The AO Arena has pretty much all but confirmed an upcoming Twenty One Pilots gig here in Manchester after teasing the band’s highly-anticipated return with a single silhouetted poster.
Yes, literally just one medium-sized poster and we’re already losing it. Well done, AO.
With the American alternative and electro-pop duo having recently confirmed the release date for their seventh studio LP, Clancy, their die-hard fan base is once again ramping up the excitement for a new album cycle.
It’s their first new music since 2021 and is set to drop on 17 May but better still, it looks like they’re already earmarking a few big gigs around the launch, as this poster appearing outside the entrance to Manchester’s AO Arena on Tuesday, 26 March.
It looks like Twenty One Pilots are coming back to Manchester — the question is when?
While the poster might look a little puzzling at first glance – just two solid black figures on a red background with some yellow writing too small to read from a distance – the poster is part of the wider imagery surrounding their new record.
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As seen above, the main album artwork for Clancy has already been revealed and features a similarly obscured pose from frontman Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, but the group began releasing other promotional visuals earlier this month.
In fact, AO Arena are by no means the only ones getting involved in the teaser campaign which many are increasingly confident is a big tour in support of new album and now thought to be fast approaching.
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As it turns out, a whole host of massive music venues all over the globe have been plastering the big poster on their walls.
Again, we’ve had nothing confirmed as yet but we’d be daft not to assume Twenty One Pilots will be touring the latest album when it lands and will no doubt be coming back to Manchester when they do so.
Regarding the new material, the lead single ‘Overcompensate’, has already arrived (great track, by the way) and the follow up called ‘Next Semester’ is expected to be released later this week as well.
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As for performing live, the band haven’t been in Manchester since the ‘The Bandito Tour’ back in 2019, so let’s just say the scramble for grabbing these tickets, still hypothetical mind, is likely to leave us Stressed Out.
RAYE at Co-op Live – tickets, times, setlist and more for Manchester shows
Thomas Melia
If you’re asking, “Baby, where the hell is my RAYE gig guide?” – fear no more: here’s everything you need to know for her Manchester shows.
This part pop, part soul, part R’n’B champion needs no explanation with seven BRIT awards, two Ivor Novello awards and a Grammy in her collection so far, it’s safe to say RAYE has made a name for herself.
Hailing from Tooting, South London, Rachel Keen, recognised by her artist moniker RAYE, has amassed 8.5 billion streams on Spotify, with almost 15 songs receiving over 100 million streams.
Her discography is one of the most distinctive, with an endless list of hits like ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’, ‘Escapism.’, ‘Prada’, ‘Worth It.’, ‘You Don’t Know Me’ all under her belt.
Now, RAYE is gearing up to play the biggest tour of her career so far, and she’s chosen to pay Manchester a visit, not once, but twice, as she performs at the 23,500 seater Co-op Live.
Gig guide | RAYE at Co-op Live, Manchester – all you need to know
RAYE is heading to Co-op Live Manchester on 17 & 18 February / Photo Credit: Callum Walker Hutchinson via Press Shot (supplied)
Anyone after witnessing RAYE and letting out all their ‘Oscar Winning Tears’ in front of this South London singer has two opportunities to do so with tickets for her two Manchester shows still available.
Thinking February 17 is the date you’d like to see RAYE in Manchester at Co-op Live, and maybe even take your friend? (Bonus points if their name is ‘Suzanne’) – tickets HERE.
February 18 sounding more like your style? Take the ‘Love of Your Life’ to watch this phenomenal artist dominate Co-op Live at her second Manchester date HERE.
Or, grab your ‘Black Mascara’ while “Sipping on Chardonnay 2016” as there’s even a couple of premium seating options courtesy of Seat Unique HERE.
RAYE setlist for 2026 tour
Credit: Sebastian Kapfhammer/Callum Walker Hutchinson via Press Shots (supplied)
If you’re reading this setlist and wondering why you don’t know some tracks, that’s because they’re from RAYE’s highly-anticipated sophomore release THIS ALBUM MAY CONTAIN NEW MUSIC.
But don’t worry, as there’s still plenty of songs from My 21st Century Blues and her decade-spanning career, too.
I Will Overcome
WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!
The Thrill Is Gone.
Skin & Bones
Suzanne
Beware the South London Lover Boy
Flip a Switch. / Decline
Five Star Hotels.
The Winter Woman
Hard Out Here
Genesis, pt. ii
Fly Me to the Moon
Worth It.
Nightingale Lane
Ice Cream Man.
I Know You’re Hurting
Oscar Winning Tears.
Click Clack Symphony
Secrets
You Don’t Know Me
Black Mascara.
Prada
Joy (with Amma and Absolutely)
Escapism.
Stage times for RAYE and her support acts at Co-op Live, Manchester
Co-op Live has a strict curfew of 11pm, meaning we can ′Buss It Down’, with this multi-talented artist and still be tucked up in bed before the early hours.
Anyone attending can expect the doors to open at 6:30pm, with a kick-off time expected to be 7:30pm, with support being a family affair as RAYE’s sisters Amma and Absolutely take to the stage.
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.
Bus
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.
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 on 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
Walk/cycle
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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 on 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 — AliyahOtchere/Callum Walker Hutchinson/Sebastian Kapfhammer(supplied)
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Matty Healy is as busy gaming as he is making a new 1975 album – and he wants to play with fans
Danny Jones
Lots of us have had some version of a ‘stuck in a room playing videogames until 3am’ period in our lives, but it turns out The 1975 frontman Matty Healy is having his right now, only right in the middle of making the band’s next album, and the game in question is ARC Raiders.
For the non-gamers among you, or even the more casual amongst you who mainly stick to the likes of Call of Duty or FIFA (sorry, EA FC*), you’ll be forgiven if you haven’t heard of ARC Raiders yet.
As for those of you who still regularly sweat it out in online lobbies, either with the boys or solo – this online shooter has quickly proved ideal for either – chances are you’ve at least considered buying it if you’re not already a ridiculous level.
Well, as it turns out, Matty Healy is one of those people, as the local lead singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer says he’s been spending most nights staying up very late in and around recording sessions on the next 1975 outing. More than that, he wants to play with fans.
That’s right, whilst he insists that the group are hard at work on their sixth studio LP, he’s also been spending a lot of time playing the third-person multiplayer game “religiously” and getting very little sleep.
In fact, as you can see in the post above, it almost been part of this album’s lifecycle and the music-making process, much to even Healy’s own surprise.
Positioned and already being reviewed as one of the best extraction advantages ‘ever’, the game by Embark Studios over in Stockholm, Sweden, is just the second-ever title by the studio, having previously made the FPS (first-person shooter) The Finals, which released early after ARC Raiders was delayed.
It’s taken the development team nearly seven years to create the game, which was initially teased as an even more ambitious project as early as 2021, and this also included a major rework after they realised they weren’t getting the kind of single-player or co-op experience they had been aiming for.
And that back-to-the-drawing-board step certainly seemed to pay off, as not only was it the most searched game of 2025, but it is already holding over 6 million weekly players online so far this year – and the Wilmslow musician is one of them.
The 36-year-old, opinionated and often opinion-splitting performer is certainly no stranger to roping in various pop culture references and aesthetics into his art, but we can’t think of many other examples where he’s made a nod to gaming. For now, this is literally as much as we have on the next ’75 LP:
Nevertheless, if you want to try and kill a few hours between instalments in their discography and you happen to dabble in the joysticks and/or a mouse and keyboard from time to time, then we’d keep an eye on that Reddit thread for updates.
Healy mentioned that he obviously doesn’t want to flood rounds and his own network with loads of traffic, but he is asking for feedback on how to make raiding the post-apocalyptic wastelands with fans possible very soon.
As much as we’d relish a famous Northerner to team up with (yes, we’re hooked as well), we’d be remiss if we didn’t remind him to GET ON WITH IT and finish this album already, as Being Funny in a Foreign Language feels like forever ago.
This is the kind of stuff we’ve been busy filling our days with whilst waiting for the next 1975 drop…
Danny Jones -
26th March 2024 
