The DMA’s are still, four albums in, hell-bent on starting a riot everywhere they go.
But an evening spent at one of their gigs is the best kind of chaos, with music that immediately strips inhibitions and unleashes child-like, gleeful energy.
For a full 90 minutes at the O2 Apollo, there’s a swirling mass of 3500 people – from my perch up on the balcony, all I see is limbs and flashes of grinning faces.
The Australian trio are back out on tour, showing off music from their latest album How Many Dreams?
That new music, only a couple of weeks old at this point, is peppered throughout and received politely – but no one comes to a DMA’s gig wanting politeness.
What we want is to belt out ‘The End’ with our elbows in each other’s faces, or sing ‘Tape Deck Sick’ with so much gusto you can feel it from your diaphragm.
The energy never gets more frenetic than it does for ‘Hello Girlfriend’, which truly is a bucket list experience for live music fans. Just when you think it’s over, just when the only sound left is feedback, Matt Mason is back at the mic chanting “Such a funny thing for me, try to explain” – and the band’s back, crashing drums and pounding guitars. Then quiet again, then Matt returns, and the pattern repeats, over and over, getting louder and louder, the crowd getting livelier and livelier. It seems like it will never stop – like we’ll all be sucked into a swirling vortex of flung pints of Carling and sticky floors for the rest of eternity.
But it does stop and slow down a little – for ‘Delete’, it’s less about shoving and more about hugging. I even spot a two-storey cuddle happening between a group of mates who are still on each other’s shoulders.
It’s pretty clear that frontman Tommy O’Dell has us all in the palm of his hand when he walks a stage-width away from his mic for the full ‘Silver’ chorus and we all fill in the gaps for him.
Their gigs in Manchester always have an air of a homecoming show about them. It doesn’t really make sense – they’re half-a-globe away from their actual home – but this bunch of Aussies have adopted that very distinctive Manc swagger, down to the waterproof parkas they all wear on stage.
Johnny Took sincerely tells us: “You guys have changed our lives. You’ve taken us under your wing and it blows us away, so thank you.”
It makes sense then that the next time the DMA’s are back in Manchester, they’ll be supporting the Courteeners at their huge Heaton Park gig. Chaos is guaranteed.
Country star Tyler Childers is coming to town for his biggest Manchester show to date
Danny Jones
US country music star Tyler Childers is returning to Manchester for his biggest ever show in this city, and tickets go on sale very soon.
Fresh off the back of his new album, Snipe Hunter – which was only just dropped back in July – the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is riding a fresh wave of excitement after years of hard work within the genre, mixing in plenty of classic bluegrass and folk into his modern take on the classic American sound.
As one of the most-streamed and well-respected contemporary country musicians on the scene right now, the Kentucky-born solo star and understated acoustic guitarist often falls into that category of your favourite artist’s favourite artist.
Now Tyler Childers is coming to our most legendary arena as part of his UK and European tour early next year, and we’ll certainly be queuing online for tickets.
As far as AO Arena shows booked in for the new year go, we’re very excited about this one.
His seventh studio album has been well-received by his die-hard followers and newcomers alike, delivering that same traditional Appalachian storytelling and hard-bitten humour, as well as plenty of attitude and anecdotal idiosyncrasies, not to mention plenty of vocal range as always.
Having not long come back from a pilgrimage to India, Lawrence County king teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin (along with some help from Sylvan Esso’s Nick Sanborn) to create one of his most eye-opening, broad and best records yet.
Post-release, the Associated Press went on to label him “one of country music’s most compelling and unpredictable artists”, and we tend to agree.
The LP immediately spawned plenty of fan favourites, and we certainly have ours – and the video has definitely had a hand in it:
It may just be his best work yet.
Experimenting with his current unique take on country rock sound more than ever, you couldn’t ask for a better time to go and see him live.
Once again, Tyler Childers comes to the AO Arena in Manchester on Sunday, 8 March 2026, with an official pre-sale available via Three+ from 9am on Wednesday, 10 September.
As for general admission, tickets go live at the same time on the following Friday (12 Sep); you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
We don’t know about you, but we’re very much enjoying our country moment at the minute…
Lil Baby cancels entire European tour including Manchester Co-op Live date
Daisy Jackson
A major act at Co-op Live has cancelled their gig today, just weeks ahead of their scheduled appearance.
Rapper Lil Baby has called off his entire European tour, which included a massive gig here in Manchester.
Fans have been notified via email that the shows will no longer be going ahead.
The Grammy award-winning artist was set to play the Co-op Live on Friday 26 September as part of his WHAM World Tour.
But Lil Baby will no longer be performing in Manchester – along with cancelled shows in London and across Europe – due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
A statement from AXS sent to fans said: “The event organisers have been in touch to let us know that due to unforeseen circumstances, Lil Baby’s performance has now been cancelled.
“We will be automatically refunding your tickets to the method of payment you used to buy your tickets, so you don’t need to do anything further.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
Lil Baby has released four chart-topping albums, with his seminal album My Turn going seven-time Platinum.
Fans have been voicing their dismay at the cancellation of the tour, with one writing on X: “All rappers do is cancel SMH. Lilbaby cancelled tour cba.”
Another wrote: “Why the hell has lil baby cancelled his show.”
Someone on TikTok said: “I woke up to this email now my day is ruined cos Wdymm.”
And someone else posted: “I PURPOSELY TOLD MY PEOPLE NOT GOING ON HOLIDAY FOR MY BDAY BECAUSE LIL BABY PERFORMING IN LONDON ON 27 THE NEXT DAY! FOR HIM TO CANNNNCEEELLLLL 2 WEEKS BEFORE.”
Daisy Jackson -
22nd April 2023 
