Global pop icon Kylie has just announced details of a huge 2025 tour, which will include TWO shows at the AO Arena in Manchester.
This will be Kylie Minogue’s biggest tour since 2011, kicking off in her native Australia before heading around the globe.
Last time she performed in Manchester was in 2019 when she did a surprisingly intimate show at Castlefield Bowl – prior to that, it was the Golden tour at the AO Arena.
Now the princess of pop is back with her highly-anticipated Tension Tour, with more dates across Europe and America still to be announced.
Kylie said: “I am beyond excited to announce the TENSION TOUR 2025. I can’t wait to share beautiful and wild moments with fans all over the world, celebrating the Tension era and more!
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s been an exhilarating ride so far and now, get ready for your close up because I will be calling Lights, Camera, Action … and there will be a whole lot of Padaming!”
The tour comes in support of Tension II, a brand new collection of 13 songs that’s set for release on 18 October and follows the chart-topping Tension.
ADVERTISEMENT
The new album will feature nine brand new studio tracks, plus dance hit Edge of Saturday Night with The Blessed Madonna, as well as collaborations with Orville Peck, Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo, and Sia.
Kylie Minogue announces huge Manchester show at the AO ArenaKylie Minogue announces huge Manchester show at the AO Arena
Kylie said: “The Tension era has been so special to me … I can’t possibly let it be over just yet! Welcome to ‘Tension II’.”
This year alone, she’s taken home the Global Icon Award at the BRITs, win the Best Pop Dance Recording Grammy for the smash hit, ‘Padam Padam’, attend the Met Gala, complete her inaugural Las Vegas Residency, perform at WeHo Pride and release a series of high profile collaborations.
ADVERTISEMENT
Kylie will perform at the AO Arena in Manchester on Monday 19 May 2025, and the newly-added date of Tuesday 20 May 2025.
Tickets for the UK dates will go on general sale at 10am Friday 27 September.
Fans will be able to sign up for venue pre-sale through the AO Arena here.
Kylie 2025 UK tour dates
Fri 16 May Glasgow OVO Hydro
Sat 17 May Newcastle Utilita Arena
Mon 19 May Manchester AO Arena
Thurs 22 May Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Fri 23 May Sheffield Utilita Arena
Mon 26 May London The O2
Tues 27 May London The O2
Fri 30 May Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Sat 31 May Birmingham bp pulse LIVE
Featured image: Erik Melvin
Audio
Wet Leg are BACK and coming to Manchester very soon
Danny Jones
One of the best up-and-coming indie bands around is returning after what feels like forever, but it’s actually only been a few years; either way, Wet Leg are back and coming to Manchester.
Their self-titled debut dropped back in 2022 and was met with an overwhelming reaction, picking up three Grammy Awards at a BRIT for Best British Group at the first time of asking.
It did slap, to be fair.
More importantly, fast forward three years and they’re back with a release date for their sophomore record, moisturizer, a brand new single by the name of ‘catch these fists’, as well as a small handful of new tour dates – including a gig at a brilliant Manchester music venue, of course.
uk pre-orders of moisturizer from the official wet leg store before 3pm bst tuesday 8th april will get early access to pre-sale tickets for uk headline live dates. pic.twitter.com/KUvazSX6NY
The Isle of Wight-founded five-piece, fronted by charismatic duo Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, will be heading out on a couple dozen live shows across Europe and the festival season circuit, as well as a one-off gig (for now) in the US at The River in LA.
However, just five of those are domestic headline dates, with the gang preparing to delight crowds in London, Birmingham and our friends over in Leeds.
Guess we’ll just have to go to both.
Here in Manchester, Wet Leg will be playing the cult favourite venue, O2 Victoria Warehouse, which just wrapped up this year’s BBC Radio 6 Music Festival programme.
As for the new album, moisturizer is due to release on 11 July, and from the small teaser we’ve been given courtesy of their new single, it sounds like there’s been some experimentation; the guitars and attitude are being dialled up even further, and they’re just as confident as ever.
An absolute jam, as expected.
Best of all, you don’t have to wait long to see them live again, as they’ll be heading out across the country just next month and are scheduled to arrive in Old Trafford on Thursday, 29 May.
Tickets for the Manchester gig and all other Wet Leg UK tour this May will be available for early access to those who pre-order the album online from 10 am local time on Wednesday, 9 April.
General sale goes live at the same time on Friday, 11 April. You can get ready to grab yours HERE.
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | March 2025
Danny Jones
Oh, hello there. Did you think we’d forgotten to do our Manchester artists round-up for March? Don’t be daft, it was just a joke – a silly little April Fool’s joke.
This is, without a doubt, one of our favourite times of the month because we get to look back at our music habits in more bite-sized pieces rather than feeling like we have to defend a whole year’s worth every time Spotify Wrapped rolls around.
If you don’t know the drill by now, for one, where have you been? Secondly, welcome to the listening party: it’s the period we set aside to spotlight the best up-and-coming, underrated and veteran musicians from Greater Manchester alike – so long as they’re good, we’re happy.
Let’s get into it then, yeah?
Manchester bands and artists we’ve been listening to this month
1. Lusaint
First up on our list for March is a very talented woman by the name of Lusaint – real name Lucy Hopkins, but trust us, this is a stage name set for stardom as far we’re concerned. Manc born and bred, she has the voice and vibe of an old soul with all the talent and style to go up against the biggest around today.
She started gaining followers through her stunning covers of everyone from Kings of Leon and Whitney Houston to Fleetwood Mac, Jason Mraz and many more. That being said, her pop-forward original solo material is hitting our ‘Sweet Tooth’ and then some, so we tried to keep it cool when we met her recently.
If you’re looking for where to start, her latest single ‘Neon Lights’ has an almost laid-back, neo-soul vibe; ‘Sober’ has a bit of Winehouse and Bailey Rae to it, but the best way to sum her up is soulful R’n’B with plenty of jazz and contralto moments sprinkled in there. The piano version of ‘Dark Horse’… Oof.
You’re damn right we’re putting them back amongst our Manc artists of the month list because not only have we’ve been listening to their new album non-stop but, in case you hadn’t heard, it’s just gone to number one – their second to date!
Leigh’s very own Lottery Winners need no introduction at this point: they’re becoming an increasingly big name in the indie, pop and Northern scene in general, but they also might just be up there with the hardest working bands going right now.
We could recommend tonnes of songs to kick off with but we’d like to give a big shout to ‘Superpower’, a real bit of genre whiplash that really works, ‘You Again’ with Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers because it’s just a banger and ‘Turn Around’ because same and it has the cutest music video ever.
Now, this next one pains us slightly because Push Baby, as eclectic and interesting as they are, are currently inactive as of 2022 following the release of their second full LP, Wow, That’s What I Call Push Baby!, which is a brilliant subversion of modern mainstream music.
Made up of lead vocalist Jake Roche, the son of British household names Coleen Nolan and Shane Richie, as well as multi-instrumentalist Charley Bagnall – both formerly of the boyband Rixton too – this alternative duo were pushing plenty of boundaries before they took a pause to pursue other projects.
Song wise, ‘WHAT YOU GONNA DO?’ is the closest thing to a new NSYNC track as you’ll find, ‘thenineteenseventyfive’ feels like it could just about fit on a 1975 album if you just swapped out the vocals, and you simply have to start with the first song we ever heard from them: ‘thor’
You get a much different level of production on the studio version than this equally beautiful live recording. We hope they come back.
4. Tim Burgess
Our penultimate pick for this month is a Manc music legend whose music we’ve been exposed to most of our lives, but it pains us to confess we were relative latecomers to his solo stuff. The Charlatans’ frontman had such a large body of work, but we’ve finally cracked into properly for the first time.
It won’t surprise you whatsoever to learn the Salfordian icon’s own singer-songwriter records are just brilliant asd everything else he’s done in his career and we’ll feel daft to have waited this long to dive deep. There’s plenty to get through, put it that way.
Everyone’s heard ‘OH My Corazon’ (in fact, we’d wager you’ve heard even more Burgess than you realise), but we’d grown a particular soft spot for ‘Sure Enough – Eyedress Remix’, ‘White’ and ‘Empathy For The Devil’ where he voices go real Ian Brown-esque. We’ll keep digging and get back to you.
Yet more evidence that he deserves your attention and respect for what he’s done/doing for Manc music
5. Dirty Blonde
Last but certainly not least is another duo that, unlike Push Baby, aren’t just active but are absolutely ripping through the infancy of their alt rock story already and have all ferocity of a pair of Manc music pioneers that are going to go far – Spill The Sound seem to think so too.
Modern girl rock that kicks you in the face with punchy riffs, catchy hooks, great vocals and plenty of confidence and all-around swagger that makes you think they’re made for this business. You could probably draw all manner of comparisons to contemporaries, but put simply, they just sound sick.
There’s not absolute reams to get through yet as the two are ones for the future, but we’ve particular enjoyed ‘Rush’, ‘Run (When I Tell You)’ and you’d be a fool not to take a look at their new single ‘Adore Me’ which achieves exactly what the title says. Love ’em and we look forward to hearing more.
And we’re sorry to say that’s all she wrote for another month, and we apologise to any of you die-hard readers for being a day late to it this time around. We promise we won’t make a habit of it.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the meantime, you can always go back and listen to our Manc music favourite from February to keep your playlists feeling refreshed – and all the other lists prior, come to think of it.
Daisy Jackson -
19th September 2024 
