Legendary blues band, The Black Keys, are heading back to Manchester next year, set to play Castlefield Bowl for the very first time. This one’s a biggie.
As the latest headliner announced for Sound of the City 2025, the soulful Ohio rock and alternative duo are returning to 0161 for the third year running, having swapped the AO Arena for Co-op Live this past May, but now they’re set to tick another huge Manc venue off their list.
Confirmed amongst plenty of other big music news released on Monday, 2 December, The Black Keys will be heading to the Bowl as part of a new UK and European tour, with many of the dates including festival slots all over the continent.
While Manchester’s annual outdoor festival has seen some big names in the past, getting an act that boasts this kind of prestige and influence is a huge coup for Sound of the City (SOTC), the lineup for which already looks pretty stacked as it is.
Legendary rock duo @theblackkeys have just announced a run of outdoor headline shows across July 2025 🕺
The Black Keys released their 12th studio album, Ohio Players, back in April: a record heavily inspired by the vibe of band members Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney’s ongoing ‘record hang’ parties, which have become just as big a deal as their live shows themselves.
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Hailed by Rolling Stone, who wrote, “Whether they set their retro-rock wayback machine to Memphis in the Sixties, the Midwest in the Seventies, or Manchester, England, and L.A. in the Nineties, it all flows together like a beautifully paced DJ set”, their latest here took place at YES over on Charles Street.
The album itself – met with vast critical acclaim (including Audio North‘s humble opinion) – was re-released as an expanded Trophy Edition on 15 November and features collaborations with everyone from our very own Noel Gallagher to Beck, Greg Kurstin, Juicy J and more, earning another Grammy nod too.
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Even more excitingly, their latest collab on tour will see the mighty Miles Kane join them on the road for all three UK dates, meaning Castlefield Bowl will welcome the Birkenhead-born solo artists and Last Shadow Puppets star too. What a billing that is.
The other two shows held here on British shores will be at Alexandra Palace Park in the capital and over at Millenium Square as part of Leeds’ Sound of the City lineup for next year.
With a new music video for their latest single ‘Sin City’ having just debuted too, it’s well and truly going to be a Black Keys-heavy day on the office playlist.
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General admission goes live this Friday, 6 December at 9am but fans can also get exclusive presale access which will begin at the same time on Wednesday morning (4 Nov).
You can get ready to grab your tickets to see The Black Keys at Castlefield Bowl and what will no doubt be one of the biggest shows of the summer on HERE – we’ll see you there.
Meanwhile, Manchester’s month-long music series over at its iconic amphitheatre just keeps getting better, with a whole host of UK and global favourites now confirmed for SOTC 2025.
Featured Images — Larry Niehues/Press Image (supplied)/The Manc Group
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Boyzone to reunite for exclusive New Year’s Eve special on the BBC
Danny Jones
2025 has very much been the year of the comeback – be it Oasis, Britpop fashion in general, or short bobs and pixie cuts – so it’s only fitting that we round off the calendar with one last reunion, as throwback boyband Boyzone are set to feature on a TV special on the BBC this New Year’s Eve.
Turns out ‘All That I Need’ to make a year memorable is a load of 1990s nostalgia.
Now, obviously, despite plenty of other music names enjoying a second renaissance over the past 12 months or so, nothing is ever going to be quite as big as the Oasis Live ’25 reunion tour.
However, if you asked us to guess which group from the era were also going to reunite this year back in January, there’s not a chance we would’ve said Boyzone.
Boyzone are telling us about coming back together for one final run in their most unforgettable concerts yet 🎤
After news first began circulating earlier this week, it has now been confirmed that musician turned presenter Ronan Keating will be getting back together with two of his former bandmates.
Joining the 48-year-old for ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’, ex-Boyzone members Keith Duffy and Shane Lynch are part of an exciting live music lineup.
Other names include actor and singer, Shona McGarty, who recently starred on season 25 of I’m A Celeb, as well as fellow 90s pop artist Louise Redknapp and singer-songwriter Calum Scott.
The exclusive reunion comes after the success of the recently aired Boyzone: No Matter What documentary show.
Spread across three parts on Sky, the docuseries (named after their hit song from 1998) looks back on the career and journey up the charts back in their heyday, all the way up to the present. After seemingly striking a chord with fans and the lads themselves, it looks like they’re not done after all…
Yes, not only is the festive TV special going to see three of the original members performing alongside each other again, but
Here’s hoping that turns into a springboard for something even bigger, and we get a Manchester arena show sometime soon.
As for the programme itself, ‘Ronan & Friends: A New Year’s Eve Party’ will be broadcast on BBC One and made available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday, 31 December 2025.
A candlelit Queen tribute concert is returning to Manchester
Danny Jones
Yes, you read that right: a candlelit concert dedicated to the one and only Queen, with a spectacular West End Cast and a talented live rock band, is coming to Manchester city centre in January.
In fact, it’s coming home, as this wonderful event started right here in 0161 back in 2021.
Concerts by Candlelight themselves host concerts up and down the country at various points throughout the year, but their much-loved ‘Queen by Candlelight‘ special knows all about lighting up Manc venues.
Having since gone on to become an internationally acclaimed live concert experience, we’re glad we still get to see the ‘Princes of the Universe’ on our doorstep.
Credit: Concerts by Candlelight (supplied)
With the likes of Bridgewater Hall and the magical Manchester Monastery all having played host to the promotion on many ocassions, this time Queen by Candlelight is coming to the legendary Manchester Opera House in the new year.
One of our most historic and legendary theatres, it’s only fitting, really, that they be chosen to welcome a night of equally iconic tunes.
But it’s worth reminding more casual fans that these aren’t just British rock and pop anthems; Queen‘s discography is one that still has global recognition to this day.
That’s why this specific show has been taken to virtually every corner of the world, with the incredibly talented cast of singers and musicians delighting audiences in Dubai, Australia, New Zealand and New York, to domestic crowds here in town and down in London’s West End.
‘Queenies’ or ‘Darlings’, as Freddie Mercury used to call them, can expect all the big hits, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, to ‘It’s a Kind of Magic’ and ‘Who Wants to Live Forever’ and plenty more from the back catalogue.
Here’s a glimpse of what’s in store this coming January:
With tickets already flying out fast, we really would recommend securing your seats early before they inevitably sell out.
To quote the promoters themselves, “this spectacular celebration of Queen’s biggest hits is guaranteed to rock you.”
Coming to the Manchester Opera House on Tuesday, 6 January, you can book your tickets for Queen by Candlelight right HERE.
And if you’ve never been to one of their candlelit events before, you only need to see how much of a ball we had at their country event earlier this year to find out how much fun they are…
Danny Jones -
2nd December 2024 
