Gigs & Nightlife

Bluedot festival 2022 headliners revealed after two years of cancellations

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 1st February 2022

Bluedot festival is finally set to make a return in 2022, with headline performances from Bjork, Groove Armada, Mogwai and Metronomy.

The popular festival at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire has revealed the first wave of its line-up for this July’s event.

Bluedot marries the worlds of music, science and culture in a family-friendly four-day extravaganza.

Both its 2020 and 2021 festivals had to be cancelled, with organisers saying a ‘lack of government support around insurance’ had forced them to call it off.

Bluedot will return in 2022. Credit: Lucas Sinclair

But Bluedot will be back between 21 and 24 July for its fifth instalment.

There’ll be huge performances beneath the 76-metre-wide Lovell Telescope, which will be lit up with projections as a huge digital artwork for the first time.

Bjork will close this year’s Bluedot in a UK festival exclusive, with a uniquely commissioned performance with the Halle Orchestra.

Bluedot has revealed its 2022 headliners. Credit: George Harrison

On Friday night, dance act Groove Armada will headline as part of the band’s final live tour.

Scottish post-rockers Mogwai are set to headline the Saturday night, following the release of their Mercury Prize-nominated As The Love Continues.

They’ll be joined on the Saturday evening by Metronomy, who’ll perform tracks from their upcoming seventh album, Small World.

Bluedot’s now-traditional opening concert on the Thursday evening will see Mercury-nominated Hannah Peel and Paraochestra take to the stage.

  • Bluedot Festival. Credit: Lucas Sinclair
  • Bluedot Festival. Credit: George Harrison

Also confirmed on the bill are psychedelic space rockers Spiritualized, current chart-toppers Yard Act, Warp Records mainstay Squarepusher, multi-instrumentalist composer Anna Meredith, the legendary likes of A Certain Ratio and Tim Burgess, and techno producer and creator of the official theme for the 2023 Women’s World Cup Kelly Lee Owens.

Bluedot 2022’s science programme will welcome key speakers including Radio 4’s Jam Al-Khalili, British filmmaker David Olusoga, space scientist Monica Grady, and many more.

Comedians such as Desiree Burch, Olga Koch, Robin Ince and Ahir Shah will also be making appearances as part of the culture programme.

Read more: Where to find the best Chinese restaurants in Manchester

The family-friendly festival will also have curations from Wallace & Gromit creators Aardman Animations and Clangers, and an enormous range of science-focused activities, workshops and live experiments across the Star Fields.

Festival director Ben Robinson said: “After two years away we are thrilled to be able to return with such a unique and diverse line up to the iconic Jodrell Bank for the fifth instalment of bluedot.

“We can’t wait for people to join us beneath the Lovell Telescope in July to experience four days of cosmic adventures which will close with a very special orchestral performance from Björk and The Hallé.”

Visit discoverthebluedot.com for more.

Featured image: Scott Salt

Gigs & Nightlife

My Chemical Romance fans are losing it as emo favourites appear to tease UK tour

Danny Jones Danny Jones My Chemical Romance Uk tour teaser

American alt-rock and emo favourites My Chemical Romance aren’t just back for one last Black Parade; it looks like they might be heading to the UK for more tour dates.

Not just a phase, never was.

My Chemical Romance (an entirely different kind of MCR) made yet another mighty return to the fore earlier this year, nearly two whole decades on from the release of the seminal album, which dropped in 2006 and has now been toured live again by the New Jersey band.

Playing the album IN FULL for the first time in years, they’ve been busy in North America delighting die-hard crowds, but now a recent teaser has got My Chem fans gearing up for UK and Ireland shows.

As you can see, MCR released the somewhat cryptic comedy sketch above, in which they seem to spoof a gameshow centred around a robot named ‘Quizzo’.

The host of this fictional programme goes on to explain that the result will determine “who will be the next lucky country to win the grand prize of one nuclear winter.”

It might only last for a few seconds, but the main takeaway is that the ‘who’ selected as the recipient of this upcoming prize is none other than the United Kingdom.

Combine that with a simple caption that reads, “Let’s show them what they’ve won”, it’d be hard not to jump to the conclusion that we Brits are about to pretend we’re ‘Teenagers’ again and chant ‘Na Na Na’ until our lungs give out.

In the time since the post went live, fans on this side of the pond have understandably started getting very excited…

At first, some were wondering whether this year’s revival might have also seen the resurrection of their much-mythologised but ultimately scrapped 2019 record, The Paper Kingdom, but it seems pretty much nailed on that their transatlantic followers are about to get some gigs.

It remains unclear whether these still TBC dates will be an extension of the current ‘Long Live The Black Parade‘ tour, which began on 11 July, or something new entirely.

Either way, with this current run of shows due to end in September and hints at a ‘nuclear winter’, it’s a fair assumption to guess that My Chemical Romance will be coming to the UK either later this year or early 2026 – and you bank on a big Manchester booking to be thrown in there too.

Watch this space.

Fancy a taste of emo nostalgia?

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Featured Images — NBSTwo (via Flickr)/Reprise Records

Gigs & Nightlife

Oasis are being linked with a massive outdoor gig next year

Danny Jones Danny Jones Oasis rumoured for Slane Castle outdoor gig 2026

After 16 long years of waiting, Oasis are officially the biggest band on the planet again (not that they ever really stopped), and now they’re being linked with a rather big outdoor gig at the storied Slane Castle next year.

They’ve already done Knebworth, so why not tick another one off the list?

With the Live ’25 reunion tour well underway, and rumblings over what they’re going to do once this run of global comeback shows is done, Britpop fever hasn’t just had fans of the band reliving the 1990s – it’s practically taken over the music world.

There’s already plenty of talk circling – including a potential return to Knebworth – but now Oasis is pretty much the first and only name being tipped for a huge headline slot at Slane Castle, after 2026 dates were slated by the estate’s owners.

slaine castle gigs
Slane Castle hosted natives, U2, for their Go Home live concert film back in 2002. (Credit: Sara Einarsson via WikiCommons)

While Harry Styles played Ireland’s historic and equally iconic venue back in 2023, the Co Meath concerts, located in the heart of the Boyne Valley, have somewhat dried up in recent years.

Prior to the former One Direction star, the last major musicians to play there were rock and heavy metal veterans, Metallica, more than half a decade ago.

However, the new lord of the manor, Alex Conyngham, is now looking to carry on where his father, Henry Mountcharles, left off in carrying on their live music legacy; and given that another legendary rock and roll band is pretty much anyone can talk about at the minute, their name has already been put forward.

As per the Drogheda Independent writer, John Kierans, Conyngham is reported to have said: “We want to bring the shows back, we miss them. It is not just about the revenue, but keeping the name of Slane as a rock venue on the map.

“It is what Slane Castle is known for, and I don’t want that legacy to fade away. This is one of the world’s great rock and roll venues with the most natural setting. We are working on plans, and hopefully we can pull something off for next year.”

While Oasis are due to play two nights at Croke Park in Dublin later this month, there is now a strong belief/expectation that a number of 2026 dates will also be announced. But will the stars align?

The Gallaghers’ obvious Irish connection has only added further fuel to the fire, though some people believe that Liam has already let the cat out of the bag regarding a second residency at Knebworth – or rather, third, in his case.

It’s also worth mentioning that they’ve played the 1,500-acre grounds before. Twice, in fact.

The first occasion was in July 1995, supporting R.E.M just before they hit arguably the height of their own powers with the release of their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? just a few months later, on 2 October.

Burnage‘s most famous sons and their bandmates go to do it all over again in 2009 (the same year they would eventually split up), with some incredible ‘warm-up acts’ in The Prodigy, Kasabian and Glasvegas.

Phwoar…

Let’s be honest, either of those artists could probably book and sell out the place these days, so god knows how much a ticket for that lineup would set you back present day.

Regardless, if there’s one band that fits the billing to bring back the Slane Castle gigs at their boldest and best, it’s the almighty Oasis.

Whether or not the heavily rumoured 2026 dates are domestic to the UK and Ireland, we’ll have to wait and see, but the clamour is already there, no matter where they sign on to perform.

If you were at Heaton Park or had the fortune of seeing any of the Live ’25 shows, you’ll know they still sound as good as ever.

Oasis are clearly doing something very deliberate for the as-yet-unconfirmed Live ’25 reunion album

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Featured Images — Sitomon (via Flickr)/Kinsie84 (via Wikimedia Commons)/Press Shots

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