Jungle will be performing a huge, sold-out show in Manchester this week as part of the Sounds of the City summer gig series.
The British electronic masters will be taking to the stage at Castlefield Bowl on Thursday, stepping in the footsteps of huge gigs that have already happened like Avril Lavigne and Fatboy Slim.
Fresh from their jaw-dropping Glastonbury set, the tour follows the release of their fourth studio album, Volcano.
Founded by childhood best friends Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland more than a decade ago, Jungle have now grown into a music collective often celebrated for being one of the best live acts in the world.
Jungle will be at Castlefield Bowl in Manchester on Thursday 11 July, and if you’re one of the lucky ones who managed to grab tickets, we’ve rounded up everything you need to know.
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Tickets for Jungle at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
Castlefield Bowl in Manchester last week when Avril Lavigne opened Sounds of the City – now it’s time for Jungle
Tickets for Jungle were in huge demand, helped along by their hit single Back on 74 going completely viral last year.
It’s currently completely sold out, though there’s always a chance of a last-minute release of extra tickets – keep checking See Tickets for the latest availability.
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You can also try and nab some through resale sites, but always use trusted fan-to-fan platforms for these.
Who’s supporting Jungle for their Manchester gig?
Writer and producer Mood Talk, aka Jamie Lloyd Taylor, will be warming up the Castlefield Bowl crowds for Jungle.
The dance floor favourite has worked closely with the Jungle duo over the years, including on Don’t Play from their latest album.
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His latest single Girl was released on Grammy nominated ODESZA’s label ‘Foreign Family Collective’, receiving high praise by the likes of Annie Mac, The Blessed Madonna, Honey Dijon and Todd Edwards.
Castlefield Bowl hasn’t been particularly on it with sharing stage times for any of the Sounds of the City gigs so far.
All we know is that doors open at 5.30pm and curfew is 11pm.
But based on previous events, Jungle should be on stage somewhere between 8.45pm and 9pm.
Expected setlist
Jungle have been very busy on the festival circuit lately, so their setlists have been changing around a bit.
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The one we get at Castlefield Bowl may look a little different – and a little longer – than this, but it gives you a good idea of what to expect.
Busy Earnin’ Candle Flame Dominoes The Heat Heavy, California Beat 54 (All Good Now) Problemz I’ve Been in Love Back on 74 Casio Us Against the World Fire What D’You Know About Me Time Truth You Ain’t No Celebrity Coming Back Don’t Play All of the Time Holding On GOOD TIMES Encore Keep Moving
How to get there
Castlefield Bowl (M3 4JR) is on Rice Street just down Liverpool Road which cuts off the main Deansgate strip in the city centre and you can enter Manchester’s much-loved outdoor amphitheatre via Duke or Castle Street.
It’s just a short walk from Deansgate train station or the Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, where you’ll find regular trams running all over Greater Manchester.
If you’re driving there, Great Northern Warehouse’s (M3 4EE) car park, as well as two other NCPs near Bridgewater Hall and on Quay Street in Spinningfields.
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Weather forecast in Manchester for Jungle’s gig
The weather out there isn’t exactly giving *summer*, is it – and sadly it’s not about to improve much for the rest of the Sounds of the City gig series.
At the time of writing, the Met Office is predicting highs of 16 degrees, with light rain.
It is meant to dry up by the time doors to Castlefield Bowl open though. Keep those fingers crossed.
Jungle after-party and DJ set in Manchester
Not ready to stop the Jungle party at Castlefield Bowl? Yeah, us neither.
They’ll be carrying on your Thursday night knees-up with a DJ set at New Century, running between 11pm and 4am.
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You can book your tickets for the Jungle DJ set here.
Hip-hop, soul and R’n’B legend Mary J Blige is coming to Manchester for a massive arena show
Danny Jones
Manchester is getting ready to welcome a global icon of hip-hop, soul, pop and R’n’B as Mary J Blige is set to put on a massive arena show.
With a music career spanning more than 30 years, Mary J Blige is an absolute legend of the American music scene, with nine GRAMMY Awards and nearly 40 nominations, along with a plethora of BET, Billboard, and AMA nods over the years.
Currently on ‘The For My Fans Tour’, jetting quite literally all over and recently adding on even more dates, not only has London been given some love, but so has Greater Manchester – and rightly so.
Announcing the special one-off show and Co-op Live debut this Wednesday, 16 April, Mary J Blige won’t have to wait too long to be part of the ‘Family Affair’.
The 54-year-old from New York will be coming to the state-of-the-art, one of the biggest indoor entertainment venues in all of Europe, in just a few months’ time.
On top of the already well-established AO Arena, this is the pedigree of truly worldwide artists that Co-op Live was built to further attract – and it looks to be working.
It’s been the best part of a decade since she was last in these parts, so she’s sure to get a huge reception.
While most audiences in the likes of North America have been treated to fellow R’n’B favourite Ne-Yo, those watching Ms Blige will be keeping things domestic as long-standing London collective and producers, Soul II Soul, will be joining her for the show.
‘Back to life, back to reality…’
So there you have it! Mary J Blige will be coming to Manchester on Friday, 4 July 2025, with her own pre-sale going live at 10am on Thursday, 24 April, but Co-op members can get there even earlier, with the venue’s early access available from the same time the day before.
As for general admission, you can get ready to grab your tickets HERE from 10am on Friday, 25 April.
Fri 18 April – London, UK – OVO Arena Wembley (Sean Paul, Ashanti and Big Joe)
Sat 19 April – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Sun 20 April – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
22 April – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena
23 April – Brighton, UK – Brighton Centre (Sean Paul ONLY)
24 April – Bournemouth, UK – BIC (Sean Paul ONLY)
Sean Paul and Ashanti tickets for AO Arena gig
Just like Ashanti’s 2002 hit, you’d have been ‘Foolish’ not to get tickets when they first came out, however, there’s still a chance for you to ‘Get Busy’ like Sean Paul’s ‘02 throwback.
There’s a limited run of tickets left throughout the venue, including standing, seated and even an option to watch the show from ‘The Mezz’ if you’re after a VIP experience – AllHERE.
There’s no official setlist yet, however, if you consider the past selection of hits from their previous separate gigs, fans are in for a jam-packed night.
Sean Paul:
So Fine
Get Busy
Ever Blazin’
Cheap Thrills
Baby Boy
Bailando
Hot Gyal Today
Infiltrate
Breathe/ Make It Clap
Give It Up To Me
Got 2 Luv U
Mad Love
No Lie
Boasty
Love Me Ladies
Tip Pon It
Volcano
Bring It
Greatest
I’m Still In Love
Light My Fire
Punkie
Rockabye
Like Glue
Deport Them
Trumpets
She Doesn’t Mind
Temperature
Ashanti:
Happy
Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)
Mesmerise
Only U
Baby
Southside
Down 4 U
Body On Me
What’s Luv?
Ain’t It Funny
Always On Time
Foolish
What are the stage times for Sean Paul and Ashanti in Manchester?
AO Arena has a curfew of 11pm; anyone attending this link-up of a lifetime can enjoy their night knowing they’ll be ‘Ever Blazin” after a full night’s sleep.
Doors for the ‘Bring It Tour’ are scheduled for 6pm with a kick-off time of 7pm, with no confirmed or mentioned support acts as of yet.
For those of you heading to AO Arena, luckily, it’s connected to Manchester Victoria Station and it has an integrated Metrolink stop to make your life even easier.
Head along the pink, light blue or yellow lines directly to the Victoria stop, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Train
Considering this live entertainment venue is situated right in the middle of one of Manchester’s most frequented stations, concertgoers should find no problem getting to the arena wherever they are.
Bus
A variety of buses cover AO Arena andVictoria Station on their route, such as the 2 bus, which stops just a one-minute walk away from the venue.
A full list of buses and their routes can be found HERE.
Getting there by car and parking
The Arena has its own official CitiPark, with 958 car parking spaces including 40 Blue Badge parking bays, which can be booked in advance.
Alternatively, anyone attending a gig can park at their nearest train station and jump on a train service or the various Metrolink park and ride facilities.
Walk/cycle
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes through the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app.
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Daisy Jackson -
9th July 2024 
