Rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie has confirmed that his cancelled Co-op Live gig has now been moved to Manchester’s AO Arena this weekend.
After suddenly being lined up as the venue’s first official gig after the postponement of both Peter Kay and The Black Keys, the American hip-hop artists’ show ended up going the same as the others previously scheduled for the new arena and being pulled at the last minute.
With guests being turned away from the still-yet-to-open Co-op Live Arena just hours before the show was set to start, and Olivia Rodrigo fans being given the same unfortunate news ahead of her gig this Saturday, ABWDH has taken matters into his own hands.
Announcing the rescheduling of his concert on X, the 28-year-old artist confirmed that Wednesday night’s gig has now been relocated to Co-op’s main rival, the AO Arena.
Yesterday's canceled Manchester show has been Rescheduled for this Saturday at AO Arena! We won't give up that easy let's go!
The switch to the AO comes after A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie issued a statement admitting he was ‘heated’ about the situation.
Set to take place on Saturday, the artist – which just so happens to be his first name (yes, seriously) – had a simple message for his fans: “We won’t give up that easy, let’s go!”.
Nevertheless, it hasn’t stopped the venue – which is set to become the UK’s biggest indoor entertainment venue and one of the largest in Europe when it finally does open – from announcing more events over the coming months and well into 2025.
Confirming the show on their social pages, the AO simply promised, “It’s going to be a brilliant night and we can’t wait to see you all here.”
We’re excited to welcome @ArtistHBTL and his fans to AO Arena this Saturday. 💛 It’s going to be a brilliant night and we can’t wait to see you all here. ⚡️ More ticket info will be available in due course. pic.twitter.com/Q9LKGU6RND
The AO Arena has hosted some of the biggest names in the entire world in the course of its existence and recently underwent a £50m refurbishment that included the launch of The Mezz.
Safe to say this presents an interesting twist in events when so many people have been pitting the two venues against one another.
Question marks have been hanging over whether more upcoming gigs, like Keane on Sunday 5 May, and then a five-night run of gigs from Take That will still be able to go ahead.
It remains to be seen whether other artists will follow suit in moving their shows should more cancellations/postponements be announced.
You can recap everything that’s happened so far down below:
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | August 2025
Danny Jones
2025 has been a belting year for music so far, be it legendary bands getting back together, veterans getting back in the studio, or rising new stars in the making, making waves – and Manchester has been right at the centre of all of it.
In case you’ve not found yourself on this site at this particular time of the month before, let’s give you a quick rundown: every few weeks, just before turning over another page on the calendar, we round up some of the best music we’ve heard from artists in and around Manchester.
Very much a Ronseal deal, we know.
Get your ‘add to playlist’ thumb at the ready and prepare to dive into yet more marvellous local music, both new and old.
New Manchester music we’ve been listening to – August 2025
Let’s start things off with one of the most heartwarming, albeit frustrating, stories of an independent musician just trying to make it in an industry that is already challenging enough without having your tour van full of gear nicked. Sigh…
We’re talking about Michael Gallagher, who not too long ago upped sticks from Hartlepool in the North East and made his way to Manchester city centre, bringing a nice brand of upbeat, radio-friendly indie music with him. He’s actually been at it since 2018, but more people are taking more notice of late.
If you enjoy artists like Circa Waves, early Declan McKenna and Vistas; Pigeon Detectives or pretty much most mainstream indie bands of the past decade or so, you’ll love this lad – we certainly do. Our top picks include ‘Hannah’, ‘Rum & Raisin’, and since ‘Pour Me Another’ is dedicated to our shared love of the black stuff, we couldn’t not include that one.
2. Foxglove
The budding Manchester group have more music coming in 2025. (Credit: Foxglove via Facebook)
Fancy some euphoric indie and alt pop with vocals that would suit pretty much any genre, if you ask? We’d recommend giving Foxglove a go. With Abi White’s infectious vocals, brothers Ryan and Liam Croney hit all the familiar and classic Manc-coded notes on guitar and drums, plus Joe Myers’ trusty bass-playing, we’re tipping them for a big year.
We also love how the city has played as the backdrop to all of their artwork thus far – it really does ground those tuneful guitars and the twinkly overtones of their sound into a romantic, rose-tinted Mancunian lens.
They’re kicking on 2025 too and following the release of ‘Busy Beach’ (which we’ve had on repeat for most of the month), we’re enjoying seeing how the style can shift from the likes of the UKG-reminiscent, ‘Tell Me A Story’; we don’t mind admitting we’re pretty keen on their latest single, ‘Lost’, too.
3. Doves
Now, they should* need no introduction, but we sometimes find that Doves still go under the radar as one of those bands that plenty of people have been exposed to without quite realising that their music belongs to them. Quite often the way with bands who got going in that era, we’ve found.
Sharing some similarities to The 1975 in having met at school in Wilmslow, the Manchester band were spawned after Jez and Andy Williams met bassist Jimi Goodwin; fast forward the best of three decades later and the alternative rock veterans still have such an enchanting and enigmatic style about them.
We’ve always gone in for their moodier numbers like ‘Snowden’, so it’s no surprise we’re a little obsessed with their newest atmospheric number, ‘Lean Into The Wind’, but as one of those artists people often realise they’ve heard countless times without realising who it is, you can’t go wrong with their biggest hit:
The long-standing Manchester band are heading on their first tour in 15 years with new music to boot.
4. Better Joy
Penultimately, we’re sticking Manchester-based alt pop project, Better Joy, in at number four. If, like us, you like immersing yourself in quiet, introspective nights spent tethered to headphones, you’re going to love this one.
Led by singer Bria Keely, you can expect nods to everything from The Cure and the Cocteau Twins to Pale Waves and plenty from the 80s in general. From ‘plugged in’ to ‘quiet thing’, you get slightly different flavours each time. We also like her cover of ‘You Get What You Give‘ by one-hit wonders, New Radicals; she even recreated the album cover. Her new EP, at dusk, drops on Halloween, too, so we’re keeping our eyes peeled for what’s next.
She’s also one of several artists playing an up-and-coming new music showcase over in Stockport; in fact, she’s headlining local music mag and promoter, The Rodeo‘s stage at the stunning St Mary’s Church as the magical venue continues to attract more live gigs. Her new EP, at dusk, drops on Halloween, too, so keep your eyes peeled.
Is she technically a Manc, no? Do we care? No. She moved here as a teenager to pursue her dream of becoming a musician – just like Michael – and besides sharing Irish roots (and no, stop right there: he shares no connection to Oasis), she’s also an example of how hard work pays off eventually.
The ‘Duboyne Diana’ has gone from arriving here from County Meath as part of a two-piece band and becoming a bit of a cult hero around these parts, so much so that she’s just sold out two whole nights headlining O2 Victoria Warehouse after stunning at Glasto 2025. An icon in the making.
We’re going to start you off with some of her biggest hits: current favourite, ‘Take A Sexy Picture of Me’, the ever wonderful ‘I Wanna Be a Cowboy, Baby!’, and sorry, but if you thought we were going to overlook the fact that she’s got a track called ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’, you’d be dead wrong.
As always, we’re more than happy to be directed to more new music coming out of Greater Manchester, and with less than half the year remaining, let’s make our 2025 listening as memorable as possible.
A new music showcase is taking place at a beautiful and historic Stockport venue
Danny Jones
A new live showcase is coming to Stockport town centre as part of a wider music, art and cultural celebration next month.
And by new, we mean the artists; if you went to the last edition, you’ll know it delivers some serious talent.
Teaming up with the likes of Manchester-based music magazine and promoters, The Rodeo, as well as ticketing platform Skiddle, Stockport is set to welcome the return of Mercury Climbing Festival.
This week-long celebration of music, art and culture around parts of the Greater Manchester borough’s historic old town, and there are some exciting names on board already.
As for Mercury Climbing 2025 itself, the multi-day festival spread across several locations boasts the best in native and Northern music, visual arts, and comedy.
Popping up across a total of eight different spaces, including the likes of the brand-new Stockroom, pubs, and headline music venue St Mary’s Church – quietly one of the coolest places we’ve ever seen a gig – you have plenty of reason to be excited about this one.
Speaking of St Mary’s, while artists such as local legends Badly Drawn Boy, Manc indie outfit The Covasettes and Riding The Low – fronted by actor Paddy Considine – are set to play the stunning ceremonial space, The Rodeo is also hosting its own dedicated stage at the church.
Highlighting emerging new talent on Saturday, 20 September, Manchester-based solo indie project Better Joy is set to headline, with Denver County Council (who featured on our Manc artists of the month round-up), Henry Webb-Jenkins, Katie & the Bad Sign, plus more to be announced in support.
The last time we saw a ‘Live at St Mary’s’ event, we can’t stress this enough: it was nothing short of an unforgettable experience.
You don’t get to enjoy a ‘religious’ gig experiences like this often…
Taking place from Friday, 19-26 September, the festival as a whole will transform Stockport’s historic Old Town into a vibrant cultural hub.
And it isn’t just music: there are local food and drink traders getting involved, artwork from the one and only Stanley Chow, as well as plenty of other entertainment.
Above all else, the event is not only steeped in SK and Greater Manchester’s rich heritage, but it’s a great way of supporting new art coming out of the region.
The Rodeo’s St Mary’s stage gets underway from 4pm and is scheduled to finish at 10:30pm, but the wider Mercury Climbing programme is an all-day festival that won’t end until late. You can grab your tickets right HERE.
Danny Jones -
2nd May 2024 
