I think Wunderhorse took a wrong turn somewhere. Within about 30 seconds, it’s pretty clear that this group are destined for far larger stages than the 260-capacity Deaf Institute.
And that’s even without them firing on all cylinders.
Jacob Slater, the man who previously fronted punk rock outfit Dead Pretties before moving to Cornwall and rebranding himself as Wunderhorse, is sick. Sick as a dog, in fact.
He says his voice is ruined. But given the grunge and aggression laced through the music that’s to come, his slightly rougher voice sort of enhances the whole experience, much like Phoebe Buffay’s sexy sick voice.
Wunderhorse are touring their debut album Cub, with stand-out tracks aplenty.
There’s ‘Leader of the Pack’, an instantly sing-along-able stomper; ‘Purple’, the closest he comes to a heartbreak anthem; and ‘Teal’, a spit-spraying spoken word track where Slater’s voice takes on more than a passing resemblance to Bruce Springsteen.
The whole debut album and the entire set at Deaf Institute feels like Nirvana meets Sam Fender meets Radiohead, with a sprinkling of raw magic.
At one point, Slater reminds us that ‘you can move, you know’, as the tightly-packed venue has just been gently bobbing along. Within seconds, the crowd-surfing begins, beers are thrown, arms flail.
Wunderhorse are a band who move with such enthusiasm they knock over microphones and accidentally close the stage curtains with a spinning neck of a bass guitar (but politely put it all back again).
Thankfully, they’ll have a lot more room to play with when they’re back in Manchester next at least – they’ve already booked in a gig at the O2 Ritz in October, a venue five times the size of this one.
It’s a short gig, over and done with in about 55 minutes, but with that much energy packed in it’s hard to feel short-changed. We’re here for a good time, not for a long time.
There’s no encore, no goodbye, no thank yous, they just put their instruments down and walk off, like a dissatisfied office employee leaving at 5pm on the dot, office chair slowly spinning behind them.
But rather than a pile of admin, they leave behind a small, sweaty room of people who feel like they’ve had their head inside a kick-drum for an hour. There’s not a complaint to be heard.
You can get tickets for Wunderhorse’s next Manchester gig at See Tickets.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Stereophonics have announced another UK tour this winter, including a massive Manchester gig
Danny Jones
British rock legends aren’t waiting around for long as after wrapping their most recent raft of shows, Stereophonics are getting straight back on the road at the end of the year for a UK winter tour, with big gigs in Manchester, London, Glasgow and more.
With tours in Australia and the US also coming in the interim, not to mention having just played multiple festivals right off the back of their own springtime shows, they’ve got to be one of the busiest and hardest-working bands around right now.
The legendary Welsh group released their new album, Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry, Make ‘Em Wait – which happens to be their 13 studio LP to date – back in April, and haven’t wasted any time in touring it, nor the all-time classics that have made them such a much-loved named here in the UK.
Now, though, fresh off a huge sell-out crowd at Finsbury Park down in the capital, lads are gearing up for more domestic shows,
Legendary Welsh band Stereophonics announce a UK Arena Tour for December 2025.@coopuk members get first in line for tickets Find out more: https://t.co/amNXniakHf Co-op Member Presale: 09:30 9 July 2025 General Sale: 09:30 11 July 2025 pic.twitter.com/BXLs7ZXftU
Their latest record went to number one back in May, which is then the ninth time they’ve achieved the feat, and the Cynon Valley veterans seem to show absolutely no signs of slowing down whatsoever.
We’ll Iechyd da to that.
Other shows here in the North of England include South Yorkshire’s Utilta Arena (our friends over at The Sheff will be buzzing with that one), as well as a Liverpool date at the M&S Bank Arena.
Earlier this month, the band also played another showstopping headline set at this year’s Isle of Wight festival, with music outlet Rolling StoneUK dubbing the band’s set as “the highlight of the night” that “upheld every expectation” for 55,000 festival goers.
It was much the same story at Finsbury this past weekend, too, which has already seen the likes of Fontaines D.C., Slayer, and soon Drake arrive for Wireless Fest 2025.
Making their Co-op Live debut when they arrive in Manchester this winter, Stereophonics are to play the world-leading arena on 12 December.
Official Co-op members get the first lot of early access via the venue’s presale window, which opens from 9:30am on Wednesday, 9 July, but general admission tickets will be available from the same time on the following Friday (11 July).
Mika announces first-ever arena gig in Manchester next year
Thomas Melia
Global popstar and certified hitmaker Mika announces massive gig in Manchester set for next year as part of a huge string of world tour dates.
If you hear the name Mika and don’t instantly scream out, “I could be brown, I could be blue I could be violet sky”, you’re definitely on the wrong side of history.
This star has been pumping out hits like no other with singles ‘Grace Kelly’, ‘Lollipop’, ‘Relax, Take It Easy’, and plenty more since entering the music scene back in 2007.
Back in 2013, the Lebanon-born performer even released a Wicked-inspired duet ‘Popular Song’ with honorary Manc, Ariana Grande, called ‘Popular Song’ – with the latter going on to play Glinda in the live action musical.
Mika is heading out on a world tour which visits Manchester next year.
Now, the global singer-songwriter is ready to head out on his biggest tour to date, and he’s playing a variety of venues, including our trusty 21,000 seater AO Arena.
The ‘Grace Kelly’ penman found himself hitting a career pinnacle back in 2022 when he co-presented one of the music calendar’s biggest highlights: the Eurovision Song Contest.
With six studio albums to his name and another LP on the way, this upcoming run of shows will be nothing less than impressive.
Our friends over at The Hoot got an exclusive preview of the title track from Mika’s upcoming album ‘Spinning Out’ when he played a special set as part of Sounds in the City at Millennium Square.
As well as being known for his smash hit singles, another big talking point is Mika’s extravagant stage, one we’re sure the Manchester crowd will be embracing with open arms.
The last time Mika paid Manchester a visit was just last year at one of the city’s many live music venues, O2 Apollo, on his ‘Apocalypse Calypso’ tour, and he’s clearly eager to see our lovely faces once again.
Mika is embarking on the ‘Spinning Out’ tour and paying a visit to AO Arena in Manchester on 11 February 2026, with tickets on sale from Friday 11 July at 10am HERE.
Daisy Jackson -
1st April 2023 
