Audio

Gracie Abrams announces Co-op Live gig in Manchester on UK tour

The Secret of Us Tour is coming. (Contains affiliate links)

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall - 19th July 2024

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Gracie Abrams has announced a huge Co-op Live gig in Manchester on her upcoming UK tour.

The rising star has just announced the European leg of her headline tour, The Secret of Us Tour, and will play 18 dates kicking off in Madrid next year.

Since making her debut in 2019, Gracie has made a name for herself as one of the most exciting singer-songwriters of her generation.

For the UK leg of her huge new tour, she’ll be performing in Nottingham, London, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff and Glasgow.

Gracie Abrams will be stopping off in Manchester and performing at the Co-op Live arena on 7 March 2025.

The tour is in support of Gracie’s sophomore album, The Secret of Us, which marked Gracie’s first ever number one hit in the UK music charts. The album also went to number one in Australia and the Netherlands, as well as a number two spot on the Billboard 200.

Following the North American dates of her tour, she will re-join Taylor Swift on the acclaimed Eras Tour as the support act.

She recently made a surprise appearance on the Eras Tour to perform their song ‘Us’ with Taylor at Wembley Stadium, so it’s fair to say we can expect to see a few Swifties at these upcoming tour dates.

Fans who pre-ordered her new album will get the chance to buy tickets during a presale that begins today, Wednesday 17 July.

General sale begins at 10am on Friday 19 July and you can get yours here.

Gracie Abrams 2025 UK tour dates in full

  • 3 March – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
  • 4 March – Leeds First Direct Arena
  • 6 March – London The O2
  • 7 March – Manchester Co-op Live
  • 8 March – Cardiff Utilita Arena
  • 12 March – Glasgow OVO Hydro

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Audio

Bob Vylan dropped from Manchester music festival following Glastonbury controversy

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester music festival drops Bob Vylan after Glastonbury chants

English punk rap duo Bob Vylan have been dropped from an upcoming music festival in Manchester following the recent controversy surrounding their set at Glastonbury 2025.

The media storm surrounding their much-talked-about and heavily televised Glasto appearance has seen them reportedly dropped by their agency and their US Visas cancelled, along with multiple concerts – one of those being right here in Greater Manchester.

Bob Vylan were scheduled to play RADAR Fest at Victoria Warehouse in Stretford this weekend, but now the organisers have informed gig-goers that the artists will not be performing in their planned slot on Saturday.

The alternative music event did provide any additional details, posting nothing but this image:

radar festival cancels bob vylan set
Credit: RADAR Festival

For anyone unaware, Vylan were heavily criticised for the pro-Palestine chants, which Glastonbury itself has deemed as having “crossed a line”, labelling the chants against the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) as antisemitic.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has also commented on the situation.

In addition to RADAR, Vylan were also due to appear at Kave Fest in France the following Sunday, 6 July, but the music event has also decided not to host them.

The BBC also opted not to broadcast Northern Irish band Kneecap as part of their coverage this year, as the Belfast rap trio have also been outspoken on the issue, among many other musicians of late.

Responding to the decision on social media not long after the news broke, the act simply shared the post on their Instagram story along with the caption: “Silence is not an option. We will be fine, the people of Palestine are hurting. Manchester, we will be back.”

The pair have said that they are being “targeted for speaking up.”

At present, an official police investigation has been launched into both Bob Vylan and Kneecap’s performances, with footage from both shows to be reviewed in order to decide whether their respective comments amounted to a criminal offence.

A statement added: “This has been recorded as a public order incident at this time while our enquiries are at an early stage.”

You can see the rest of the remaining RADAR Festival 2025 lineup down below.

RADAR Festival returns to Manchester with huge lineup this summer and you can still get tickets
It gets underway on Friday, 4 July.

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Featured Images — NMK Photography (via Flickr)

Audio

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.

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“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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