Loyle Carner at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester – rapper wows and proves ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’

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In another instalment of Sounds of the City 2024, British rapper Loyle Carner delivered an electrifying performance to a sea of dedicated fans.

And they had to be dedicated in order to miss England make it through to the Euros final. The odds before the gig weren’t in Loyle’s favour, it has to be said…

Manchester was doing what it does best, raining, whilst the Three Lions were kicking off in the semi-final just moments before he was due to come on.

But still, Loyle Carner made it all worthwhile and reminded us all why he’s one of the biggest hip-hop artists in the UK at the moment.

The British rapper, who has carved out a sizeable space for himself in the overlapping jazz-fuelled and neo-soul spaces, has been on the scene for over 10 years now.

The London-born lyricist bounded onto the stage to ‘Hate’, a song off his latest album hugo.

Image: The Manc Audio

Immediately, murmurs of the England score were forgotten and all eyes were on Loyle Carner, whose real name is Benjamin Coyle Larner, but found his stage name due to his own dyslexia.

“The love I feel for this city is unparalleled” he proclaims, before playing all-time fan favourite ‘Ain’t Nothing Changed’ which had the crowd pulsating to the heavy beat and shouting to the poignant anthem.

The opening of his set was emotional, intense and deeply moving, which felt rather atmospheric as the grey clouds above continued to shower over Castlefield Bowl.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Loyle Carner show without a few tracks featuring guitarist and producer Tom Misch, both ‘Angel’ and ‘Damselfly’ had the crowd joyfully singing along and dancing to the groovy beats.

Image: The Manc Audio

Dedicating ‘Homerton’ to his three-year-old son, Loyle told us to “F*ck that toxic masculinity bullsh*t” to which was met with roaring waves of applause.

Other highlights included ‘Loose Ends’ featuring Jorja Smith and ‘Still’, a very personal song which had the audience encapsulated by Loyle’s words as we melted into his mellow voice.

‘Ottolenghi’ wrapped up the sensational show, or so we thought…but just as Loyle started to thank his band audience members jumped and screamed in glee as England scored against the Netherlands making it a 2-1 victory.

So, in true British fashion, a curveball was added to the setlist and we all heroically sang together ‘It’s Coming Home’ in a joy-filled chorus. Absolutely class.

What a way to end the evening, and what a talent Loyle Carner truly is. It wasn’t the only gig where England’s Euro 2024 victory made for a nice backdrop either.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group