand right now. Jess did Miz Biz and they are just the most wonderful band, and deserve all of our love.”
One person tweeted: “Amazing to see @BlocParty and @paramore on the same line up with a little bonus @PeanessBand!”
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Someone posted: “i am having an asthma attack this is so amazing an ABSOLUTELY deserved you absolute legend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEANAMORE TOUR NOW”
Manchester’s Co-op Live arena postpones The Black Keys and Peter Kay (again)
Daisy Jackson
The Co-op Live has announced it is postponing both The Black Keys gig and Peter Kay’s performance.
Both shows were set to take place this week as the huge arena finally opens in Manchester.
This is the second time Peter Kay has been rescheduled – the show was meant to officially open the venue earlier this week.
Co-op Live went ahead with a test event with Rick Astley last Saturday, albeit with a capacity that was reduced at the eleventh hour.
But the huge venue was hit with ‘power supply issues’ and took the ‘difficult decision’ to postpone Peter Kay.
It’s now gone one step further and pushed back The Black Keys – meant to be their first proper live music event – as well as Peter Kay AGAIN.
In a statement shared today, the Co-op Live said it has been ‘undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans’.
It said that the shows are being rescheduled to ensure they can ‘run safely’.
The 23,500-capacity arena said this will give them ‘the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly’.
The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May, and Peter Kay on 23 and 24 May.
As for the Bolton-born comedian, he sounds somewhat in disbelief himself:
Co-op Live’s statement reads: “Since making the difficult decision to postpone the live shows at Co-op Live due to take place this week, we have been undertaking an extensive protocol of testing critical procedures to ensure all areas are ready for fans.
“To ensure that we can run all shows safely, regretfully we have now had to take the decision to reschedule the planned The Black Keys and Peter Kay shows.
“Both The Black Keys and Peter Kay have graciously agreed to reschedule their shows. The Black Keys will now perform on 15 May 2024, and Peter Kay will now perform on 23 and 24 May 2024.
“All tickets remain valid and ticket holders will be contacted by their point of purchase. Refunds will be available for those who can no longer attend.
“We deeply appreciate the impact this will have on excited fans, and sincerely apologise for the inconvenience that this change will undoubtedly cause.
“Rescheduling Peter Kay and The Black Keys will give us the extra time we need to continue testing enhanced emergency communications thoroughly.
“This is vital to satisfy the rigorous set of guidelines and protocols that are necessary for a venue of this size to ensure that our fans, artists and staff have the safest experience possible.”
Featured Images — Press Images/The Manc Group
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Co-op Live boss resigns just days before venue’s official opening
Daisy Jackson
The boss of Co-op Live, Manchester’s enormous, ground-breaking new arena, has resigned from his position just days before the venue is set to open.
The enormous music-first arena has been taking shape beside the Etihad Stadium for several years, and was due to welcome its first official audiences this week, but has been hit with last-minute challenges.
And now Co-op Live‘s boss Gary Roden has quit the mammoth project, with the news of his resignation announced late Thursday evening.
Oak View Group, which Co-op Live is part of, said in a statement that they would like to ‘thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans’.
Stepping into his shoes as interim general manager will be Rebecca Kane Burton, who previously ran the U.K.’s highest-grossing venue, London’s The O2 arena.
Gary has previously come under fire for saying that some grassroots music venues ‘poorly run’ – a statement that OVG has now distanced itself from.
A separate statement said that ‘neither Co-op Live nor Oak View Group share the sentiment expressed by former Co-op Live General Manager Gary Roden regarding the grassroots industry’.
It continued: “As OVG Chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke has repeatedly stated, Co-op Live remains committed to grassroots music in Manchester and beyond, including teaming up with Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham on the Artist of the Month campaign, and as a founding partner of Beyond The Music.
“Co-op Live also donates over £1m a year to the Co-op Foundation to support communities and empower young people to take social action through its new Young Gamechangers fund.
“Oak View Group and Co-op Live remain happy to meet with grassroots organisations once the venue is fully operational.”
The news of the venue’s boss stepping down comes at a time when all eyes are on Co-op Live, the opening of which has been delayed.
The venue did host a test event with Rick Astley last weekend, but even that faced difficulties, with thousands of tickets cancelled to reduce capacity just hours before showtime.
It’s now set to officially open this Saturday 27 April with a performance by rock group The Black Keys.
The full statement from OVG about Gary’s resignation said: “Gary Roden has decided to resign. We’d like to thank Gary for his help bringing the UK’s newest arena to live entertainment fans and wish him the best for the future.
“Rebecca Kane Burton has been named Interim GM, effective today. Rebecca is a seasoned veteran of venue management and live entertainment in the UK having served as VP/GM of The O2 from 2012-2016 and CEO of LW Theatres from 2016-2021.