If you’re a kid born in the 90s or noughties, get your classic Converse on, an old-school tie out of the cupboard and oversized camo pants with an unnecessary amount of zips at the ready, because pop-rock queen Avril Lavigne is coming to Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl this week.
We hope you still have some kind of emo fringe going on and a spare spiked bracelet or two lying around somewhere, but don’t worry if not – even if Avril seemingly hasn’t aged, the rest of us have.
That’s right, the 39-year-old singer-songwriter who soundtracked the youth of so many Mancs, let alone millions of others around the world, is the very first act of Sounds of the City 2024 lineup and what a way to kick things off.
On the scene since 1999, the iconic ‘Sk8er Boi’, ‘Complicated’ and ‘Girlfriend’ singer is still up there with one of the most iconic voices on the planet and getting her to play her first-ever gig at Castlefield Bowl is some coup for the festival if you ask us. Here’s everything you need to know.
Are there tickets left for Avril Lavigne at Castlefield Bowl?
Now, we’re sorry to break the news to you but Avril Lavigne‘s Greatest Hits show at this year’s Sound of the City is a sold-out event. No surprises there, really.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, when it comes to big gigs like these, there’s still the chance that you might find a few spares popping up here and there on legitimate resale sites like Twickets, Viagogo, TicketSwap etc.
That being said, we always advise due diligence when it comes to picking up second-hand tickets and we urge you to avoid ticket touts by all means necessary – they’re illegal and the only way to get rid of them as a problem in the gig industry is to ignore them altogether.
ADVERTISEMENT
Who’s supporting Avril Lavigne in Manchester?
For those of you who are going along to the show, you’re in for another early to mid-2000s treat as the Canadian pop-rock princess is joined by her fellow compatriots Simple Plan as the main support act on this tour.
Made famous by tracks like ‘I’m Just A Kid’, ‘Perfect’, ‘Welcome To My Life’ and a version of the Scooby-Doo theme (oh yeah, that one), they’ve been going almost just as long as Avril and are still releasing new music all these years later, with their last album dropping in 2022.
They even did a collab with Natasha Bedingfield over a decade ago and if you’re wondering whether you’ve heard them before, you most definitely have but, like the Lavigne, it’ll be their first time at the Bowl so you best make it a special one.
Judging simply from last year’s times, doors to Sounds of the City typically open from 5:30pm onwards and the main event headliners don’t usually start until somewhere between 8:30-9pm.
We’ll confess there’s still a bit of guesswork since details are yet to be confirmed, but you can probably expect Simple Plan to take the stage from roughly 7-7:30pm – but once again, these are always subject to change.
Don’t worry either way, we’ll update you with the final stage times as and when we get them.
The Greatest Hits setlist
As for what the timeless singer-songwriter will be playing on the night, we have the good fortune of this being a tour in support of her recently released Greatest Hits album and having just watched her smash Glastonbury set this past weekend, so we think we have a pretty good idea of the running order.
The order might be tweaked slightly but here’s a guess and what she is likely to play based on the performance at Worthy Farm:
ADVERTISEMENT
Girlfriend
What the Hell
Complicated
Here’s to Never Growing Up
My Happy Ending
He Wasn’t
Don’t Tell Me
Losing Grip
I’m With You
Bite Me
Love It When You Hate Me
Sk8er Boi
That being said, other favourite tracks like ‘He Wasn’t’, ‘Head Above Water’, ‘Rock N Roll’; ‘Keep Holding On’, ‘Smile’, ‘Bois Lie’; ‘When You’re Gone’ and ‘Nobody’s Home’ could be part of a full 20 track setlist.
Imagine how much a Yungblud guest appearance for ‘I’m A Mess’ and this version of her ultimate ballad (don’t even try to argue) would go off…
Someone get a Yungblud’s flight-tracker going right now and find out if he’s heading to Manchester.
How to get there
Castlefield Bowl (M3 4JR) is on Rice Street just down Liverpool Road which cuts off the main Deansgate strip in the city centre and you can enter Manchester’s much-loved outdoor amphitheatre via Duke or Castle Street.
It’s just a short walk from Deansgate train station or the Deansgate-Castlefield tram stop, where you’ll find regular trams running all over Greater Manchester.
If you’re driving there, Great Northern Warehouse’s (M3 4EE) car park, as well as two other NCPs near Bridgewater Hall and on Quay Street in Spinningfields.
Sounds as good as she ever has.We had a blast watching Blossoms at the bowl in 2023. Credit: Justin Higuchi (via Flickr)/The Manc Audio
Avril Lavigne rocks up to Castlefield Bowl on Wednesday, 3 July to kick off a great summer of music at Sounds of the City 2024, with the likes of Jungle, The National, Tom Grennan and more.
Aren’t we lucky to get such amazing names filing into the city for such massive shows every year?
As for Avril, we’ll see you there skater boys and girls!
Featured Images — Press Images/The Manc Group/Justin Higuchi (via Flickr)
Audio
Blossoms to play special ‘intimate’ 10th anniversary gig at The Deaf Institute, Manchester
Danny Jones
Local indie and alternative lads Blossoms have announced a special one-off anniversary show at none other than The Deaf Institute right here in Manchester.
Coming to the iconic small-cap venue this summer, the Stockport band will be marking the 10th birthday of their self-titled debut album by playing one of the smallest gig spaces in the centre, but one that was a massive milestone for them back in the day.
Now a full decade on from the breakout LP, released on 5 August 2026, Blossoms will be rolling back the years by playing the biggest hits from the record, along with a selection from the many other bangers that they’ve gone on to release since.
This is going to be one very special night for the SK natives.
We’re playing an intimate gig at The Deaf Institute on Weds 5th August to celebrate 10 years of our debut album! We’re going to record the show & release it as a special edition double CD of our new album. Pre-order it now for exclusive pre-sale access. https://t.co/ztAkh95RWspic.twitter.com/kuZNnJJBok
Blossoms have never shied away from championing their Stopfordian roots, but neither have they forgotten the city that helped establish them as one of the biggest bands in Britain.
For instance, this upcoming Deaf Institute show – which promises to be a much more intimate show than they’re used to doing these days – comes not even two years on from the mini Manc residency, when they played five nights here in Manchester over the course of a single week.
As we come up to the sixth studio project, Songs From The Wedding Cake, and already have two singles from the next release, we have no shame in admitting we still listen to those first tracks as much as ever.
With that in mind, it’ll be a surreal full circle for everyone, we’re sure, when Tom, Chaz, Myles, Josh and Joe take the stage in that hallowed hometown room with a capacity of just 250 next month; they’re even playing it EXACTLY 10 years on the precise date that maiden outing dropped: 5 August 2026.
Combine this with them pulling stunts like playing people’s weddings and popping up with a surprise set from inside a van outside 42s nightclub on Deansgate, and it’s hard to think of an artist nailing it as well as Blossoms are right now.
Fans can enjoy exclusive early access by pre-ordering the new Blossoms album on their website, and those who have already done so qualify for presale automatically – just keep an eye out for the code in your email inbox.
This limited window will open from 9:30am this Thursday, 30 July, with general admission tickets for their return to Deaf Institute going live at the same time the following Friday (31 July).
Oh, and in case you somehow missed it, they’re also set to play their biggest ever arena shows across the UK later this year, including a huge gig at Co-op Live. Find out all the info down below.
Keo play Projekts: garage and grunge revivalists crush Manchester skatepark for new music video
Danny Jones
This past Thursday evening, fast-rising rock band Keo took over Projekts MCR skatepark for a special pop-up gig and to film a brand-new music video for their latest single, ‘Pistol’, starring some of their biggest fans here in Manchester.
In fact, it didn’t take long for us to suss out that plenty of them had flocked from far and wide to be there, and let’s say we’re sure they’ll say it was worth the journey.
We caught Keo’s well-attended festival set inside the Woodlands at Kendal Calling 2025, not to mention their completely sold-out show at the O2 Ritz back in March – their biggest headline date up to that point – and we’re more certain than ever that they’re going to be absolutely massive.
And if they keep up doing more memorable stuff like this, it’s just a matter of how soon…
Packing out Projekts to the point that people were literally hanging off fences and standing on electrical boxes at the side of the street to try and get a peek at the post-punk, grunge and garage rockers, some of their most enthusiastic young fans had been waiting outside the location as early as noon.
For context, doors opened six hours later, and the boys didn’t come on until 7:30pm.
Those who signed up to Keo‘s mailing list were sent information regarding securing a spot at the one-off performance earlier this month.
While you would have seen the place fill up even if they were just standard concert tickets, the fact that the band were taping the whole thing to use as the visuals for their newest single, as mentioned, meant that Keo’s avid followers were literally clamouring AND clambering to get the best view position possible.
Turning the popular skaters’ hub’s central bowl into a makeshift stage, with lights, camera, booms and various crew surrounding the entire venue, it was a surreal experience to say the least.
And, of course, they were absolutely brilliant – just as they were at the Ritz at the start of the year and Kendal before that, playing a short but sweet set that left everyone wanting more and choruses of punters chanting Keo long after the final song.
We can’t wait to see how the video itself turns out, especially seeing how much the people who wrapped around them and the skatepark were lost in the moment, and we’re also looking forward to them headlining Neighbourhood Fest in Manchester city centre this October.
You can grab a ticket to see them and the rest of the NBHD lineup right HERE, but until then, give the full studio version of ‘Pistol’ a play and get ready for their debut album.
Danny Jones -
2nd July 2024 
