With the bulk of race season nearly over, the local running community is finally starting to wind down and indulge in some well-deserved rest and relaxation – well, that and a sprinkle of clubbing, as the massive Cross Club Social for Manchester runners is back for 2025.
Following a successful sophomore edition last winter, the MCR Cross Club Social is returning for another proper good bash and looks to be shaping up nicely.
Hosted at a brand new venue, with sets from Manc-based DJs, karaoke and even giveaways on the night, the runners are going BIG this year.
So, if you’re part of a local running club or even just a Greater Mancunian who’s partial to a bit of jogging and looking for a night out, you’d best keep 8 November free.
Credit: Cross Club Social
Combining forces once again, the third iteration of the Cross Club Social sees multiple Manchester running clubs putting on one of the biggest parties of the year, with people from all over the community turning up to swap their trainers for dancing shoes.
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Ticket prices have crept ever so slightly this year, mainly because of just how well attended the 2025 event was, but also to help raise money for their official charity partner.
However, it goes without saying that all newcomer clubs and solo runners in general and welcome to come along to this year’s event, which is also the first to be held at Fairfield Social Club near Angel Meadows Park – the more the merrier, as far as these lot are concerned.
For example, here’s a taste of the kind of turnout it got last year…
Speaking to The Manc, organiser and resident MC Dave ‘Macca’ McLaughlin said of Cross Club Social 2025: “This event is a celebration of the local running community, by the local running community.
“It’s a great chance to get some of the biggest running clubs in Manchester together to celebrate their achievements of the year without the running kit or carbon-plated trainers.
“It’s a pleasure to organise an event that local runners seemingly love, alongside some of Manchester’s biggest running clubs, all while raising money for our charity partner. Last year, we were able to contribute nearly £400 to their fundraiser, and we’re aiming for even higher this year.
“The demand has been huge – our first event sold out in under 50 minutes, last year was just under two hours at a bigger venue. This year we’re going even bigger to handle the demand, with more clubs than ever and a venue with three separate rooms for different kinds of entertainment.
“Me and Sophie [de Greenlaw – fellow DJ and co-founder] hope to continue expanding the event into a day-long running festival; we’d love to book bigger venues, get more clubs and sponsors involved, and make this a day that every local runner has marked on their calendar. See you there.”
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Credit: Supplied
Early bird access will be on sale from 10am this Friday, 10 October, with the general admission tickets going live at the same time next week (17 Oct).
The social itself will run from 5pm until midnight, with last entry at 8:30pm, and you can bank on there being some kind of after-party elsewhere on the night. Get ready to grab your tickets HERE.
It’s also worth noting that the two previous years sold out fast, so make sure you put in a PB-worthy performance when it comes to that online shopping basket if you want to be there.
Once again, the Manchester Runners Cross-club social is a completely non-profit event; all funds from ticket sales go directly towards setting up the next one, back into the running clubs who take part, and to charitable organisations like The MCR 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness.
Lily Allen to play smash-hit new album in full on first tour in seven years
Danny Jones
Lily Allen has returned with one of the best comeback albums the British music scene has witnessed in decades, and it’s been received so well that she’s set to play the record IN FULL on a new tour – her first in more than seven years – and, yes, she’s coming to Manchester.
The noughties popstar and daughter of fellow musician and actor, Keith Allen, isn’t just having a renaissance, the 40-year-old singer-songwriter is now riding arguably one of the biggest waves of popularity in her career following the release of her fifth studio LP.
West End Girl, released earlier this month, has not only gone down a treat with die-hard Lily Allen listeners but has earned her plenty of new fans too, as well as winning over numerous critics.
Notching multiple five-star reviews, a shout for album of the year from Variety, and even being labelled “one for the history books” by the BBC, the demand to see her back on the road was ready and waiting, and now the genre-hopping Hammersmith heroine is giving the people what they want.
Without giving too much away for those who haven’t listened to it yet, the deeply honest and no-holds-barred material dives into her divorce from ex-husband, David Harbour, of Stranger Things and Thunderbolts* fame.
Leaving no stone unturned, it’s a deeply personal, scorched-earth kind of album that has resonated with a lot of people, it seems.
We’re not going to say any more than that; just strap in, give it a go and thank us later. You can see the full list of her newly announced domestic tour dates, where she’ll be playing West End Girl in its entirety, down below.
Lily Allen UK live tour shows, including multiple Northern dates
Here’s a little taste of just one of the tracks from the acclaimed new album, which is already being heralded as her best to date.
So many great tracks on this album.
Honestly, there’s plenty more where that came from…
If you’re looking to hear the explosive 14-track diatribe from start to finish in person, she’ll be playing not just one but two nights at the Factory International’s Aviva Studios.
Tickets for all Lily Allen live tour dates, including her Manchester shows next spring, go live on Friday, 7 November from 10am – and given the reaction to the album itself, you can bank on them selling out fast.
Featured Images — Charlie Denis/press shots (supplied)
Gigs & Nightlife
Fast-rising alt-rock cult favourites Keo announce Manchester gig on new UK tour
Danny Jones
Up-and-coming alternative rock band Keo have just announced a new UK tour and “most ambitious chapter yet” in terms of live performances, including a Manchester gig that we CANNOT wait for.
Combining the likes of post-grunge, garage rock and more, Keo are one of the most exciting and fast-emerging new acts in the space right now, having seen their recent run of half a dozen domestic shows sell out completely.
Pulling influences from artists of The Smashing Pumpkins and Soundgarden, as well as most notably fellow contemporaries and former tour partner, Wunderhorse, they’re well-positioned at the front of the guitar-driven revival and are bound for big things. We’re by no means the only ones banking on it either…
Having been described as “already that band” by Dork and delivering “a sound that has given UK guitar its biggest kick up the fretboard in years” by Rolling Stone, you can bet tickets for these shows will be snapped up in seconds, too.
UK and Europe spring 2026. Pre-sale: 03 Nov 2025 10AM GMT On Sale: 05 Nov 2025 10AM GMT pic.twitter.com/Xz1km0Z93O
Set to play their biggest Manchester venue to date, Keo will be playing the O2 Ritz on Whitworth Street next spring, and let us tell you, that sprung floor is not ready…
Co-fronted by two brothers, Finn and Conor Keogh (originally from Devon before ultimately getting their music careers underway in the capital), the now London-based group make quite a racket for just the four of them.
That being said, they also do quiet moments well, too, as seen in several of the ‘calm before the storm’ breakouts in songs like ‘Thorn’, ‘Fly’, ‘Crow’ and many more.
If you like anything close to grunge or even just shoegazey riffs, trust us, they’ll be right up your street.
One of the most exciting parts about this lot is how feverishly their fans have packed out their audiences all over the country, somehow learning every single word to every song before most of the material had even been released on any kind of platform. They’ve led with their live reputation – and it shows.
Case and point – the crowd at The Key Club in Leeds, where our mates over at The Hoot got to witness them up close and personal as the entire room erupted in a chorus of screams about a girl called Amber:
“To be playing venues like these with only five songs out still feels surreal”, says lead singer Finn Keogh. “We always imagined we’d reach this level after years of supporting other bands, but somehow we’ve skipped that step.
“It’s mad, come March, our biggest indoor shows will have been our own. Electric Ballroom [in London] is a special one for me personally; I’ve seen some life-changing gigs there. To be on that stage this time around is going to feel unreal.”
Listing a total of 16 live show dates up and down the country throughout March and April of 2026, it’s fair to say we Mancs are excited to see them playing their biggest room in our city to date, having absolutely smashed Gorilla this past October.
Tickets for Keo at the O2 Ritz in Manchester go on sale next Wednesday, 5 November at 10am; you can get ready to grab yours right HERE.
The debut release from Keo has delighted fans and critics alike, and their Manchester gig is sure to be a stormer.
Danny Jones -
9th October 2025 
