American rockers The National have been confirmed as the latest act on the Sounds of the City 2024 lineup at Castelfield Bowlin July.
The legendary alt-dad-rockers, as we like to think of them, have officially been named as the next artist for the annual summer festival right here in Manchester city centre, joining the likes of Tom Grennan, Manic Street Preachers, Jungle, Suede and more.
With a Grammy award win and countless other nominations to their name down the years, The National has become one of the best-loved contemporary rock and indie outfits around the globe and now they’re making their Sounds of the City debut in front of roughly 8,000 Mancs.
These lads have been around for over two decades now and have just released their 10th studio album this past September. They show no signs of slowing down and will no doubt light up Manchester’s iconic Castlefield Bowl as they have done countless other arenas and amphitheatres.
We are pleased to announce some additional tour dates for Summer 2024.
Tickets for all shows go on sale Friday, 17th November at 10AM GMT, except Milan and Rome which go on sale Thursday, 16th November at 10AM GMT. pic.twitter.com/FqG58cMVpf
The National confirm Castlefield Bowl and Sounds of the City debut in 2024.
Announcing the show as part of their current tour which kicked off this November at home in the States, this latest leg is promoting the new record, Laugh Track: a surprise release which comes just a couple of couple of months after their previous project, First Two Pages of Frankenstein, which dropped in July.
While the band confirmed the songs were all written at the same time, the five-piece has insisted that if the last album “represented a rebuilding of trust between us after 20+ years together, Laugh Track is both the product of that faith and a new statement of intent.”
In a continued sea change for the group, the new record features some seriously cool feature artists including Phoebe Bridgers and Rosanne Cash (daughter of country legend, Johnny) — two very exciting names to follow up the equally surprising collaboration with Taylor Swift.
All that being said, these lads will be putting on anything but a ‘Slow Show’ and it’s safe to say that if you miss out, everybody else will be there.
General sale for The National at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl for Sounds of the City 2024 goes live at 10am on Friday, 17 November, adding to an already stacked month of mega live music here in 0161.
Stevie Wonder at Co-op Live, Manchester – tickets, times, setlist and more for UK tour
Thomas Melia
Yes, your ‘Superstition’ is correct: an icon is in our midst, because Stevie Wonder is heading to Manchester for a massive headline show.
Grab your ‘Part Time Lover’ and get ready to tell them, ‘You Are the Sunshine of My Life’; for one night only, theStevie Wonder is coming to town.
Not that this recording artist needs any introduction, but the pop, soul, R’n’B, funk and jazz superstar is well and truly one of the greatest living performers of all time, and his love for the UK and our city, in particular, dates far back.
His other most notable Manc concert took place over a decade and a half ago at AO Arena in 2010, but now he’s back for a debut at our newest and biggest indoor entertainment venue.
This is going to be a very special evening and one that’s likely to have fans ‘Cryin’ Through The Night’.
His career skyrocketed when he burst onto the music scene and the charts by becoming the youngest recording artist to reach the top spot at 12 years old with ‘Fingertips Part II’ in the US back in 1963.
Now, Stevie Wonder is polishing the keys on his glossy piano and warming up his vocal cords to sign, seal and deliver you an unforgettable performance to the 23,500 crowd of Co-op Live.
Stevie Wonder gig guide – all the key info
Stevie Wonder is heading to Co-op Live in Manchester on 5 July.Credit: Supplied
Stevie Wonder UK tour dates
Thu 3 July – Lytham St. Annes, UK – Lytham Green Festival
Sat 5 July – Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
Mon 7 July – Birmingham, UK – Utilita Arena
Wed 9 July – Cardiff, UK – Blackweir Fields
Sat 12 July – London, UK – BST Hyde Park
Stevie Wonder tickets for Co-op Live gig
Of course, Wonder is a household name and securing tickets for someone who’s been soundtracking so many people’s lives from the ’60s to present day means there are a fair few fans of the icon.
However, there are still a handful of tickets left for Stevie Wonder’s upcoming Manchester gig that you can choose from HERE.
There’s even some exclusive premium tickets that will leave you feeling ‘Overjoyed’ ahead of the ‘Love, Light & Song’ show HERE.
Stevie Wonder setlist
The R&B Soul pioneer is known to change up his set lists, but this one below is taken from the Michigan stop of his US tour back in October, and contains most of the tracks you can expect the now 75-year-old hall-of-famer to play.
Can We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart
As If You Read My Mind
Master Blaster (Jammer)
Higher Ground
You Are My Sunshine
You Are the Sunshine of My Life
For Once in My Life
Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours
My Cherie Amour
Overjoyed
Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)
Feel Like Makin’ Love
You’ve Got a Friend
Something’s Coming
1999
Contusion
Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing
Love’s in Need of Love Today
Village Ghetto Land
Living for the City
Sir Duke
Isn’t She Lovely
I Just Called to Say I Love You
Superstition
My Eyes Don’t Cry
Do I Do
Another Star
Surely has to be one of his best ever, right?
What are the stage times for Stevie Wonder in Manchester?
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11 pm, so you don’t have to worry about seeing ‘Another Star’ appear in the sky; you can be tucked up under the covers before the clock strikes twelve.
There’s no official support act listed for this event, but ‘Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing’ because you’re in safe hands with the ‘Master Blaster’ who’s ready to swoon you over with hits from every decade.
How to get to Co-op Live
Tram
For those of you heading to Co-op Live, you’ll be glad to know it’s right next door to a rather famous big blue stadium and its integrated Metrolink stop.
Head along the light blue or orange lines directly to the Etihad Campus or Ashton-under-Lyne, and you can get off the tram literally spitting distance from the arena. You can find the full map HERE.
Trams run frequently on the Ashton-Eccles line to the Etihad stop, with services leaving every six minutes from the city centre and until 1:00am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Stevie Wonder takes the stage @TheCoopLive on Sat 5 July.
We have your travel Signed, Sealed and Delivered:
– Trams depart the city centre every six minutes – Etihad Campus is the closest stop – Tram works are taking place, check before you travel Visit: https://t.co/A5MJ5c7Hmbpic.twitter.com/LLpmJ80cyi
You can find the full list of bus routes HERE, with the one in closest proximity to the venue being the 53 bus, which runs from Cheetham Hill through to Higher Crumpsall, Old Trafford and Pendleton, leaving just a two-minute walk to Co-op Live. You also get free Bee Network travel with any valid event ticket.
Getting there by car and parking
If you’re driving, there is limited parking available at the venue, but this must be pre-booked ahead of time, and there are designated drop-off areas.
The postcode is M11 3DU and you can follow the signs towards the wider Etihad Campus as you get closer; directions to the adjacent drop-off points will also be signposted.
Keep in mind that congestion on the roads close to the stadium is expected to gather around two hours prior to any event, so if you are travelling on the road, these are the suggested times they provide come event day, though estimates will obviously vary:
Alan Turing Way (both directions): plan an additional 20 minutes into any journey by road.
Hyde Road (eastbound): expect an additional 15 minutes to be added to your journey.
Mancunian Way (westbound): plan for an extra 10 minutes of travel time.
There are also three park-and-ride facilities near Co-op Live, but be advised that the Velopark and Holt Town stops will be closed post-event to help safely manage crowds:
Ashton West (Ashton line) – 184 spaces and 11 disabled spaces
Ladywell (Ashton-Eccles line) – 332 spaces and 22 disabled spaces
Legendary recording artist Stevie Wonder is heading to Manchester for his ‘Love, Light & Song’ UK tour.Credit: Supplied
Walk/cycle
Lastly, Co-op Live is only a half-hour stroll from Manchester Piccadilly, and you could even walk along the canal all the way to the front door if you fancy taking the scenic route.
Greater Manchester now also offers the option to hire bikes via the Beryl app, with riders able to locate, unlock, get to their destination and then safely lock up the bike all through an easy-to-use app. There are hire points just near the south-west corner of the Etihad Stadium on Ashton New Road.
For more information on all travel options, you can check out the enhanced journey planner.
Featured Images – Publicity Pictures (via Supplied)
Audio
‘The Brand With the 3 Stripes’: adidas returns to Market Street with dedicated Manchester Oasis shop
Danny Jones
Manchester’s famous Market Street adidas store has reopened as quite possibly the most mega and, certainly, the most Manc shop on the high street– thanks to Oasis.
Amidst their already iconic collaboration with the global sports apparel name, Oasis have followed up their recently opened pop-up shop with another bold and (go on, we’ll say it) BIBLICAL building dedicated entirely to the ‘band with the three stripes’.
Or should we say brand?*…
You’ll have to have been living under an entire ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ to have missed this crossover, but it really does have to be visited in person to truly appreciate.
The Oasis x adidas shop is sure to be a big Manchester attraction in its own right. (Credit: The Manc Group)
With tonnes of memorabilia, genuine artist artefacts, a shed-load of every adidas Originals shoe model imaginable; dedicated Live ‘25 tour printing, buckets of buckets hats and simply more merch than you can shake a tambourine at, it’s a genuinely incredible space.
In fact, we’d wager you don’t even have to be a fan of the legendary Britpop band to enjoy the massively overhauled rooms.
Put it this way, if you like adidas, the effortlessly cool nature of Manc culture, or even just really, really good quality sports, street and casual-wear, you’ll get something out of this.
Besides the archive walls, photo-booth (which we spent an inordinate amount of time in) and all the other nods to Noel and Liam, there is still a standard adidas Originals floor upstairs.
With a corner still set aside for the usual football stuff, a whole wall of their different shoes with detailed explanation and story behind each type, plus even more fitting rooms.
The Market St shop is almost unrecognisable compared to what it used to be like – you kind of only recognise because it’s still in the same spot – and it really does feel akin to a home for the much-loved brand, the city that wears its logo not just like a uniform but a badge of honour, and a shrine to our Oasis.
Separate from the pop-up merch stores that have appeared over in Spinningfields, London is the only other place that will be getting a store like this, and with stocks of almost every item available quite literally selling out as fast as tickets did, this is one of the few places you’ll still find them.
With that in mind, we couldn’t help but walk away with our own customised Oasis ‘Live 25 World Tour ‘Jacquard’ football jersey, complete with our own branding on the back. Not quite on the same level as adidas or Oasis, but we’ll take it.
You’re damn right we’re framing this one… (Credit: The Manc)
We also still have a competition for you to win two tickets to see the Burnage boys in the flesh on their ‘Live 25 reunion tour this summer, so don’t forget to enter HERE.
Roll on Heaton Park and please let Oasis’ marriage with the adi-trefoil insignia ‘Live Forever’.
Danny Jones -
13th November 2023 
