Audio

A bring-your-own booze music venue is opening in Manchester

'Make the night as expensive as you want it to be'

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 2nd September 2025

A brand-new nightlife concept offering bring-your-own-booze is coming to Manchester this month. 

XLR will be the very first BYOB licensed music venue in Manchester, and it’s set to open on Wilmslow Road later in September.

Club-goers will pay for a ticket, then can bring their own beers and alcohol inside the club.

They say they want people to be able to make ‘the night as expensive as you want it to be’.

XLR owner Chris said that clubbing has lost its way from the early 2000s heyday and become ‘very corporate’, so it’s hoped that this new concept will break down those money barriers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tickets will be priced between £10 and £20, with lockers provided inside so that you can safely store your booze.

XLR will open on 24 September with appearances from Yung Singh and Bushbaby.

ADVERTISEMENT

Owner Chris said in a teaser snippet today: “We’re bringing a really new and exciting concept to the venue this year, where customers can bring their own alcohol into the venue. 

“Clubbing has come so very far away from what it used to be, sort of back in the early 2000s, and the early 90s as well. 

“Clubs were meant to be about the music, whereas now it’s become very corporate, very money grab. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“The clubs used to be cheap and the bars used to be expensive. 

“Clubs now, they’re just run very commercially. 

“We don’t want people feeling like they’re being priced out of venues anymore. 

“It’s very important that anyone can come to a club. We all know the crisis that’s going on with clubs and hospitality this year. 

“When you pay for your ticket, you know you’re paying for the DJ, you pay for the promoter, you’re helping the venue to survive, you’re contributing to the culture. 

ADVERTISEMENT

“So the tickets will be £10 to £20, you can bring your own beers in, bring your own alcohol in, we’ve got lockers in place so that you don’t have to leave everything out on the dance floor. 

“That’s the way that we’re gonna go this year. We hope that you get on board with the concept.

“We hope that you drink responsibly, because that’s really important as well. 

“We’ll see you in September.”

See the latest from XLR Manchester on their Instagram HERE.

Read more

Featured image: Unsplash, Alexsandr Popov

Audio

J. Cole to play biggest ever Manchester show on first world tour in half a decade

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Calling all those living in Cole World since 2007, J is coming to Manchester on his first world tour in more than five years, and we’re collectively losing our minds.

You could even say we’re in Dreamville.

Announcing a run of just half a dozen live gigs here in Britain, his UK leg will be kicking off this autumn, amid other shows over in mainland Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the States and the rest of North America, even South Africa.

Confirming Co-op Live as the chosen room for his long-awaited return to Manchester, this will be his debut at the massive indoor venue.

He’s even done a cool twist on the tour announcement.

Set to tour his latest release, The Fall-Off – his seventh studio album, which is rolling back the years after being pushed as a double-disk mixtape-esque CD – this feels like a full circle moment, nearly two whole decades on from his actual breakout mixtape, The Come Up. Time flies.

Moreover, it feels like Mancs have had to wait almost just as long to see him again.

The last time J. Cole visited Manchester was on the ‘4 Your Eyez Only Tour’ in 2017, meaning it’ll be nearly 10 whole years by the time we watch him live back up in the North West of England.

It’s also been widely publicised that this record was made with the intentions of it being his last (say it ain’t so), meaning this could also be one of your last chances to see the hip-hop legend live – at least for another VERY long time.

All told, the 41-year-old is set to perform in a total of 50 cities across 15 different countries on this upcoming tour, which gets underway in October.

J. Cole UK 2026 tour dates

  • 19 October – London, O2 Arena
  • 20 October – London, O2 Arena
  • 25 October – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
  • 26 October – Glasgow, OVO Hydro Glasgow
  • 28 October – Manchester, Co-Op Live Manchester
  • 31 October – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena Nottingham

As detailed by the arena already, official Co-op members can get first in line for tickets, but you can also try your luck with presale by ordering a copy of The Fall-Off.

Otherwise, general admission will be available from 9am this Friday, 20 February, so you’d best be quick about getting them in your basket, all bought and paid for.

If this is set to be his final hurrah, it’s been one hell of a ride for someone who will, without a doubt, go down as one of the best rappers of all time.

Get ready to grab your tickets HERE.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shot (supplied via Co-op Live)

Audio

Florence and the Machine at Co-op Live Manchester – tickets, setlist, and more for UK tour

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

Florence and the Machine have visited Manchester before… but this UK tour marks their Co-op Live debut.

The ‘Dog Days Are Over’ because London-based band Florence and the Machine are returning to the music capital of the North – Manchester.

The band has played in our city many times over the years, including staple venues like Manchester Academy and AO Arena, but now they’re taking to the stage of the 23,500 capacity Co-op Live for the first time in their career this month.

With this current run of shows titled Everybody Scream Tour, you can expect this arena gig to be a spectacle or… ‘Spectrum’ (there’s more puns coming).

So, grab the ‘Girl With One Eye’, ‘Jenny of Oldstones’, and the ‘Queen of Peace’, and get ready to ‘Howl’ out all of Florence and the Machine’s bangers.

Florence and the Machine are coming to Co-op Live, Manchester on 20 February / Credit: Autumn de Wilde (Supplied)
Florence and the Machine are coming to Co-op Live, Manchester on 20 February / Credit: Autumn de Wilde (Supplied)

Florence and the Machine UK tour dates

  • Fri 13 Feb – Liverpool, UK – M&S Bank Arena
  • Sat 14 Feb – Sheffield, UK – Utilita Arena
  • Mon 16 Feb – London, UK – The O2
  • Tue 17 Feb – London, UK – The O2
  • Fri 20 Feb – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
  • Mon 24 Aug – Edinburgh, UK – Royal Highland Showgrounds
  • Fri 28 Aug – Leeds, UK – Bramham Park
  • Sun 30 Aug – Reading, UK – Richfield Avenue

Tickets

Anyone wanting to see this stellar act in all their glory when they play their latest arena show in Manchester can find some seats left HERE.

There’s even a handful of premium seating options on offer, where you can ‘Shake It Out’ in style feeling like a ‘King’ HERE.

Setlist

  • Everybody Scream
  • Witch Dance
  • Shake It Out
  • Seven Devils
  • Big God
  • Daffodil
  • Which Witch
  • Cosmic Love
  • Spectrum
  • Never Let Me Go
  • Music By Men
  • buckle
  • King
  • The Old Religion
  • Howl
  • Heaven Is Here
  • Sympathy Magic
  • One of the Greats
  • Dog Days Are Over
  • Free
  • And Love

What are the stage times for Florence and the Machine in Manchester?

UK act Florence and the Machine are playing various arena and festival shows this year / Credit: Autumn de Wilde (Supplied)
UK act Florence and the Machine are playing various arena and festival shows this year / Credit: Autumn de Wilde (Supplied)

Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning as much as we want to sing until there’s ‘No Light, No Light’, at least we’ll be tucked up in bed before the early hours.

Anyone attending can expect the doors to open at 6:30pm, with a kick-off time expected to be 7:30pm, and support from self-proclaimed alternative-indie ‘Good Girl’ Paris Paloma.

How to get to Co-op Live

Tram

For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.

Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.

Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Bus

You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.

If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.

The postcode is M11 3DU, and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.

Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide on event day, though estimates will obviously vary:

  • Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
  • Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
  • Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.

There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:

  • Ashton Moss (Ashton line) – 183 spaces and 12 disabled spaces
  • Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
  • Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces

Walk/cycle

ADVERTISEMENT

Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.

Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes on 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. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.

For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images – Press shots (supplied via Autumn de Wilde)

More Audio

Art & Culture

Gig review | DMA’s have Manc in their DNA, whether they know it or not

Fatboy Slim at Aviva Studios in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

Audio

Fatboy Slim at Aviva Studios – still electrifying after decades in the game

Affiliate

RAYE at Co-op Live – tickets, times, setlist and more for Manchester shows

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches