Feature

Coldplay at Etihad Stadium Manchester 2023 – stage times, support act, tickets and setlist

It's a massive gig for the city - here's what you need to know if you're heading down.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 30th May 2023

Coldplay will finally touch down in Manchester this month for their long-awaited Music of the Spheres World Tour.

The group, fronted by Chris Martin, will be performing a whopping four nights at the 60,000-capacity Etihad Stadium, home ground of Manchester City.

It’s the first time they’ve brought this tour to the city, choosing London and Glasgow on last year’s run of shows.

Coldplay are one of the most successful and popular bands of the last three decades, with nine albums and endless sold-out concerts in their back catalogue.

They’re also famed for putting on a staggering live show.

This 2023 tour promises to be as environmentally beneficial as possible. They’ve even added a kinetic dance floor that harvests energy from the audience’s dancing, and installed electricity-generating pedal bikes so that the crowd can recharge the band’s battery by having a little cycle.

If you’re heading to see Coldplay at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, here’s everything you need to know.

When are Coldplay performing in Manchester?

Coldplay at Wembley
Coldplay at Wembley. Credit: Robert Mallows

Coldplay will be taking over the Etihad Stadium for FOUR nights – quite a feat.

They’ll be performing on Wednesday 31 May, Thursday 1 June, Saturday 3 June and Sunday 4 June.

Are there still Coldplay tickets available?

Demand for tickets when they went on sale was phenomenally high – fans reported being in 400,000-strong virtual queues.

So as you might expect, tickets are extremely hard to come by at this point.

At the time of writing, there was one single, lonely seat left in the entire venue for the band’s opening show – and absolutely nothing for subsequent dates.

Keep checking See Tickets here for any last-minute releases.

And if you try to buy tickets second-hand, make sure you’re using a reputable resale site so you don’t get caught out by scammers.

Who is supporting Coldplay in Manchester?

Chvrches will support Coldplay in Manchester
Chvrches will support Coldplay in Manchester. Credit: Publicity picture, Jess Gleeson

Chvrches

Coldplay have called upon the phenomenally talented Glasgow group Chvrches to be their main support act in Manchester.

The trio, fronted by Lauren Mayberry, are famed for hit singles including Get Out, The Mother We Share, and Gun.

Porij

Naturally, for a gig of this scale, one support act won’t do – Coldplay will also be supported by Manchester electronic-indie band Porij.

Each of their songs feels like a love letter to the Hacienda rave scene and bands which came before like New Order.

Read more: The top 30 Manchester bands of all time, officially ranked by The Manc Audio

What are the stage times?

According to the Man City site, these are the stage times for Colplay and their support acts.

  • Campus opening time – 2pm
  • Doors open – 5pm
  • Porij – 6pm-6.30pm
  • Chvrches – 7pm-7.45pm
  • Coldplay – 8.15pm-10.15pm

What’s the expected setlist?

Coldplay. Credit: Stevie Rae Gibbs

Setlists will always be subject to change as artists hone their live show, but this is what Coldplay played on their most recent gig in Barcelona.

Higher Power
Adventure of a Lifetime
Paradise
The Scientist
Viva la Vida
Something Just Like This (The Chainsmokers & Coldplay cover)
Magic
What’s Love Got to Do With It (Graham Lyle cover) (with Lauren Mayberry)
Charlie Brown
Yellow
Human Heart
People of the Pride
Clocks
Infinity Sign
Hymn for the Weekend
Aeterna
My Universe (Coldplay x BTS cover)
A Sky Full of Stars
Sunrise
Bamboléo (Gipsy Kings cover) (with Gipsy Kings)
Nel blu, dipinto di blu (Domenico Modugno cover) (with Gipsy Kings)
Humankind
Fix You
Biutyful

How to get to the Etihad Stadium

A map of Etihad Campus.

Public-transport wise, the Metrolink is the most direct way to get to the Etihad Stadium (and its dedicated tram stop Etihad Campus), which is just a few stops away from Manchester Piccadilly.

Both Holt Town and Velopark Metrolink stops, located on either side of the Etihad Campus stop, will not be open for at least an hour after an event at the stadium.

The trams will be very busy though, and the weather looks good, so you might prefer to walk – it’s around a 30 minute stroll from town with this safe walking route recommended.

If you need to drive, official car parking is priced at £25 for cars, £50 for coaches, and £40 for mini buses.

There are unofficial car parks near the stadium too but make sure you’re not getting ripped off.

Weather forecast in Manchester for Coldplay

Oh guys, you’re in luck – for once in its life Manchester has a stunning weather forecast for the entire run of Coldplay shows.

It’s set to be sunny with highs of 19 degrees on Wednesday and Thursday, then there’s more sunshine with a high of 20 degrees on Saturday and Sunday. Glorious.

Featured image: Publicity picture

Feature

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | June 2025

Danny Jones Danny Jones New Manchester music artists June 2025

Hello there. That greeting may be giving Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars vibes, and we can’t lie, we have listened to some cantina music while working this month… but not as much as we’ve been immersing ourselves in more new Manchester artists.

You should know the drill by now, and it is very much a what-it-says-on-the-tin scenario, but every few weeks, we round up some of the music – all crucially hailing from the Greater Manchester area – that we’ve been listening to of late.

We don’t discriminate when it comes to genre either. There’s only one simple rule: if it’s good, then we listen to it and then, hopefully, so do you.

Get your playlists at the ready.

Five Manc music artists we’ve been listening to recently

1. Arkayla

First up for June are relative newcomers Arkayla, whose name is inspired by “a terrible Oasis demo” from 1991 (their words, not ours – thought it is…) of the same name, a.k.a. ‘I Will Show You’, in which describe Liam Gallagher’s now legendary as once sounding “like a dodgy Ian Brown impressionist.”

However, there’s nothing dodgy about these lot and, thankfully, they’re in an era when you don’t have to hand out tapes recorded in the Boardwalk basement on the street to be heard. The Manchester band, which only formed in 2020, may be Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, but they’ve already got a sound.

There’s an unmistakable British indie element to them and hints at everything from The Kooks to The Lathums, but most notably, there are ’60s guitar notes and some real maturity already. Standouts include ‘Ella Malone’, the acoustic version of ‘Lost In a Valentine’, where the lead singer, Cal Blakebrough, really shines, and ‘Rita’ is such an addictive track.

2. iNNAFIELD

They don’t get more unknown, undiscovered, but sure to be up-and-coming than iNNAFIELD, who are a female-fronted psychedelia-forward five-piece with roots in Brighton but building a career in 0161. Having recently shone at The Deaf Institute playing a support slot at Academy 1, they have our interest.

If a glimpse of lead singer Jessie Amy Leask’s curly hair, 70s belts and long, flowing skirts plants Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac in your mind, you’d be right in thinking so; a listen to their other live tracks scattered across their socials confirms there’s plenty of other influences going on too, though.

Now, they’ve only got one proper recording out on Spotify called ‘Tell Me What’s On Your Mind’, but we’ve had it popping up on our algorithms everywhere, and we can see why: there’s soft, twinkly strumming, soft almost sleepy vocals before a nice big breakout at the end. Glorious stuff.

@innafield.band Tell Me What’s On Your Mind. On all streaming platforms now. #fyp #foryoupage #music #stevienicks #indie #band #wunderhorse #keo #pinkfloyd #fleetwoodmac ♬ original sound – innafield.band

3. Grace Kelly

No, not that one, the Princess of Monaco isn’t back from the dead, but ‘r Grace Kelly, who is based right here in Greater Manchester, is playing her part in the ongoing country revival taking place across the music world, offering her soulful voice and faux American-folk vibes to our ears.

She may not be a Mancunian by birth, having moved from New Zealand to our shores back in 2022, and although the weather change might have been a big sea change for her, there’s no culture shock to be found in her style; from the audio to the aesthetic, it still somehow feels pretty authentic.

Uplifting acoustic guitars, drum brush strokes, solos, Southern-twang harmonies – you name it, all the ingredients are there. The thing is, if you spend enough time immersing yourself in a genre, you can still pull off tracks like ‘Carry On’, ‘San Jose’ and the intimate ‘For Us To Change’.

We’d also give her Nashville twist on ‘Angels’ by Robbie Williams, too – trust us, it works.

4. Prido

We’re really lane switching when it comes to genre this month; maybe it’s because festival season is in full swing and we’re just being exposed to so much different stuff in a short space of time, all we know is we’re not complaining about it.

And neither should you, especially when you’ve got names like hip-hop, grime, soul and flag-flying Afrobeats rising star, Prido, being platformed. Blending all the above with R’n’B and a sprinkling of not just Northern but easily detectable Manc slant, it makes his music stand out in the ever-thriving space.

‘Free Ur Mind’ was the first track we ever heard, so we’ve struggled to shake that as our favourite, but ‘DND’ is a supremely dancey but chill example of laid-back of the genre that you need in your mixes this summer, and we also have a soft spot for his verse on the sensual ‘Lifeboat’ by Prima.

5. Josh Baker

Last but not least on our list of new Manchester artists for this June, we’ve got local DJ Josh Baker, whose name you might recognise from the headlines surrounding Parklife 2025, as his set was unfortunately cancelled due to problems out of his control.

Festival-goers flocked to The Matinee Stage for a highly anticipated back-to-back bill of Baker followed by Dutch counterpart Chris Stussy, both of whom have thrilled some of the biggest club crowds in the country – sadly, he didn’t get to do so this time. That being said, we thought we’d give him a shout-out.

We’ll confess to only having got around to his discography following this news, but ‘Back It Up’, ‘Something To Me’, and ‘You Don’t Own Me’ with Prospa and RAHH are all bangers. We’re looking forward to listening to more.

DJ at centre of Parklife cancellations speaks out over ‘unsafe’ crowds

Read more:

And that should just about do you; there are five artists and, at the very least, 15 new tracks for you to give a go – there should be at least of few of them you like.

But, let’s be honest: be it unheard, new, current, old or anything in between, Manchester music very rarely ends up being filed in the skippable category.

Then again, you can always check out last month’s list of Manc artists from last month and see if you get a better hit ratio.

See you next time.

Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | May 2025

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Prido (via Facebook)/Arkayla (via X)/Grace Kelly (via Facebook)

Feature

You can sleep in a luxury train carriage at an old railway station in Greater Manchester

Thomas Melia Thomas Melia

There’s an Airbnb listing in Delph where you can stay in a classic converted train carriage, and it’s even situated in an old train station, so someone buy my ticket ASAP.

Get ready to have the best train experience of your life, as the only cancellation you have to worry about is booking the day off work.

The Carriage at The Old Station is a two-person character property in Delph, Saddleworth that offers you the chance to live out your vintage fantasy by stepping back in time on a luxury static train coach.

It may be situated at an old station, but the interior is refreshing and light with mint blue beams, fuchsia cushions and a royal red carpet and curtains.

As well as a majestic interior, this carriage has an equally impressive amount of amenities, including a Bluetooth sound system, board games and its own indoor fireplace.

This Airbnb is fairly new too, with only 44 reviews to its name – the first only dating back to September of last year; don’t say we don’t find you some absolute gems.

Inside the airbnb that's an old converted train carriage.
Inside the Airbnb that’s an old converted train carriage.
The interior of this Airbnb listing is bold and impressive.
The interior of this Airbnb listing is bold and impressive.

One user even stated, “We regularly stay in five-star locations and this surpassed five-star easily! We highly recommend a stay here.”

While another opened her review with three simple adjectives that we also feel perfectly sum up this train carriage property perfectly: “Opulent, indulgent, extravagant”.

It should come as no surprise that this place is beautiful inside and out, as in the description, host of the property Nigel states he’s a retired designer.

The train carriage stay is also close to a proper country pub, The Old Bell Inn, as well as the Diggle canal walk if you fancy a stroll and a pint before tucking into bed in your old train carriage for the night.

Even the bathroom has pops of colour throughout.
Even the bathroom has pops of colour throughout.
You could stay in this train carriage at an old train station.
You could stay in this train carriage at an old train station.

Looking for an equally interesting Oldham-based, transportation-themed overnight stay, well, how about renting out a beautifully restored VW camper?

If you’re after boarding The Carriage at The Old Station and having a fabulous overnight stay or mini holiday of your own, you can find the Airbnb listing and everything you need to know HERE.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Supplied via Airbnb

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