UK girl group FLO visited Manchester Academy yesterday and let the crowd ‘Access All Areas’ of their discography on their tour of the same name.
Jorja, Stella and Renée, more widely recognised as R&B girl group FLO, had Manchester in awe, treating the crowd to a night of silky vocals, stylish choreography and expert harmonising.
After visiting New Century Hall in 2023, Gorilla in 2024 and Parklife twice, the latest being earlier this summer – this time they’re setting ‘The Mood’ in Manchester Academy.
As the show begins, the trio pop out one by one and poses in a way that harks back to cult classic action film Charlie’s Angels, with the girls only visible by their silhouettes.
FLO played to a very lively Manchester Academy crowd last night (Credit: Audio North)
The song soundtracking this initial greeting is none other than the Cynthia Erivo-narrated ‘AAA’, which gives each member their own individual time to shine.
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This girl group are ready to show off their musical skills in full force.
Next is the sassy and playful ‘Walk Like This’ which has the Manchester Academy crowd strutting their stuff while chanting “There’s a reason I walk like this / Side to side with a sway in my hip.”
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‘Check’, which clocks in at just under three minutes, sees the girls ticking off some important relationship traits: “Is he loyal? Check / He spoil you? Check”; “Is he faithful? Check / Gentleman? Check.”
Jorja, Stella and Renée wowing the Manchester crowd with their stacked musical roster (Credit: The Manc Group)
This fun-filled single keeps the vibes at a high with the girls finishing each chorus admitting, “The way I trust him, I ain’t gotta check”, while giving each other a smile or two.
The gospel influenced ‘Bending My Rules’ was nothing short of religious. FLO made sure to take us to church for four minutes with their vocal runs, belts and stellar harmonies.
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Following this is a number of much-loved album tracks like ‘Shoulda Woulda Coulda’, ‘Get It Till I’m Gone’ and the confident ‘How Does It Feel?’ which all go down a treat and show the girls in their elements or as they’d phrase it… in their bags.
As soon as the trumpet-heavy instrumental for ‘In My Bag’ plays out, the audience self-appoints themselves the role of US rapper GloRilla, making sure to recite her flow bar for bar – “On gang, gang”.
UK girl group FLO performing as part of their long-awaited ‘Access All Areas’ tour in Manchester (Credit: The Manc)
During this track, the girl group brought their A-game, recreating the choreography from this song’s music video with the audience acting as their hype men – it’s safe to say, it wasn’t just the girl group lapping up this moment; everyone was in their bag.
As Stella blurts “I got a confession”, the opening line to the band’s debut single ‘Cardboard Box’, there’s a flurry of screams from the crowd for this fan favourite.
Performing this penultimately really gave fans, such as myself, the time to process the journey these three have been on in the past five years and also to come to terms with the fact that the show was almost over.
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The introduction to ‘I’m Just a Girl’ plays out, and in that moment, it’s safe to say no one could name a better closing song, as this encapsulates the band’s feelings towards the industry they’re working in.
This R&B trio put on quite the performance at Manchester Academy last night (Credit: The Manc)
Lyrics like “What’s a girl got to do to be seen?” and “How many black girls do you see on centre stage now?” reinforce the harsh realities this girl group have had to face and how they’re slowly inserting themselves in mainstream conversations.
Although this rock-twanged R&B hit might not be the perfect fairytale ending, the fact that over 2,000 fans have shown up and shown out for FLO’s Manchester gig is.
Their fanbase isn’t leaving anytime soon, and last night was a prime example.
Manic Street Preachers and Suede announce second co-headline tour, including huge Manc gig
Danny Jones
Beloved British bands Manic Street Preachers and Suede have announced another co-headline UK tour, booking a number of big gigs, including a massive Manchester date.
The two seasoned UK rock artists are teaming up for a huge run of live shows, booking nine arena performances so far. Time to do it all over again.
Each of the groups released their latest albums last year, with both now in double figures when it comes to studio LPs, and while each has taken their most recent records on the road at least in part, the pair will be playing tracks from both – as well as a fair few of the hits – at Co-op Live later this year.
Confirming the joint headline tour on Friday, 24 April, Manics and Suede fans alike will be absolutely lapping up the prospect of this special partnership.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Manic Street Preachers and Suede Saturday 31 October
Marking the biggest collaboration for both legendary bands.https://t.co/tNwdT7TxPZ@coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 09:30 Weds 29 April General Sale: 09:30 Fri 1 May pic.twitter.com/lqnqahls5D
Revealing the plans in a social media post, the Co-op wrote: “Two of the UK’s most pioneering and celebrated bands, Manic Street Preachers and Suede, have come together for a co-headline tour…
As the Welsh rock icons and the long-standing 1990s favourites from the London scene have more than 75 years of experience between them, with both outfits forming in the mid to late 80s.
The venue goes on to dub this “the biggest collaboration to date for both legendary bands and offers a unique opportunity to experience their renowned live performances.”
With Suede reaching their 10th album cycle this past September with Antidepressants, it’ll be one of the largest rooms they’ve ever played.
As for the Preachers, the 15th Manics record dropped back in February of 2025; this was also the first outing from bassist and lyricist Nicky Wire on vocals across the project.
The Blackwood act last played our city at the Apollo last May; however, the duo also famously co-headlined Castlefield Bowl together for the first time at Sounds of the City ’24; now they’re returning for a Co-op debut to do it all over again.
It remains to be seen whether they will announce more domestic dates this coming winter, but given this is such an exclusive one-off crossover, we wouldn’t be surprised if you see extra November slots added for the likes of London and Manchester.
Make no mistake, we expect tickets for this one to fly out the door.
If you want to go along, the official Co-op Member Presale will go live at 9:30am next Wednesday, 29 April, and fans can also sign up to the bands’ respective mailing lists for more early access opportunities.
General admission will be available from the same time on the following Friday (1 May); you can get ready to grab yours right HERE.
They’re not the only homegrown veterans heading back out across the country this winter either…
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied via SJM Concerts)
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Bask is BACK – bosses confirm return to ‘golden era’ of popular Stockport spot
Danny Jones
In brilliant news for Stopfordians, Bask is officially coming back, as current boss Jon Fitzpatrick is bringing back one of the key core members of the OG owners and staff, co-founder Benji Taylor.
Very exciting times for the town centre.
While local DJ, musician and entrepreneur, Jon, is the man behind the Irish-American bar and grill reboot under his surname that began in June of 2025, the business has gone on to become more of a morning and afternoon venue in the time since then.
However, with the help of Benji returning after a bit of well-deserved time off and having spent a period working on other ventures, they’re looking to dip back into the evenings as well and make this more of an all-day spot.
Writing a statement in the caption of the post, the duo said, “We couldn’t be more proud to announce that Bask is back, and we are pleased to reveal one of the original crew returns to help our team return it to the golden era.
“Live music, great bands, entertainment all week, and non-stop fun. We’re not a late-night venue like it was recently; we want to keep it mature and [aim] to enhance the experience for our customers.
“Our daytime, sport and relaxed atmosphere won’t change, and our kitchen will actually be open later than it is now! We have many goals, but our main aim is to put credible, exciting live music back on the Stockport map. With Benji and Jon’s experience, it’s gonna be a magical time for Stopfordians.”
We met face-to-face with the prolific pair last week, and they made it clear that their shared vision is simple: marry Fitzpatrick’s steady daytime trade with the initial magic of that very first iteration of Bask.
Get it right, and they could very well create a new all-seasons superpower on the Stockport bar scene, as the brand certainly had a taste of that when they first captured attention with inside that packed-out unit just outside the train station.
Speaking to The Manc, the Bask boys admitted it was a “real shame” how things transpired towards the end of the previous setup, acknowledging that trouble with some problematic punters (especially in the early hours of the morning) effectively “spoiled” what became a weekly pilgrimage for many others.
That’s why, although they’re opening well into the evening and nighttime – with a full schedule of regular events such as live music, stand-up, karaoke, quizzes, darts nights and more already lined-up – they haven’t gone for a late license this time around, as they want to preserve what made it special.
Set to fully re-launch on 1 May from 5pm onwards, we’re expecting them to be off to the races the second the word about the comeback spreads.
Ben and Jon also still believe that in the era post-Bamboo in Hazel Grove closing, Stockport hasn’t really had a well-known and reliable night out, comparable to that kind of experience. Other than here.
Now, Bask isn’t a club, nor was it ever supposed to be; it was a bar that, on its day, was one of the biggest parties in all of Greater Manchester, and although it won’t be ’till two’ this time around, we can’t wait to see the gang get back to their best.
Locals will also be glad to hear that borough favourite Stock Party will also be returning this summer, and you can bet on seeing some familiar native faces taking part.
Thomas Melia -
2nd October 2025 
