Billie Eilish is ready to take over Co-op Live for four nights of tear-jerking, heart-wrenching, belly-aching hits right here in Manchester.
Ms. ‘Ocean Eyes’ herself is coming to Manchester this month, and we’re on hand with all the info you need so you don’t have to ‘Guess’ anything on the day of your show.
Billie Eilish has cemented her position in the music industry as one of the leading hitmakers, and at only 23 years old, this artist has won nine Grammy Awards and racked up three UK number-one singles.
The American star has been grafting since her early teens, dropping her first ever EP, don’t smile at me, in 2017 at only 16 years old and has reached height after height ever since.
Billie Eilish gig guide
Billie Eilish is playing at Co-op Live in Manchester on 19, 20, 22 and 23 July.Credit: Press shot (supplied)
Her latest album ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’, which is also the name of the tour, is Eilish’s third studio album and it’s stacked with bangers like ‘Birds of a Feather’, ‘Lunch’ and ‘Wildflower’, just to name a few.
Are there tickets left for Billie Eilish tickets in Manchester?
Anyone after tickets to any of the upcoming Billie Eilish gigs in Manchester might be in for a ‘not-so-lovely’ surprise, as you can expect, as most general tickets are sold out.
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However, anyone who’s missed out on tickets for Billie’s FOUR-gig run in Manchester can still take a look at a variety of premium ticket packages.
You can grab your ‘Birds of a Feather’ and a ticket or two for the Saturday, 19 July show HERE.
Pack your ‘Lunch’ and put on your best outfit because there are exclusive tickets for the Sunday, 20 July gig HERE.
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Your friends will be calling you ‘The Greatest’ when you let them know about the premium tickets still left for Tuesday, 22 July right HERE.
Finally, grab ‘L’amour De Ma Vie’ and sing your heart out with a range of hospitality tickets to choose from on Wednesday, 23 July HERE. And breathe…
Billie Eilish setlist
Chihiro
Lunch
NDA
Therefore I Am
Wildflower
when the party’s over
The Diner
ilomilo
bad guy
The Greatest
Your Power
Skinny
TV
bury a friend
Oxytocin
Guess
everything i wanted
lovely / Blue / ocean eyes (Medley)
L’amour De Ma Vie
What Was I Made For?
Happier Than Ever
Birds of a Feather
What are the stage times for Billie Eilish in Manchester?
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning concertgoers can be safe knowing ‘when the party’s over’ it won’t be well into the early hours.
Doors for ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ tour are scheduled for 6pm with support acts Syd and Magdalena Bay on hand to soundtrack your evening and leave you feeling ‘Happier Than Ever’ before Billie at 8pm.
The first act, Syd, is known for co-founding influential R’n’B band, The Internet (big fans, by the way), and has just dropped a new solo single ‘Die For This’ ahead of her Billie Eilish tour stint.
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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 until 01:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
The ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour’ will mark Billie Eilish’s first ever Co-op Live appearance.Credit: William Drumm (supplied)
Bus
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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.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue,e 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 come event day – though estimates will vary, obviously:
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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.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes via 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.
Self Esteem at Manchester Academy – a night of pure energy and immaculate music
Kristen MacGregor-Houlston
A Complicated Woman – the name of Self Esteem’s album she is currently touring around the UK and Europe. While she may be complicated, there is nothing complicated about how absolutely sensational her performance is.
I only “got into” Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) this year. I kept hearing others talk about her and her music but I’d never really given her a listen until we saw the line-up for Glastonbury and saw that she was playing. Her album A Complicated Woman had just come out that April and so that was my introduction, and I immediately became a massive fan.
I was lucky enough to watch her performance at Glastonbury, which brought tears to my eyes for being both an incredible performance and from the themes of each of the songs. When the opportunity then came to see her again but at home in Manchester, I practically bit the promoters hand off.
The energy is palpable at Manchester Academy, everyone is just buzzing with a joyful energy that’s incredibly infectious.
Unfortunately Moonchild Sanelly, the collaborator on ‘In Plain Sight’ and Self Esteem’s support act on this tour, was unwell, so the delightful Tom Rasmussen stepped in at the last minute. Fresh from a family christening and pulling in some last minute pals, he delivers a delightfully camp and moving performance, getting everyone pumped up.
The lights go down at 9pm and the audience are met with a wall of Handmaids, and then Rebecca walks out on stage to a huge eruption from the crowd. Her fans (myself included) clearly love her. She opens with ‘I Do And I Don’t Care’ which brings a tear to my eye once again.
This is more than just a ‘gig’. It is a full, theatrical performance with dancing and storytelling the whole way through. Whilst Taylor is very clearly the focus, her team of performers are an essential element of the whole show and are so much more than just simple backing singers and dancers. They’re so in sync with each other and there is so much joy on stage as they perform together – a very clear bond ripples through with such love.
The show flows almost as different ‘Acts’, with the running order not following the album order itself, with a mix of songs from her current album and the 2021 album ‘Prioritise Pleasure’. ‘Mother’ gets the crowd grinding away as she moves onto ‘Lies’ and ‘69’ – which always gets a chuckle from the crowd.
We are fixated on her, she just draws you in and holds you there throughout the whole performance. Nobody is shifting around to go to the loo or get a beer, everyone is just glued to their spot and basking in her sensational energy. Despite some of the themes of the songs throughout the gig, everyone is just abuzz with energy.
When ‘Fucking Wizadry’ comes on, every single person sings (or screams) along, and Taylor and her onstage posse absolutely lap it up.
With Moonchild Sanelly being unwell during our performance, when ‘In Plain Sight’ is performed, Self Esteem still moves to the side of the stage when the recording of Moonchild is played, giving space to where she would have been. Hopefully she is feeling better for her further performances because her presence would have been a powerful addition to the song and I’m gutted to have not experienced it.
When ‘Cheers To Me’ comes on, the party has really begun and the audience go absolutely mad for it when the inflatable men (like the ones you see at car garages wobbling around and waving you in) appear. It is honestly so hard to describe the feeling of euphoric joy that is just blasting through the crowd – it is a sight and sensation to behold.
Now you may or may not know, but Self Esteem is personal friends with Julie Hesmondhalgh, who appeared on stage on night two of her three-night gig in Manchester. She admits to us that on night one, she forgot that Julie was only doing night two and had shouted to introduce her during ‘If Not Now, It’s Soon’, which had apparently caused a bit of a stir with some of the night one’s audience. Making light of it, she asked if the crowd wanted her to shout Julie Hesmondhalgh again so we all felt equal, which of course, we did.
The show goes from strength to strength, “finishing” with ‘The Deep Blue Okay’ which perfectly encapsulates the raw emotion and talent of Self Esteem. The crowd are beside themselves with cheer as they erupt in applause, deafening just about everyone around them as the stage empties and the lights dim.
Self Esteem returns to stage alone initially, and chats to us about two important charities she is raising money for, the Schools Consent Project which goes into schools and teaches kids about consent; and the other is X, helping to help displaced people through war. She then moves into ‘I Do This All The Time’, joined by her troupe again on stage, and finally finishing on Focus Is Power.
Emotions are incredibly high. There isn’t a single person who hasn’t been moved and hyped by the whole show. Self Esteem is truly a force to be reckoned with, an absolute star and show woman, yet I feel like not enough people know who she is. A hidden gem on display in front of everyone waiting to be noticed, and she should be, because she is absolutely, boneshakingly sensational.
Tickets are still on sale for her show in Sheffield, and you would be absolutely mad to miss her. I will be there, I better see you there too.
Irish singer CMAT postpones sold-out Manchester gig and rest of UK tour ahead of emergency surgery
Emily Sergeant
Acclaimed Irish singer CMAT has been forced to postpone the rest of her current UK tour due to an upcoming emergency surgery.
CMAT – full name Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson – was due to play a number of sold-out shows at renowned UK venues throughout this month, including one at Manchester Academy this Saturday (4 October).
But sadly, due to unforeseen health-related circumstances, the 29-year-old has had to make the decision to call off the rest of the tour.
Other major UK cities the genre-bending artist was due to play in this month include Leeds, Sheffield, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Bristol, as well as the capitals of London and Cardiff.
CMAT has postponed the rest of her sold-outUK tour ahead of emergency surgery / Credit: CMAT (Instagram) | Raph_PH (via Flickr)
Explaining her decision to call off the rest of her UK shows this October, CMAT wrote in an emotional statement on Instagram yesterday: “I am devastated to say that due to an infected wisdom tooth, I need to reschedule all of my upcoming dates of the October UK tour.
“I woke up today with a throbbing pain in my jaw and booked an emergency visit with my dentist. He has booked me in for surgery to remove both lower wisdom teeth next week and given me antibiotics to help with the infection.
“I am told the recovery period for my surgery is two weeks to allow me to heal, with a following short period to allow me get back to full health.
“We are working to reschedule dates and will provide information on this as soon as possible.”
CMAT, who recently just released her third studio album, EURO-COUNTRY, last month to widespread critical acclaim – including being nominated for the prestigious Mercury Prize 2025 – assured fans that her team is ‘working hard’ to reschedule the postponed dates and will provide information on this as soon as possible.
“Your ticket will be valid for the rescheduled dates, and if you’re not able to make the new date, please contact your point of purchase for a refund,” she added.
Trying to remain positive and make light of the situation, the singer – who is known for her humour and comedic lyrics – asked fans for ice cream and soup recommendations, as she currently ‘can’t even chew any food for the foreseeable’, let alone talk or sing.
“I realise that this will cause difficulties for so many of you who may have made plans to travel to these dates, and for this I can only say I am so so sorry,” she concluded in her statement.
Featured Image – Raph_PH (via Flickr) / Press shots (Supplied)
Thomas Melia -
11th July 2025 
