Manchester’s outdoor gig series Sounds of the City is wrapping up, with Two Door Cinema Club set to take to the stage tonight.
The rockers, one of the biggest indie bands of the 2010s, will be performing at the beautiful canal-side venue on Sunday 9 July 2023.
The Northern Irish band Two Door Cinema Club shot to success with their debut album Tourist History in 2010, which included singles Something Good Can Work and Undercover Martyn.
Arguably their best-known song is What You Know, a staple on nightclub dance floors for more than a decade.
They then went on to release three more studio albums, Beacon, Gameshow, and False Alarm, each reaching the top 10 of the UK albums chart, before dropping their fifth album Keep On Smiling.
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So there’ll be plenty for them to work with at Castlefield Bowl tonight.
They’ve burst back on to the scene in recent weeks with new single Friends of Mine, with their third studio album, Better Luck Next Time, due for release this autumn.
Welsh indie rockers The Royston Club will be opening up the show, hot off the back of supporting Blossoms.
As always, these are subject to change, but here are the stage times for Two Door Cinema Club.
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5.30pm – Doors open 5.30pm – DJ 6.45pm – The Royston Club 7.45pm – Sundara Karma 9pm – Two Door Cinema Club
What’s the expected set list?
Here’s Two Door Cinema Club’s set list from their gig this week at Crystal Palace Park, and we’ll probably get something similar in Manchester tonight.
This Is the Life I Can Talk Are We Ready? (Wreck) Undercover Martyn Eat That Up, It’s Good for You Wonderful Life Come Back Home Talk Changing of the Seasons Next Year Do You Want It All? Lucky What You Know Costume Party Someday Cigarettes in the Theatre Sun Sleep Alone Something Good Can Work
Weather forecast at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
Blossoms at Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
…. pack a rain coat.
It’s looking a bit soggy down at Castlefield Bowl tonight, with a chance of thunder storms across Manchester.
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The Met Office is currently predicting a 60% chance of rain at around 8pm, with 30% chance the rest of the time.
It will be quite warm though, with highs of 21 degrees and lows of 14.
About Castlefield Bowl
Castlefield Bowl is an amphitheatre-style outdoor venue in the city centre.
Although all tickets are billed as unreserved standing, if you’re quick you can take a seat on the large concrete steps that curve around the stage.
Many people also take a perch up on the grassy banks at the back of the venue too.
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Castlefield Bowl is located at 101 Liverpool Road in the city centre.
The closest tram stop is Deansgate-Castlefield, which is only a six-minute walk away.
You can also walk it from the major train stations, or use the 101, 197, 255, 256, 41, 50 or X50 buses.
Antony Szmeirek announces second album along with biggest UK tour dates yet
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester spoken word artist Antony Szmeirek has finally revealed the name, cover art and release date for his second album, along with his biggest run of UK tour dates yet.
The Tameside teacher turned full-time artist dropped his maiden record, Service Station at the End of the Universe, back in February 2025, and now, just over a year on from its launch, he’s getting ready to deliver his highly anticipated follow-up.
Entitled Decoding Birdsong, the sophomore studio project is scheduled for this summer, with a series of live shows booked for the following autumn.
Having already dropped lead single ‘The Heron’ earlier this year, Szmeirek has just released the opener from his upcoming LP, which is simply called ‘Chalk’; he’s also unveiled the rest of the tracklist and a rather striking bit of album artwork.
The Hyde-born artist is making big moves not only within the spoken word space but across multiple genres, with his music blending everything from indie, hip-hop, electronica and more.
His latest song, for instance, is more of an acid-house-esque meets contemporary EDM outing, and has quickly gone down as a popular addition among fans.
On the album name itself, he’s never one to shy away from a weird title or two – case in point, ‘The Great Pyramid of Stockport’ from his debut and ‘Dave’s Angling Superstore’ on this new record.
The 34-year-old carries that same idiosyncrasy throughout his lyricism and creative concepts, as well.
‘Chalk’ is a perfect example of this, as the song is inspired by The Edge of Everything documentary: a film about the career of legendary British snooker player, Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Here’s the music video…
As for his latest raft of live shows, these will be some of the biggest domestic gigs that the local lad has played in his career so far.
In addition to a pair of hometown shows here in Manchester, he is set to play a dozen different cities across Great Britain and Ireland.
Antony Szmierek UK/IE tour dates – October 2026
We’ve highlighted the Northern stops for you, too:
Featured Images — Press shots via Zak Watson (supplied via SJM Concerts)
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Pussycat Dolls cancel wave of tour dates due to poor ticket sales
Daisy Jackson
Pussycat Dolls have finally addressed the swirling rumours that they would be cancelling their upcoming PCD Forever world tour.
The girl group announced a major comeback as a trio – Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts – and their biggest international run in years.
The new Pussycat Dolls tour included a significant run of shows in Europe, including a Manchester date at Co-op Live.
But now it appears the rumours of low demand are true, and the group are cancelling an entire leg of their world tour – though thankfully, Manchester appears to have made it through safely.
In an open letter shared with fans, Pussycat Dolls said that they have had to take ‘an honest look’ at the tour and have made ‘the difficult and heartbreaking decision’ to cancel a number of concerts.
The Buttons singers will now play just one of their scheduled dates in North America, which will be the WeHo Pride event in LA, acknowledging the importance of performing at the LGBTQ+ celebration.
Addressing rumours that European dates would also be cancelled, they wrote: “Our UK and European dates are still moving forward as planned, and the response has been incredible, with several shows already sold out.
“We are putting everything into making this show a true celebration of the music and the memories, for the fans who have been with us from the beginning and those discovering us for the first time.
“We’re working hard to create the kind of show we’ve always dreamed of bringing to you. We cannot wait to bring this reunion to Europe and make these nights unforgettable.”
Pussycat Dolls signed off: “Thank you for your love, patience, and support.”
Daisy Jackson -
9th July 2023 
