The fast-rising and genre-bending rock group Sleep Token have announced their biggest-ever headline tour in the UK and will be coming to Manchester later this year — and wait until you find out where they’re playing.
For anyone yet to discover the progressive metal band, the masked outfit is probably providing one of the most unique and sprawling sounds in the industry right now, fusing everything from heavy rock and jazz to alternative electronic music and straight-up piano ballads.
Having built a steady but solid cult following since 2016, very little is known about the mysterious metalheads other than the fact they’re from London and have been blowing up worldwide on platforms like TikTok.
While this isn’t their first visit to the UK by any stretch, their recent surge in popularity has seen them skip more than a few steps on the way up to playing the biggest venues around the world and are now set to play none other than Manchester’s brand-new Co-op Live Arena.
Come November, the United Kingdom shall gather in Worship.
Those wishing to attend may register their interest at the link below, in preparation for the exclusive presale window – which begins Wednesday at 10am.https://t.co/QnDJol5ImQ
Scoring a slot at what is set to be Europe’s largest and most sustainable indoor entertainment arena when it opens is no mean feat and just serves as more proof that Sleep Token are absolutely massive. Their legions of ‘worshippers’ would argue they already are.
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Part of the obsession with them is the distinct look, culture and relationship with the fans; many of them have fully bought into the very specific mystical and gothic aesthetic, often likened to a religious following as opposed to a straightforward crowd.
With a whole subset of lore and mythology erected around them and their deity-like frontman, ‘Vessel’, for a lot of people, listening to this band is more than just popping in some headphones and pressing shuffle — so much so that they helped get them to number three in the UK and saw their latest record
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Set to play Co-op Live on Tuesday, 26 November — being one of the first to be given the honour of kicking off its first year of events — the Manchester date is just one date in a small handful of five shows which also includes London, Birmingham, Glasgow and Cardiff. Again, huge.
Estimated to play in front of more than 75,000 fans over the course of the limited run, this will, without doubt, be one of their biggest tours to date anywhere, and if you haven’t listened to them before now might be the time.
It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure, but if you’re into your heavier stuff and want to hear a band doing stuff like very few other artists on the planet are right now, maybe give them a go.
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Tickets for Sleep Token’s 2024 UK tour and their Manchester gig go on general sale this Friday, 9 February at 10am and you can grab yours HERE, or you can go for presale by signing up to the mailing list from Wednesday, 7 Feb.
We know we say this a lot but, trust us, these things are going to sell out in the blink of an eye.
Rising heavy metal band Spiritbox announce biggest-ever Manchester gig
Danny Jones
Rising rock band Spiritbox have just announced their first-ever Manchester arena gig, which will be their largest show to date in the city.
Listing a number of UK shows on their upcoming European leg, which is set to be the biggest headline tour of their career thus far, the British Columbians are on fire right now.
As one of the hottest heavy, progressive and metalcore outfits on the planet at the moment, Spiritbox were founded back in 2017 and have gone on to generate one of the fastest-growing global followings in the alternative scene.
Now nearly a decade into their career, they’re returning to Britain for some truly massive dates – including a fair few maiden visits to some huge venues.
JUST ANNOUNCED: Spiritbox Wednesday 16 September
They bring their biggest UK headline show yet to Co-op Live.https://t.co/LNtmWDYoYT@coopuk members get first in line for tickets. Co-op Member Presale: 10:00 Wednesday 25 February General Sale: 10:00 Friday 27 February pic.twitter.com/Hvos7mfqEa
Fronted by the incredibly versatile vocals of lead singer Courtney LaPlante, Spiritbox started out as a duo – after Courtney and guitarist Mike Stringer left their former band, ‘Iwrestledabearonce‘ – but have now doubled in terms of personnel.
Now flanked by bassist Josh Gilbert and drummer Zev Rose, the pair have turned the group into an absolute powerhouse, with a big fan base not only in North America but across mainland Europe as well.
The ferocious four-piece finally dropped their second studio LP, Tsunami Sea, last March, following the success of their hugely popular first album, Eternal Blue, back in September 2021.
It’s been a whirlwind journey since that breakout record, having since gone on to play some of the biggest festival stages around, including Reading and Leeds, Download and the Rock am Ring (Nürburgring) in Germany.
Being joined by Ukrainian contemporaries Jinjer and their US metalcore cousins Dying Wish throughout the run, it’s going to be an absolute rager.
Set to support their most recent release, there’ll be a lot of their sophomore outing in the setlist, but you can guarantee all of their biggest hits on the night, too.
Coming to Co-op Live for an inaugural performance on 16 September, Co-op members get early access as usual, but Spiritbox fans can also sign up to presale via their dedicated mailing list.
As for general admission tickets, as you can see above, they will be made available from 10am this Friday, 27 February.
Oh, and speaking of Canadian artists, they’re not the only big rock band making their Co-op Live debut -only this lot have been around for more than five decades…
‘Hefty’ Foo Fighters ticket prices for surprise Manchester gig divide opinion
Danny Jones
Foo Fighters fans, gig-goers and all-round music lovers in general have been left up in arms after the legendary American rock band announced some surprise shows in the UK and Ireland – including here in Manchester – as ticket prices have labelled ‘shameful’ by some.
In case you missed the news that sent us here in Manchester and all over the nation into bedlam, Foo Fighters recently revealed they would be playing just a handful of shows up and down the country, all at smaller venues than their usual arena tour dates.
Sharing the news fairly last-minute over the weekend, with tickets going on sale this past Sunday and (shock) selling out almost immediately, many have taken issue with the band’s and/or promoters’ approach to the event.
While lots have revelled in the excitement of a show scheduled for this week being dropped on our laps in the eleventh hour, lots of others feel the price point for the tickets is ‘ridiculous’.
Although they’re not quite on the level of the controversial Oasis/Harry Styles sagas, at £99 including all fees, they’re still up there with the most expensive gig tickets venues like these will ever charge.
Most poignantly, the tickets were sold strictly in person via the box office, with fans queuing up outside a trio of venues.
Taking place at the O2 Ritz, which has a capacity of roughly 1,500, the Foo Fighters’ Manchester date is not only one of the most in-demand gigs, but also promises to be one of their sweatiest – and, apparently, most divisive.
For some, this is a very cool bit of marketing and at least an attempt to curb online ticket touts, plus helping support live music spaces directly; on the other hand, the significant fee remains a sticking point they refuse to move past.
Responding in the comments underneath the post by the Ritz, one person wrote: “That ticket price is f****** disgusting. It’s not costing them f*** all to play there, if Harry Styles can play the Co-op Live for £20 then they should”; another simply added, “99 quid is wild, do better.”
Safe to say it has split opinions across the board.
i really want to know who is paying £100 to see foo fighters at o2 academy ritz and what they do for work to justify that
Big fan of the foo fighters but having only in person tickets and then still charging £100 is a joke. Then to move other bands earlier to slot them in isn’t fair
As you can see, it’s also affected other acts set to play these same rooms this month, too.
Others have also doubted whether the ‘face value exchange’ tactic really works all that much, as a few people on social media reported having already found a number of tickets being listed on resale on certain platforms.
What do you make of artists charging these kinds of prices for exclusive one-off shows like this, or the cost of gig tickets in general these days?
Better yet, did any of you succeed in grabbing tickets to see Foo Fighters at the Ritz here in Manchester this Friday, 27 February?
Danny Jones -
5th February 2024 
