Motown legend Diana Ross will be performing at the AO Arena tonight, fresh off the back of her landmark performance at the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.
The music icon is visiting Manchester on her UK Thank You Tour on 14 June before heading on to gigs in Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham, and London.
She’ll also be taking the headline slot, known as the Legends slot, at Glastonbury Festival.
Diana Ross rose to fame in the 1960s as part of The Supremes, one of the world’s best-selling girl groups of all time.
They dominated the charts with songs such as Baby Love, Stop!, In the Name of Love, and You Keep Me Hangin’ On, before Diana launched her solo career and released well-known songs such as I’m Still Waiting, Touch Me in the Morning, Endless Love, and, of course, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and the UK number one single Chain Reaction.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of her concert at the AO Arena tonight.
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Tickets for Diana Ross
Diana Ross performing at the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. Credit: BBC
There’s still quite good availability for the gig tonight at the AO Arena.
Tickets are priced from £85.75 and go all the way up to £436.35 if you want to sit front row, as close as possible to the action.
For hospitality packages at the AO Arena, you can email [email protected] or call 0161 9501069.
Stage times
The Supremes. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Doors for the AO Arena will open at 6pm.
The show is set to start at 7.30pm, though times are always subject to change.
Support act
As things stand, no support act has been announced for Diana Ross at the AO Arena.
That means we’ll have hours of pure Diamond Diana delights, with the star likely to take straight to the stage at around 7.30pm.
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The setlist
Manchester is the first night on the Thank You Tour, so we can’t be sure what songs Diana will play yet.
But the below is her setlist from her gig at Cardiff Castle, which gives you an idea.
I’m Coming Out
More Today Than Yesterday (Spiral Starecase cover)
Where Did Our Love Go (The Supremes song)
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Baby Love (The Supremes song)
Stop! In the Name of Love (The Supremes song)
You Can’t Hurry Love (The Supremes song)
Love Child (Diana Ross & The Supremes cover)
Chain Reaction
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I’m Still Waiting
Upside Down
Love Hangover / Take Me Higher / Ease on Down the Road
Why Do Fools Fall in Love (Frankie Lymon & The Teenagers cover)
If We Hold on Together
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If the World Just Danced
Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) / Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor cover)
Encore
Thank You
Featured image: Publicity Picture
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The Pussycat Dolls announce major comeback with huge global arena tour
Daisy Jackson
Global pop icons The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour, with 50+ shows across Europe and North America.
The pop icons will be performing a massive show here in Manchester as part of the tour, which kicks off this summer.
The Pussycat Dolls have been teasing their return this week, plastering hints on venues across the UK – including the Co-op Live, which displayed a pink digital ad reading ‘Don’t cha wish you knew who we’re announcing tomorrow??’
The multi-platinum pop supergroup will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut record, PCD. They’ll be supported on the European leg of the tour, which will bring them to the UK in September and October, by Lil’ Kim.
The PCD Forever tour will span a whopping 53 dates, where they’ll perform their chart-topping hits including the 5x platinum Buttons, plus Don’t Cha, and Stickwitu.
The Pussycat Dolls were pop heavyweights in the 2000s, known for their electrifying choreography and live performances.
The Pussycat Dolls have announced a major global tour with a Manchester date. Credit: Rankin
Nicole Scherzinger, Kimberly Wyatt, and Ashley Roberts will be back together once again this year for what will be their biggest international run in years.
They’ll be releasing a new song for the first time since 2019 – Club Song is produced by Mike Sabbath (RAYE, Jade) and written by Nicole Scherzinger with Sabbath, Caroline Ailin (Dua Lipa) and Solly (Teddy Swims).
General tickets will go on sale from 10am on Friday 20 March, but fans can sign up for pre-sale at pcdforever.com by Monday to access tickets early.
Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester next year
Danny Jones
Hold on to your cowboy hats, country fans: the smash-hit Country 2 Country music festival is coming to Manchester.
The massive live music festival specialising in all things country, folk, bluegrass, Americana and more has slowly been expanding its presence across the UK and Ireland over the last decade or so.
Starting in London at the O2 Arena, before hitting the Emerald Isle in 2015 and debuting in Scotland just three years later, it has seen some of the biggest acts from the world of country music cross the Atlantic to show off the Stateside genre, plus plenty from around the globe already immersed in the culture.
We’ll confess, even prior to the official announcement, we had a feeling this was coming when we spotted these posters dotted about in town:
Like so many of those buzzing in the comments, we cannot wait for this to come around.
With this year’s respective events taking place simultaenously place over the coming weekend, Friday, 13 to Sunday, 15 March, it’s fair to say they’ve timed the news perfectly.
Everyone from established names such as Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Chris Stapleton, Kacey Musgraves, to up-and-coming bands as well as fast-rising artists working in and around the genre, like Nate Smith, Lainey Wilson and, of course, the now well and truly massive Luke Combs.
For instance, the likes of Keith Urban, Noah Rinker, Alana Springsteen – no relation – Zach Top and many, MANY more, are playing across London, the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and Belfast’s SSE Arena for the 12th edition of the now annual celebration.
Set to arrive in our city centre for the very first time, Country 2 Country (C2C) will be making its Manc debut at none other than the legendary AO Arena, where so many of the biggest names and current generation of stars alike have played.
You only have to look at recent examples like Darius Rucker last year and the ever-growing Tyler Childers, helping kick off this season of country gigs here in Manchester.
Meanwhile, as you can see for Country 2 Country music fest’s Manchester debut, it’s coming in March 2027, and they’ll be teaming up with other local gig venues and bars to turn 0161 into a little slice of Broadway – we just hope we get a bit of Austin weather to boot.
It’s fair to say that this particular part of the music industry is definitely enjoying a big boom right now, with lots of different acts dipping their toes into the bayou, if you will.
However, C2C have been flying the flag for country music over here for ages now, and with it being hailed as remaining “one of the UK’s most spectacular annual festivals” by the likes of The Express and countless, among countless other reviews, we think it’s time you give it a go.
Better still, let’s show everyone that we can do it even better up North, and here in what everyone knows is Britain’s real musical home: Greater Manchester.
Tickets will be available from 10am next Friday, 20 March, and you can sign up to get early bird pre-sale access right HERE.
Credit: Niko Moon/Luke Dyson Photography (supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
14th June 2022 
