Olly Murs has made his big return to the stage, taking his new album Marry Me out on a tour of the same name – and he’s about to touch down in Manchester.
The 38-year-old star is going to be taking to the stage at the AO Arena in just a few short hours.
A former X Factor alumni, Olly burst onto the scene with a self-titled debut back in 2010, which went double-platinum, and went on to have four number one singles and four number one albums in near back-to-back succession.
But after four years away from the music industry, he’s back out performing and nearing the end of his Marry Me Tour.
He is promising to have people ‘dancing – if not proposing – in the aisles’ when he hits the AO Arena on Friday 5 May.
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Here’s everything you need need to know about Olly Murs at the AO Arena Manchester.
Are there still tickets for Olly Murs?
Yep, there are still tickets on sale for tonight’s gig.
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Seated tickets – which are mostly in the upper level – are priced from £39.50.
For seats a bit closer to the action, you’ll be looking at £59.50, or £69.95, per ticket.
You can browse the latest ticket availability for Olly Murs and buy yours through See Tickets here.
Yep, if you can’t be there in person, you can sign up to watch a live-streamed version of the concert from the comfort of your own home.
Olly’s global live stream costs £13 – you can sign up here.
Who is supporting Olly Murs at the AO Arena Manchester?
The ‘Heart Skips A Beat’ singer is being supported by Scouting For Girls throughout his Marry Me tour.
The British pop-rockers have been on the scene since 2015 and are famed for their hit songs like ‘She’s So Lovely’, ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, and ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’.
Their next studio album, The Place We Used To Meet, will be released this autumn.
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What are the expected stage times?
Stage times are always subject to change, but the working timings suggest that the doors to the AO Arena will open at 6pm on Friday night.
Then Scouting For Girls are due on stage at about 7.35pm, with Olly himself due to perform around 8.45pm.
What songs will Olly Murs play?
Based on his recent show at the O2 in London, this is the setlist you can expect to be hearing.
Marry Me / I’m Still Standing Best Night of Your Life You Don’t Know Love Kiss Me / Watermelon Sugar Right Place Right Time I Found Her Thinking of Me (with Professor Green) Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond cover) Dear Darlin’ I Hate You When You’re Drunk Heart Skips a Beat We Found Love (Rihanna cover) Wrapped Up Dancing on Cars Celebration / YMCA / Blame it on the Boogie / Don’t Stop Believing / Sex On Fire / I Want It That Way / Dancing On The Ceiling Dance With Me Tonight Encore Troublemaker
About the AO Arena
The AO Arena has a few strict policies to keep gig-goers safe, so make sure to check entry requirements carefully before you travel.
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For example, only one small bag per person is allowed, and bags like backpacks, travel cases and laptop bags are not permitted inside the arena.
All bags are scanned on entry to check for prohibited items like laser pens, flares, projectiles, weapons, drugs and alcohol, and even selfie sticks.
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Watch Gary Neville join The Reytons and ‘play bass’ on stage in Manchester
Danny Jones
Remember when we kind of thought Gary Neville was joining The Reytons on tour? Well, turns out he sort of has – at least for one night, anyway.
The former footballer turned pundit and entrepreneur seems to crop up absolutely everywhere these days, be that in Greater Manchester or otherwise, and we know that he’s proven to be a bit of a jack of all trades since his playing days came to an end.
However, we never thought we’d put Gary Neville and ‘playing bass’ in the same sentence, let alone on stage with one of the fastest-rising Northern bands around, but Rotherham’s very own Reytons have turned that seemingly random combination of words into a reality.
Playing the incredible Aviva Studios venue on Saturday, 8 March, the Manc crowd were in for a treat when the Man United legend and ex-England defender popped up on stage, guitar in hand.
As you can see, not only did G Nev join for the cult favourite anthem ‘Low Life’ but he made quite the entrance and pyros blasted from the front of the stage.
For anyone needing a bit more context, this all came about following a humorous stunt back in September of last year where the band made it look like the Manc might be standing in as replacement bassist after full-time member Lee Holland broke his arm.
The 50-year-old filmed a skit of him going through a fake audition process as other candidates were ignored and he ended up being selected.
It was pretty funny, to be fair, especially when the final punchline was that he had absolutely no idea how to play bass.
Still didn’t stop him from going ahead and doing a whole photo shoot though, did it? Now they’ve gone even further and brought him out in front of a massive hometown crowd.
Speaking on the cameo, frontman Jonny Yerrell thanked Neville for his support, telling the crowd: “He is honestly one of the most down-to-earth and nicest people we’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
Yerrell also went on to highlight their Grassroots Foundation initiative, explaining how they provided full football kits to 50 different grassroots teams in 2024, as well as applauding the Reytons fan base and the wider music community for rallying behind young mum Sophie White in a truly touching tale.
The 22-year-old Rotheram native, who has seen widespread support across Yorkshire, is currently battling a brain tumour; with that in mind, the band raffled off the stage sign from their flagship sell-out performance at Clifton Park performance.
With Sophie in attendance, Jonny announced to gig-goers that over £10,000 had been raised in just two days to help her undergo potentially life-saving treatment in Germany, which finally starts this week (Monday, 10 March 2025). Incredible stuff.
If there’s one thing we love more than a band with a sense of humour and who don’t mind a stunt or two, it’s the kind that does important stuff for their region like this.
And, as Jonny puts it, this is just the start; “We’re planning to do even more this year!”, he says, so don’t expect this to be the last time you hear about these Northern trailblazers doing something brilliant.
Who knows, maybe we’ll see Gary Neville joining The Reytons for their headline set at Tramlines Festivalthis summer too?
Featured Images — The Reytons/Graham Noble(supplied)
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A new art trail celebrating the city’s music scene will take over Manchester this summer
Emily Sergeant
A new art trail celebrating the city’s iconic music scene will be taking over Manchester city centre this summer.
It’s no secret that Manchester is a musical hub, with countless well-known artists getting their start here or calling our city home over the years, and in a fitting way to celebrate this incredible lineup of musical talent, an all-new multi-sensory art exhibition will be taking over the streets of the city centre this summer.
The new exhibition, which is titled Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city, is a collaboration between global art producer Wild in Art – the creators of the famous Bee in the City project – and Manchester City Council.
It’ll be running across the city centre from early July until the end of August.
At the heart of the exhibition will be an interactive installation called ‘Guitar Street’ created by Manchester artist Liam Hopkins, known as Lazerian, which will lovingly repurpose 100+ broken guitars, all donated by members of the public.
On top of this, more than 50 additional ‘unusable’ guitars will be painted or adorned by professional artists, turning them into individual artworks to be displayed in shop windows and venues around the city.
A guitar amnesty is now open for the people of Manchester to contribute instruments to become part of the trail.
As well as the amnesty, some celebrated Manchester musicians will also be loaning their precious instruments to display in windows across the city too.
Any guitars donated that are thought to be in ‘very good condition’ or of ‘significant value’ will instead be donated to a music charity where they’ll get a second life in the hands of aspiring musicians and the next generation of artists.
Created in collaboration with @ManCityCouncil, the Music for the Senses trail will run from 7 July – 31 August 2025.
“Guitar music is a huge part of the sound of Manchester,” commented Councillor Garry Bridges, who is the Deputy Leader Manchester City Council
“Music for the Senses promises to be a fabulous and unique celebration of an iconic instrument, of fantastic music, and of amazing art, with something for everyone to enjoy and get involved in, whilst at the same time supporting the next generation of music talent in the city.”
When the art trail draws to close at the end of August, all the guitars featured will be auctioned off for charity, with the funds raised going to support grassroots music projects and venues across Greater Manchester.
Music for the Senses: an art arrangement for a musical city will run from 7 July – 31 August.
Daisy Jackson -
4th May 2023 
