Multi-award-winning indie and alternative rock band, The Last Dinner Party, have just announced what is set to be one of their biggest globe-trotting tours ever, with a momentous Manchester gig included on the UK run.
The much-celebrated five-piece have revealed their latest run of shows will span the UK, Ireland, mainland Europe, Australia AND New Zealand, confirming a total of 35 live dates.
After coming somewhat under fire in 2024 following a series of cancelled concerts, the Londoners have responded in the best way possible: by putting their money where their mouth is and coming back with a bang ahead of their highly anticipated sophomore release.
We have every faith they’ll have the stamina to fulfil their live commitments this time around, and you best believe we’ll be going for tickets.
Speaking in the build-upto the release of the second album, From The Pyre – which is set to drop on 17 October – the band said of their latest material: “This record is a collection of stories, and the concept of album-as-mythos binds them.
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‘The Pyre‘ itself is an allegorical place in which these tales originate, a place of violence and destruction but also regeneration, passion and light. The songs are character-driven but still deeply personal, a commonplace life event pushed to a pathological extreme.
“Being ghosted becomes a Western dance with a killer, and heartbreak laughs into the face of the apocalypse. Lyrics invoke rifles, scythes, sailors, saints, cowboys, floods, Mother Earth, Joan of Arc, and blazing infernos. We found this kind of evocative imagery to be the most honest and truthful way to discuss the way our experiences felt, giving each the emotional weight it deserves.”
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Going on to describe the follow-up to their seminal debut, Prelude to Ecstasy (which saw them sweep up multiple BRIT and NME Awards, as well as a Mercury Prize nomination), as “darker, more raw and more earthy”, you’re definitely in for a heavily intellectualised experience with this one.
Their performances are certainly much more than a group of musicians getting up on stage too; having seen them last October ourselves, the LGBTQ+ icons definitely revel in the artistic expression of a live show, and have been praised for celebrating the female queer gaze too.
As you can see in the social post shared by the band, they’re about to have a very busy end to 2025, plus plenty of travelling in the new year, but for now, you can see The Last Dinner Party’s upcoming UK tour dates in full down below:
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14 November – 3Arena, Dublin
17 November – Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
20 November – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
23 November – Bridlington Spa, Bridlington
26 November – Aviva Studios, Manchester
29 November – The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
30 November – The Prospect Building, Bristol
2 December – Utilita Arena, Cardiff
4 December – Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth
5 December – Brighton Centre, Brighton
7 December – O2 Academy Brixton, London
8 December – O2 Academy Brixton, London
Yes, set to visit Aviva Studios – a.k.a. the home of Greater Manchester’s ever-growing artistic hub – for the very first time, we couldn’t think of a more fitting act to play the stunning dynamic space.
General admission for The Last Dinner Party tour goes live from 10am GMT on Friday, 12 September, but fans who pre-order the album can gain early access.
You can get ready to grab your tickets right HERE.
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)/The Manc Group
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‘Powerhouse’ Manchester named in top 10 global cities for music in 2026
Emily Sergeant
The top 10 cities across the globe for music in 2026 have been named, and Manchester has earned its place.
If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.
From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.
The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.
Manchester has been named in the top 10 global cities for music in 2026 / Credit: Mylo Kaye | Nathan Mullet (via Unsplash)
Last summer was a sensational celebration for Manchester, as an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, took over the city, and the annual Manchester Day was music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.
Oh, and there was also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park in June… in case you don’t remember, somehow (*wink wink*).
These next two months are also set to be huge for Manchester too, given the fact it is hosting both the 2026 BRIT Awards and MOBO Awards, on 28 February and 26 March respectively, for the first time at Co-op Live.
So it would only seem right that our city has earned itself a place in SeatPick‘s top 10 list of global music cities for 2026 – slotting right in there at a respectable number four.
Overall, Manchester claimed a score of 7.90 out of 10, as the city apparently hosts a total of 1,204 concerts per year across 116 venues, and even supports 380 music artists and 72 music-related businesses in the process, as well as hosting 26 different music festivals annually too.
“From indie and electronic to arena-filling acts, Manchester continues to punch above its weight as a powerhouse of British music,” SeatPick said in its new rankings of global music cities.
Other UK cities that feature in the top 10 are London at number two, and Glasgow and Bristol and number eight and nine, while claiming the coveted top spot of the list of global music cities for 2026 is the German capital of Berlin.
“What really stands out in this data is that the best music cities aren’t always the ones with the most artists,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick. “Rather, they’re the ones where live music is tightly woven into everyday life.
“Cities like Berlin and Manchester have fewer artists than London, but higher audience concentration per venue, which typically leads to stronger ticket demand and more consistent sell-outs.”
Featured Image – Vishnu R Nair (via Unsplash)
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First batch of special releases for Record Store Day UK 2026 announced
Danny Jones
Yes, it’s nearly time for Record Store Day 2026, and the list of the first dozen or so limited edition releases here in the UK has just been announced.
With a fair few familiar and, more importantly, Northern names on there (but of course), #RSDUK26 is set to be another great one.
A total of 15 songs have been named on the lineup for this year so far, and yet again, the drops are in support of War Child, who will also be hosting a number of very special and intimate charity gigs during BRITs Week.
The two organisations have collaborated for the sixth time after having first joined forces back in 2020, and it feels like both the annual observance and its catalogue have only got better ever since.
Plenty that have caught our attention already, and there’s only more set to come…
As detailed in the post on social media, the Record Store Day team have retierated that “£1 from every single copy sold of these releases will be donated to the charity, helping to protect, educate, and stand up for the rights of the children who are living through conflict around the world.”
We quickly noticed the likes of The Cure, Fleetwood Mac, Kaiser Chiefs, Mark Knopfler and Bring Me The Horizon, just to name a few.
Once more, here is the RSD 2026 release list in full:
Record Store Day release list | 2026
Corinne Bailey Rae – Live In New York
The Cure – Greatest Hits and Acoustic Hits (compilations)
Divorce – Live at Get Together 2025 for War Child
Dr Feelgood – Oily City Confidential (OST)
Fleetwood Mac – The Original Fleetwood Mac (compilation)
James Dean Bradfield – The Great Western
Kaiser Chiefs – The Future Is Medieval
Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris – ‘All The Roadrunning’
Nicky Wire – Intimism
Primal Scream – Echo Dek
Rory Gallagher – Calling Card
Sigrid x BMTH – ‘Bad Life’
The Streets – Computers & Blues
The Vaccines – What Did You Expect…. Demos and B-sides
As always, all of these titles will be available behind the counter exclusively at indie record shops all over the country on Saturday, 18 April to celebrate Record Store Day UK 2026.
Oh, and if you need help with where to start, look no further.
Danny Jones -
4th September 2025 
