Ay up, you lot. It’s us again, back to give you another list of some of the best new music we’ve been listening to, be it little-known tunes from new and upcoming artists in Greater Manchester or the biggest releases from ever-rising names around the region.
We launched this new monthly series at the start of 2024 and will be serving up suggestions for all you Manc musos regularly throughout the year and beyond, so you best get in on the ground floor so as to as not to miss a single shout.
But let’s not faff about any longer, shall we?
Time to get stuck into five Manchester artists we’ve had on repeat throughout February — and it’s a leap year, so we’ve had an extra day of listening to make our picks.
Manc bands we’ve been listening to over the past month
1. Hello Cosmos
First off, we’ve got Hello Cosmos: a Manchester-based creative consisting of a four-piece at their core and other session musicians like Elara, a wonderful saxophone player and vocalist who is well worth looking into in her own right.
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Founded by From The Fields director, Ben Robinson — the events organisers behind Kendal Calling and bluedot — their style is a seriously wild mix of alternative electronic and pop-punk. Think Yard Act if they had more synths, sax, keys, violins and had a Christopher Eccelstone sound-alike on vocals.
Our standout tunes to start with have to be their ‘FUSE’ from their debut Dream Harder, ‘Loud Is Beautiful’ (which pretty much encapsulates the full range of their sound in one track) and ‘Metaverse’ — there’s also a great twist on it by Catu Diosis and that goes for the whole Hard Dirt (Remixed) album too.
We also got to see them live at Stockport’s new Live at St Mary’s gig series and it was quite the experience.
2. OMA
Next up is an instrumental outfit and touring band called OMA, who have played on stage with the likes of American rapper Isaiah Rashad as well as Japanese hip-hop artists and producer Shing02, and they just might be some of the coolest cats on socials right now.
Going more and more viral on TikTok every week with their live takes on hip-hop classics by Dr Dre, Nas, MF DOOM, Lauryn Hill, 2Pac and countless others, we can’t accurately describe just how much we want to be in a room and headbob to their addictive recreations of iconic beats from down the years.
Every clip is an absolute earworm and you simply can’t listen to any of them just once. They don’t have any signature tracks of their own but it only takes one video to get hooked. I mean, honestly, just listen to them — and bonus points if you can figure out where they’re playing:
In at number three, although we couldn’t possibly put this is any particular ranked order, is local indie-pop group Hi Sienna — a bunch of best mates based out of Chorlton who make great stuff and they’re absolutely wonderful.
With every member taking time out of work to make their music dream happen, they sum up their sound perfectly in their tagline: unsigned, unmanaged and unbelievably good. Too right. We also recently had the pleasure of chatting with them as part of the new series of Stream GM’s Spill The Sound.
It’s nothing but positive vibes and non-stop fun listening to these lot and if we had to pick our favourites, they would be ‘Enter Disco’, ‘Be A Man’ and the soon to be released ‘Pickleback’ which we got a cheeky glimpse of over at The Yard recently. It’s a belter.
The penultimate stop on this month’s list is the mighty Maruja, who are bringing both funk and punk roots to their alternative rock scene here in Greater Manchester and we can’t get enough.
Playing White Hotel and New Century this April as their profile keeps growing around the city centre and beyond, we reckon it won’t be long before you see their name everywhere — not that our incredible fandom and heavy bias are getting away with us or anything…
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Seriously though, they sound both familiar and unique enough if you’re this kind of stuff and genres that naturally overlap. We’d recommend kicking off with ‘Tao’, arguably their most popular tune ‘The Tinker’ second and then their latest single, ‘The Invisible Man’.
Last but by no means least is Cassia. They’re technically from down the Macclesfield but they’ve been plying their trade here in 0161 since they first began and we just hope they remember us and all our great proving grounds when they well and truly blow up. And trust us, they will.
Mixing tropical and Caribbean sounds with irresistible indie sonics and vocals, we just feel all nice and happy whenever we listen to them – almost as if we were on holiday. We also got to chat with these guys recently too and they were equally delightful.
If it’s your first time listening to them, you can’t go wrong with ‘Right There’, their new tune with KAWALA, ‘Circular Motion’, and a key part of our Summer 2022 soundtrack, ‘Drifting’. So, sooo good.
And that’s it for this month’s list and, believe us, it was a toughy as there were plenty of other local bands and artists that we could have picked, but we’re sure they’ll pop up on here soon enough.
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As always, be sure to keep your eyes over on The Manc Audio so you don’t miss a single bit of music news this year.
Oh yeah, and if you didn’t read last month’s selections of Manchester artists that you need to get on, you know what to do:
Featured Image — Cassia/Hello Cosmos (press image)/Hi Sienna (via IG)
Audio
Fans stunned as indie band The Reytons announce Co-op Live gig
Daisy Jackson
The Reytons have just announced their biggest shows to date – and fans can’t quite believe the size of venue they’ve gone for in Manchester.
The indie group will be playing at Co-op Live later this year as part of their very first world tour.
It’s comfortably the biggest indoor music venue in the UK, and will be the largest gig on the entire tour, which also includes shows at Alexandra Palace, plus venues across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
The Reytons have most recently been out touring with a headline slot at Tramlines Festival in Sheffield, as well as pulling Gary Neville up to play with them on stage.
The Rotheram-formed group recently announced their fourth studio album ‘A Love Letter To A Broken Town’ – due for release in July.
Frontman Jonny Yerrell said: “I honestly feel like this album is the best we’ve ever done!
“A lot of bands and artists like to change direction later in their careers, but that’s just not us. We absolutely love the style of music we make, the social commentary aspects and the people who turn up to jump around with us. Why would we change?
“Expect more, just bigger and better with a few surprises on the side!”
This latest announcement for The Reytons sees them booking an incredibly ambitious jump in venue size – the 23,500 capacity Co-op Live, compared to last year’s 5,000 capacity Aviva Studios.
And now a load of fans are bickering online about whether they’ll be able to sell it out, with one person writing: “Everyone said they wouldnt sell out sheffield arena, clifton park, tramlines or wembley arena… they sold out all 4. I know 3 are local shows but people will travel to see them as well as proven by the Wembley gig.”
Another said: “People will follow them, doesn’t matter where they go. When it sell out, ill make sure to come let you know.”
Even their own press release described it as an ‘against all odds’ rise to success, describing the band as ‘UK music’s biggest underdogs’.
Tickets for The Reytons world tour, including their Co-op Live gig in Manchester, will go on sale at 10am on Friday 24 April HERE.
Louis Tomlinson at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist, and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson is heading out on a UK tour, visiting Co-op Live for his biggest Manchester solo show to date.
10 years since launching his solo career with debut single ‘Just Hold On’, Tomlinson is hitting the road again for his tour, which shares its title with the name of his latest LP – How Did I Get Here?
Tomlinson’s last visit to Manchester saw him gracing the impressive 21,000 seater AO Arena – a stage he was already familiar with during his UK boyband days.
But now, the Doncaster-born musician is visiting one of Manchester’s biggest indoor live music venues, Co-op Live, and it’s sure to be a jam-packed night of live music.
Are there tickets left for Louis Tomlinson at Co-op Live?
Well if you’ve made it this far through, it’s safe to say the fact you’re after Louis Tomlinson tickets is ‘Written All Over Your Face’.
If you’re wanting to ‘Face The Music’ or ‘Jump the Gun’ you can do so as there’s tickets to his Manchester show at Co-op Live HERE.
Louis Tomlinson is bringing the How Did I Get Here? tour to Manchester on 24 April / Credit: Flickr via Javie Rosh / Wikimedia Commons via Kurt Kulac (Supplied)
Louis Tomlinson setlist for 2026 tour
The How Did I Get Here? Tour officially kicked off in Europe and it prioritises songs from his latest LP.
Here is the set list:
Lemonade
On Fire
Written All Over Your Face
Out Of My System
Bigger Than Me
Saturdays
Angels Fly
Dark to Light
Broken Bones
Defenceless
Just Hold On
Lazy
Sunflowers
Lucid
Jump the Gun
Imposter
Sanity
Kill My Mind
Face the Music
Silver Tounges
The Observer
The Answer
Miss You
Palaces
Stage times
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm meaning you can get home before having to watch the sky turn from ‘Dark to Light’.
Anyone attending this show is in luck as the North has been well and truly represented in the form of Manc-based rock group Pale Waves and Doncaster talent ADMT.
Great to see another one of our own, Alex Spencer, also joining the bill for the EU leg, even if it means Manchester just misses out on getting to him hit the stage.
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 1am 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.
Getting there by car and parking
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 West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Walk/cycle
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.
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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.
Danny Jones -
29th February 2024 
