Sounds of the City is set to return this month, bringing some of the world’s biggest bands to Manchester.
Over the course of nine very special evenings, bands including James, Pixies and Foals will all take to the outdoor stage.
This year’s headliners also include Sam Fender, Lewis Capaldi, and the return of the ever-popular Hacienda Classical.
Since launching in 2013, Sounds of the City has hosted the likes of Kylie, Arcade Fire, Elbow, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Catfish And The Bottlemen and Courteeners.
As with most music events, Sounds of the City had its 2020 and 2021 summer seasons disrupted, but returned with a handful of gigs last September.
Now it’s back in full force and ready to kick off in a matter of days.
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Here’s what you need to know.
Who’s headlining Sounds of the City on which date?
Foals will be among the headliners for Sounds of the City.
Tuesday 28 June – Lewis Capaldi plus special guest Jp Saxe & Emie Nathan
Wednesday 29 June – Foals plus special guests Wet Leg & The Regrettes – Sold Out
Thursday 30 June – Crowded House plus special guest
Friday 1 July – The Libertines – Up The Bracket performed in full plus other classics plus special guests Sports Team
Saturday 2 July – James plus special guest – Sold Out
Tuesday 5 July – Pixies plus special guests The Slow Readers Club & Klangstof
Wednesday 6 July – Sam Fender plus special guest – Sold Out
Friday 8 July – Hacienda Classical with special guests Soul II Soul, Peter Hook, DJ Paulette & Tom Wainwright
Saturday 9 July – Primal Scream Presents Screamadelica plus special guests The Mysterines, Lonelady & Walt Disco – Sold Out
How do I buy tickets?
Sam Fender.
There are still tickets left for a few of the Sounds of the City gigs, as well as tickets cropping up on resale sites (as always, make sure you’re using a verified fan-to-fan service so you don’t get ripped off).
You can expect to pay between £40 and £50 for most of the events – Lewis Capaldi tickets are £44.25, The Libertines tickets are going for £47.40, and The Pixies for £50.50, for example.
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You can browse the events and see the latest ticket availability through Ticketmaster.
What are the stage and venue times?
Doors to the venue are expected to open at 5.30pm for most of the concerts.
There’ll be a strict 10.30pm curfew.
Each artist is likely to announce their individual stage times on social media in the coming days, but you can probably expect headliners to take to the stage between 8.30pm and 9pm most nights.
What’s the seating chart for the venue?
Castlefield Bowl is an amphitheatre-style outdoor venue in the city centre.
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Although all tickets are billed as unreserved standing, if you’re quick you can take a seat on the large concrete steps that curve around the stage.
Many people also take a perch up on the grassy banks at the back of the venue too.
How do I get to Castlefield Bowl?
Castlefield Bowl is located at 101 Liverpool Road in the city centre.
The closest tram stop is Deansgate-Castlefield, which is only a six-minute walk away.
You can also walk it from the major train stations, or use the 101, 197, 255, 256, 41, 50 or X50 buses.
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Fall Out Boy announce massive Manchester gig on upcoming tour – how to get tickets
Daisy Jackson
Fall Out Boy have announced a huge UK and European tour, including a massive gig here in Manchester.
The legendary pop-punk group, who were behind hit songs like Sugar, We’re Goin Down and Dance, Dance, will be heading this way on their headline tour, So Much For (Tour) Dust.
Today, the Grammy Award-nominated noughties rock icons announced 15 dates, including a stop at the AO Arena on 29 October.
The new Fall Out Boy tour is in support of their forthcoming new album So Much (For) Stardust, which is due for release on 24 March 2023.
Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Andy Hurley and Joe Trohman surprised fans with a homecoming show in Chicago’s 1000-capacity Metro, which sold out immediately.
They first played the same venue back in September 2002, a pivotal gig in their huge career.
Patrick said on their return: “Twenty years ago, I told my mom I was going to take a semester off [college] because we were headlining Metro and I wanted to see how that would work out…”
Pete Wentz added: “Walking up those stairs is the closest thing this band will have to church.”
The show also featured the live public debut of both Love From The Other Side and Heartbreak Feels So Good, two tracks from the new album.
Fall Out Boy have recently taken part in The Hella Mega Tour, alongside Green Day and Weezer, playing in front of more than one million fans across the globe.
So Much (For) Stardust is Fall Out Boy’s eighth studio album and first since 2018’s M A N I A, which garnered a GRAMMY nomination for Best Rock Album.
Fans who pre-order the new album from falloutboy.lnk.to/store/ will get exclusive pre-sale access to UK and Europe tour tickets, with the pre-sale going live at 4pm on Wednesday 8 February.
General tickets will be available for purchase from 10am Friday 17 February.
Fall Out Boy will be joined by PVRIS and nothing.nowhere. on all European dates.
Fall Out Boy’s UK tour dates in full
October
27 October – Leeds, First Direct Arena
28 October – Glasgow, OVO Hydro
29 October – Manchester, AO Arena
31 October – Birmingham, Utilita Arena Birmingham
2 November – London, The O2
Featured image: Publicity picture
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People can’t decide whether or not Liam Gallagher did a surprise gig in a random pub
Danny Jones
People on social media are torn over a clip that appears to show Liam Gallagher, or a very impressive lookalike, doing an impromptu performance at a local pub in Kent.
The video has had thousands of likes and shares, not to mention countless views, as people online are struggling to suss whether it is actually Liam or not.
Originally shared to TikTok by user Jake Body, the video of the supposed surprise Liam Gallagher gig was captured in a local pub in Halling, a small village located in the North Downs part of Kent and seems to have plenty of people commenting that it was indeed him.
That being said, there are just as many saying the opposite and we’re now at the point where we really don’t know what we believe anymore.
As you can see, it doesn’t just look like him, the individual (whoever he is) sounds and stands exactly like him too. It’s beyond uncanny.
Again, it’s not like we haven’t seen lookalikes and people doing that very recognisable impression before but to have all three in one video, you have to admit there’s part of you that makes you second-guess yourself.
Many online have noted that the 50-year-old has recently had hip surgery and so it’s unlikely that he just decided to head down to a random boozer and do a surprise performance.
On the other hand, he did recently decide to book a skiing holiday for the following week just days later.
Busy bloke but he could have squeezed in a quick set, we suppose? That being said, someone did rather amusingly remark that he had to cut his performance short by 30 minutes.
Despite several people commenting and tagging the man himself and saying things like “thanks for the picture!” and so on, they do fail to provide any further evidence to prove whether it was actually him.
However, it’s worth noting that the younger Oasis brother has unassumingly popped into his fair share of watering holes in the past and even did enjoy a jamming session with some other locals in County Mayo, Ireland a few years back, so a surprise Liam Gallagher gig in a pub isn’t as unlikely as it sounds.
Guess the only way we’ll find out for sure is to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Fingers crossed he clears up the debate.