The Black Keys have just announced a huge arena show here in Manchester, which will form part of the new Co-op Live arena’s opening week.
The multi-Grammy Award-winning rock band will be performing at the venue very soon, with the show taking place on 27 April 2024.
The acclaimed duo have been behind hit songs like Lonely Boy, Gold On The Ceiling, and Howlin’ For You.
They already have 11 studio album behind them, with a 12th – Ohio Players – set for release early next month.
The Black Keys’ latest album will feature collaborations with names including Noel Gallagher, Beck, Greg Kurstin, Dan “The Automator” Nakamura and more.
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The band are going to be one of the very first artists to perform at Co-op Live, which will be the UK’s largest live entertainment arena when it’s officially opened by Peter Kay on 23 and 24 April.
The rest of the venue’s opening season will be packed with more than 30 artists across 50 shows, including a seven-night Take That residency, a five-night UK exclusive residency as part of The Eagles’ final ever tour, Barry Manilow’s only UK arena show and Eric Clapton’s first Manchester performance in 10 years.
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The venue was also recently announced as the host venue for the 2024 MTV EMAs, which will see the biggest names in music flock to the city for the first time.
Gary Roden, executive director and general manager at Co-op Live, said: “We are thrilled that a band of The Black Keys’ calibre will be taking to the stage.
“The show will be part of an amazing week of performances that kicks off a jam-packed opening season.Tina – The Tina Turner Musical is coming to Manchester on first-ever UK tour
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“At Co-op Live our aim is to bring world-class talent to a city that lives and breathes music, and this line up epitomises that ambition. With our doors opening in a matter of weeks, we can’t wait to welcome the world to Co-op Live.”
When it launches next month, the state-of-the-art arena will have capacity for 23,500 gig-goers, with an innovative music-first design and 32 bars, restaurants and lounges around the site.
The huge venue stands beside the Etihad Stadium and is a joint venture between Oak View Group and City Football Group.
It also has a ‘smart bowl’ design that will bring gig-goers closer to the artist, and there’ll be no corporate branding to detract from the spectacle on stage.
Co-op members will gain first-in-line access to The Black Keys tickets through a designated presale from 10am on Wednesday 6 March 2024.
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General sale tickets for The Black Keys show in Manchester will be available through See Tickets from 10am on Friday 8 March 2024.
A rave in a chippy is happening in Greater Manchester this weekend
Daisy Jackson
We have always loved a weekend trip to the chippy, but that trip might look a little different this week – because there’s a rave going on inside.
A collective of local DJs will be putting their decks alongside the fryers at one of Manchester’s top-rated fish and chip shops, Chips @ No. 8 in Prestwich.
The one-off event is part of the latest instalment of Love Dose, which has been hosting parties all over the North for more than a decade.
This week, Love Dose will be upstairs in Cuckoo until the early hours, with a number of DJs playing alongside special guest Simba.
Before the main event kicks off in Cuckoo though, they’ve announced a pre-party at Chips @ No. 8 to get warmed up.
“You’ve seen the recent trend of parties popping over in coffee shops, why not a chippy!?” they said.
Kerrie DJing at a previous Love Dose rave
Love Dose was founded back in 2012 and is run by Ste Evans, Ste Nalty and Pete Asiaw, DJs who all live around Prestwich.
They said: “We’ve always loved the vibe at Chips@No8 and thought it would be a great pre party spot.”
Previous Love Dose events have taken place everywhere from warehouses and rooftops to disused car garages and even a prison.
They’ve also appeared in legendary local venues like Hidden, Ramona and The White Hotel (before it was known as The White Hotel).
Once they finish with the chippy rave, it’ll be over to Cuckoo to dance into the early hours.
Love Dose is promising quality beats to go with your batter from 5pm til 8pm on Saturday 1 November.
Bloc Party and Interpol announce exclusive co-headline tour and a pair of Manchester gigs
Danny Jones
In an increasingly rare kind of announcement, Bloc Party and Interpol have announced a co-headline tour across the UK and Europe, and Manchester is lucky enough to be getting two dates.
How the pair of shows may differ from night to night remains to be seen, but it feels like it’s been a good long while since we last heard about two acts doubling on gigs in this kind of way.
Officially confirmed on Halloween, both Bloc Party and Interpol revealed the plans for the collaborative shows on each of their social media channels, leaving most fans delighted and plenty crying out for dates in their own cities.
It might be only a small thing, but we really enjoyed how they announced the joint performances with two different twists on the same tour poster.
It might be more of just a colour variation than two different bits of artwork, but little stuff like this is always cool. (Credit: Supplied)
As two groups that soundtracked a very distinct period and era for alternative and indie rock, some would argue that you couldn’t find a more suitable fit of contemporaries.
Having both carved out their own corner of the music industry 2000s, Bloc Party‘s breakout debut, Silent Alarm, and Interpol’s seminal sophomore album, Antics, were two of the most seminal and definitive records in the scene at the time.
With that in mind, getting the pair not only back on the road to play the hits and more but doing it together at some of the most exciting venues in the country and on the continent is quite the coup.
Props to whoever came up with the idea, seriously.
Speaking of that landmark second LP from Interpol, the New York-formed indie and post-punk revivalists last played Manchester back in November as part of the release’s 20th anniversary at the O2 Apollo.
Daisy Jackson -
4th March 2024 
