The AO Arena welcomed Andy Burnham and Blossoms today to celebrate the completion of its £50m redevelopment.
As the biggest indoor venue in the UK and one of the busiest in the world, the AO Arena is now working to even further elevate the guest experience, from start to finish.
Its huge investment has seen new features added like an increased standing floor capacity in the arena bowl itself, a brand new lower concourse bar area with capacity for 6,000 (plus new bars in the main concourse), and new entrances to make getting in and out of the arena the quickest in Europe.
Then there is the crowning jewel at the AO Arena, its new bar and restaurant The Mezz, set to open in March, which will welcome a new partnership with chefs Simon Rogan MBE and Tom Barnes of soon-to-open Skof.
To mark its monumental redevelopment, the AO Arena invited Stockport legends Blossoms to place their hands in cement on the concourse, leaving their mark permanently on the city’s most iconic venue.
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Blossoms said: “When the AO Arena opened again after Covid, we were the first band to play a gig here. We’re excited to celebrate the official topping out of the redevelopments and look forward to seeing what the future AO Arena has to offer.”
The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham was also in attendance to celebrate the landmark moment, speaking of all the shows he’s seen over the years (Taylor Swift, Katy Perry and Elbow all highlights, apparently).
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The improvements to the venue aren’t just on a fan level either – work has also included a complete back of house overhaul including an artist green room, dressing rooms and crew facilities.
Andy Burnham and Blossoms attended the AO Arena today to celebrate the completion of its £50m transformation. Credit: SuppliedBlossoms placed their handprints in cement and spoke at the AO Arena today to celebrate the completion of its £50m transformation. Credit: Supplied
AO has also announced it is extending its naming rights partnership of the 21,000 capacity, 30-year-old venue all the way into 2030.
The AO Arena’s £50m transformation includes a new VIP entrance, a members only bar and restaurant, a brand new lower concourse, an improved focus on customer safety measures, and full wall wraps highlighting the venue’s iconic milestones.
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On the concourse, there’ll be a brand new food and drink offering, including handcrafted burgers, salt and pepper chicken and accompanying vegan options including smash meat-free burgers with vegan smoked applewood and vegan loaded fries, as well as vegan bratwurst with sauerkraut in a vegan brioche bun topped with crispy onions and served with vegan chilli cheese sauce.
Over the years, the AO Arena has welcomed the biggest names in music and sport, such as Prince, Elton John, New Order, The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Billie Eilish, Oasis, Dua Lipa and The Courteeners, plus of course Peter Kay’s record-breaking 50+ date residency (which is still ongoing, by the way…), and has also played host to The Commonwealth Games, The Davis Cup, boxing bouts with Mike Tyson, Anthony Joshua, Ricky Hatton and much more.
Visited by more than one million people each year, the AO Arena is promising this will be its best year yet, raising tens of thousands of pounds and giving hundreds of hours to local community projects.
And coming up this year alone there’ll be more Peter Kay Live, The 1975, Bill Bailey, Niall Horan, Ne-Yo, and plenty more to be announced.
Miles Kane announces massive European tour, with multiple big Northern gigs
Danny Jones
Miles Kane has just announced a massive UK and European tour and has listed a healthy number of Northern dates for us to enjoy.
TOP la’.
The Merseyside musician recently released his latest album, Sunlight In The Shadows, and it’s gone down a treat with fans a critics alike; you can consider our Audio North firmly in the camp, too.
His sixth studio LP to date, the record was produced by the prolific Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, and sees psychedelia rolled into classic rock and more, with plenty of the usual Miles Kane swagger that we’re looking forward to hearing live.
At 39 years old – and looking incredible for it, by the way – we constantly have to remind ourselves that the Birkenhead hero is no longer the unsung underdog that we first fell in love with, but is now arguably one of the coolest and iconic artists to come out of the North West in the past decades or so.
Confirming a dozen domestic dates, including one supporting Kasabian at Finnsbury Park in London next summer, Kane is due to play a total of 37 gigs across Britain and mainland Europe in 2026.
That being said, with a pair of sensational shows scheduled for Sheffield‘s Crookes Social Club alone (a cult favourite 500-cap venue), we’re hoping even more gigs will be added as we expect the demand for this tour to be just a huge as the run itself.
Note there is currently no Liverpool on the list…
More cause for excitement is the fact that, as well as East Yorkshire singer-songwriter Fiona-Lee joining as the tour opener, the other main support act is Villanelle, fronted by Liam Gallagher’s son Gene.
Other chosen cities up in the best end of the country include Newcastle, Leeds, Glasgow and, of course, us lot here in Manchester.
Mancs will be treated to what we guarantee will be a sell-out show at the beloved Albert Hall on Saturday, 31st January.
UK & EU Tour 2026
Sign up to the mailing list by tomorrow, Tuesday 28th 11pm GMT for pre-sale access.
Pre-sale opens Wednesday 29th 10am GMT. General on sale Friday 31st 10am GMT.
There’s nothing like a tour announcement for next year when most of the gigs are slated for the first few months, don’t you think? Suddenly, the early but dark days of 2026 don’t sound so bad.
Speaking on the new material, he said: “All roads, over 20 years, have led here. Dan and I love mixing T. Rex, Motown and The Easybeats, and the result is this record.”
“When we were chatting and sharing references, we were so similar in taste it was frightening and you can hear that shared passion through the music. I can’t wait to take it out on the road. It’s an album that needs to be played live.”
We actually had the pleasure of chatting to Miles ahead of the upcoming UK and EU tour ourselves recently, and if you already thought the Kane clothing style was the peak of chic, you’re absolutely right – keep your eyes out for when the full interview drops soon.
As for tickets to see Miles Kane on the road, fans can sign up to his mailing list by 11pm GMT this Tuesday, 28 October, for exclusive pre-sale access, which will open from 10am the following day, and you can get ready to grab general admission when they go live at the same time on Friday, 31 Oct HERE.
Featured Images – Press shots (supplied)/The Manc Group
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Gig tickets, signed merch and more up for grabs in important Headstock charity fundraiser
Daisy Jackson
Some huge music-related prizes have been announced as part of a major charity fundraising campaign for the music industry.
Headstock, a Manchester-based music and mental health social enterprise, is running a Crowdfunder campaign with prizes including tickets to huge arena shows, signed merch, and loads more.
Headstock has announced the campaign to raise funds for the support of MUSIC 85258, a 24/7 confidential text support service launched last year to support those working in the music industry.
The text support service is run in partnership with Music Minds Matter and delivered by Shout.
Headstock’s mission since its inception has been to deliver music-led solutions to tackle the growing mental health crisis, both within the music industry and beyond.
The dedicated mental health text support service has already drummed up loads of support, including being signposted back-of-house in key venues like the AO Arena, Co-op Live, and Warehouse Project.
Now, Headstock is running a fundraiser campaign to keep this vital service thriving, pulling together some major prizes across multiple prize draws.
These prizes have been donated by local Manchester bands and venues, and include VIP Parklife tickets, VIP to shows at the AO Arena and Co-op Live, season passes for WHP, and signed merch from the likes of Elbow, Courteeners and New Order.
To enter each prize draw, make a donation to the Crowdfunder – the bigger your donation, the more entries you will receive.
You can see all the prizes up for grabs and make a donation below – or you can just donate to Headstock HERE.
All the prizes in the Headstock fundraiser
Aitch – A pair of tickets to see Aitch’s headline show at Mayfield Depot + 4x signed albums – HERE
Parklife – 2x pairs of VIP tickets to Parklife 2026 – HERE
All money raised will be donated to mental health charity, Shout, who deliver MUSIC 85258 – a free, confidential and 24/7 text support service for anyone working within the music industry.
MUSIC 85258 is a de-escalation service for anyone working in the music industry who is struggling with their mental health. It is a partnership between Headstock, Music Minds Matter and Shout, with Mental Health Innovations providing the underlying service through Shout’s network of trained volunteers. To use the service, anyone that is struggling simply needs to text the word “MUSIC” to 85258 to connect with a volunteer for in-the-moment support.
Daisy Jackson -
24th January 2024 
