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Elbow confirm one-off gig at Night & Day to raise money for independent grassroots music venues

'Passport: Back To Our Roots' is a series of intimate gigs featuring the UK’s biggest artists - all of which are being scheduled for an unspecified date 2021 when real gigs can return.

The Manc The Manc - 17th August 2020

Elbow will play at Night & Day Cafe for an exclusive one-off gig – and you could grab tickets to see them live.

The special show in Northern Quarter has been confirmed as part of a campaign to raise money for independent grassroots music venues – which have suffered deeply due to live performances being on pause.

‘Passport: Back To Our Roots’ is a series of intimate shows featuring the UK’s biggest artists – all of which are being scheduled for an unspecified date when real gigs can return.

The chance to win a place in the crowd for Elbow’s show at Night & Day (date TBD) is up for grabs right now.

All you need to do is visit the Crowdfunder page, make a donation of at least £5 and enter the prize drawer.

Night & Day stated: “We are thrilled and honoured to have Elbow returning to Night and Day. Elbow have been friends of the venue for many years.

“This should be a very special show and has the potential to be something quite amazing!

The venue continued: “This is your chance to watch the biggest artists play their smallest gigs – live and in person like they should be…

“The gigs will be happening as soon as real shows can happen safely – these are not socially distanced, compromised experiences.”

Learn more by visiting the Crowdfunder page here.

For information on the exciting series, head over to the official website.

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Manchester crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Live music crowd

Manchester has been crowned one of the world’s best cities for music lovers, even beating out New York along the way.

If there’s one thing Manchester is known and loved for over anything else, it’s music.

From Oasis and Joy Division, to Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, The 1975, and even more modern-day acts, there’s no end to the amount of talented artists this city has produced or been home to over the years, all contributing to Manchester being one of the most prestigious music cities there is.

The city’s live music scene has always been thriving, and that continues right through to this very day, as you’ll see big-name musicians including Manchester as a destination in their UK tour schedules more often than not.

This summer is all set to be a sensational celebration of sound, as not only is an immersive art trail, Music for the Senses, taking over the city from this week, but this year’s annual Manchester Day will be music-themed too, marking one of the biggest years for Manchester music in a long time.

Manchester skyline
Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers / Credit: Manchester City Council | Eldhose Kuryian (via Unsplash)

Oh, and there’s also the small matter of Oasis reforming for a UK tour, including a run of gigs at Heaton Park this month.

So it’s no surprise that Manchester has been named one of the best cities in the world for music lovers, especially as the IFPI Global Music Report has revealed that the UK has the third largest music market globally – with the music industry’s contribution to the UK economy being £6.7 billion on average.

Taking this recent report into consideration, the experts over at SeatPick have collated data to uncover the best UK cities for music lovers, analysing factors such as the number of concerts, homegrown talents, music businesses, and the total number of music venues, to reveal each city’s overall music score out of 10. 

Coming in at second place with a music scene score of 8.97/10 is Manchester.

2025 is all set to be a sensational summer of sound in our city / Credit: Supplied

“Manchester remains one of the UK’s most iconic music cities and with 1,204 concerts between 2025-2026, 116 live music venues, and 380 homegrown acts, the city’s live music offering is as strong as ever,” SeatPick said of its findings.

“2025 is shaping up to be a historic year for Manchester, with Oasis reuniting for the first time in over a decade, with a massive comeback show at Heaton Park – the very spot where they played their last hometown gig in 2009.”

While Manchester may have missed out on the UK’s top spot, with that title going to London, in the global rankings, our city has claimed an impressive sixth place, beating out New York’s influential music scene.

Liverpool and Leeds are two of the other northern cities in the UK’s top 10, taking fifth and sixth place respectively.

Read more:

“Cities which have a larger number of music businesses are key in creating the perfect city for music fans, as this impacts the city’s cultural, economic, and social vibrancy,” explained Gilad Zilberman, who is the CEO of SeatPick.

“A thriving music scene within a city means it can provide more artistic expression, support a wider range of genres, and enrich the cultural landscape, as well as attracting creative talent.”

Featured Image – Alex Bracken (via Unsplash)

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British rock and mod icon Paul Weller stars in advert for new Oasis x Bohemians football kit

Danny Jones Danny Jones Bohemians FC Oasis kit collab

The music and football shirt crossovers just keep coming thick and fast – and that’s just Oasis alone, as Bohemians FC have released a new collaboration with the legendary Britpop band, looping in none other than Paul Weller for the grand unveiling.

Bohemians share a strong connection with the Gallagher brothers due to their Irish roots, as do Manchester and the ‘Emerald Isle’ in general.

This, of course, isn’t the first big marriage with a major music act they’ve done, as last season’s third-place finishers in the SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division famously roped in fellow Dublin giants Fontaines D.C. for a collab that sold out in an instant.

However, it doesn’t get much bigger than Oasis and with the Live ’25 reunion shows now just days away (we can hardly believe it either), Bohemians have decided to hop on the bandwagon too and steal some of that ‘band with the three stripes’ buzz for themselves.

Not to be too keen, but can we have 10 of them, please?…

Is this another instant hit? We’d say so, yeah.

Shot by Jamie Goldrick to the sound of cult favourite Definitely Maybe track, ‘Married with Children’, the Oasis x Bohemians kit reveal video was filmed at Cross Guns Snooker Hall: the oldest snooker club in Dublin City, which still remains an important community cornerstone.

As well as starring UK rock and mod culture icon, Paul Weller, perhaps the best bit about the FAI Cup shirt and this whole partnership is the charitable element behind it.

Just like with their Fontaines shirt, which helped supply medical aid across Palestine, the limited edition jersey will help generate crucial money for two key causes.

The first of which is the domestic non-profit organisation, Music Generation Ireland, the country’s national music education programme, which helps children and young people access vocal and instrumental tuition locally.

Secondly, funds will also be diverted to the Irish Community Care Manchester, located along Stockport Road in Levenshulme – further strengthening the mutual support between us Mancs and our cousins across the water.

You can get a close look at the Oasis x Bohemians kit design down below.

The special edition and highly exclusive shirt is already available, with stock already disappearing rapidly thanks to Bohs die-hards, Oasis fans and footy kit connosieurs alike.

With the Burnage boys getting their seismic comeback shows underway with two nights at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Friday and Saturday (4-5 July), before heading for a double bill at Croke Park in Dublin this August, the excitement across the globe is already palpable.

It’s almost like this is a big deal or something…

That being said, everything from never-before-seen exhibitions and official Adidas x Oasis merch stores are popping up here in Manchester and, indeed, all over ahead of their sell-out world tour, which is set to be nothing less than the biggest music event of the decade.

Every single teaser trailer and social media post sends fans bananas, and god knows what the scenes are going to be like when they finally head to Heaton Park for the run of five homecoming nights.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Bohemians FC (press images/screenshots via YouTube)

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