Ed Sheeran is about to embark on an enormous four-night stint at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium.
The hugely popular singer-songwriter will take to the stage for the first time on Thursday 9 June, and will perform every evening until Sunday night.
The four-night run is part of the Mathematics Tour, with Ed heading on to Glasgow and then to perform five shows at the Wembley Stadium in Glasgow.
It follows the release of his fourth studio album Equals, released last autumn.
This will be the first time Ed has performed in the city since May 2018 when he again completed four nights at the Etihad Stadium.
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With a capacity of a whopping 60,000 per night for music concerts, there’ll be a lot of people heading to see Ed Sheeran this weekend.
Here’s what you need to know.
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How to get to the Etihad Stadium
There’s a lot of travel advice out there this weekend, especially if you’re heading to Ed’s gig on Saturday night (when The Killer, Alicia Keys and Parklife are all taking place at once at other venues).
The roads are expected to be busy so gig-goers are urged to leave their cars at home and use public transport where possible.
Metrolink trams take less than 10 minutes to run between the city centre and the Etihad Campus stop.
Sunday 12 June – Level 1 unreserved seating and pitch standing, £82.50; limited single seats in reserved seating, £82.50.
You can also pick up tickets through resale sites, though you should only pay face value for these through official websites like Ticketmaster’s fan-to-fan resale service.
Who is supporting?
Maisie Peters
Credit: Facebook, Maisie Peters
Maisie Peters’ career launched on YouTube, before she signed with Atlantic Records and began her rise to stardom.
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Her debut album, You Signed Up For This, was released under Ed Sheeran’s label Gingerbread Man Records.
She’s racked up more than half a billion streams online for her singles, including Worst of You, Favourite Ex, and Place We Were Made.
Dylan
Credit: Facebook, DYLAN
Ed Sheeran has recruited a fellow Suffolk musician to join him on tour, in 22-year-old Dylan.
This up-and-coming indie-pop musician recently released her third EP, No Romeo.
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She’ll head out on her own tour this autumn, with gigs at Manchester’s Gorilla and similar venues right across the UK.
What are the stage times?
❤️🤍 SIXTY THOUSAND ❤️🤍
Tonight has set a record for the highest-ever attended concert in the North East 🤩🎶
Ed Sheeran will perform at the Etihad this week. Credit: Dan Martensen
This tour of Ed Sheeran’s has gone digital, which means your phone will act as your ticket.
Make sure to check your booking confirmation in plenty of time to see what you need to download and have ready.
Ed’s website states: “To gain access to the concert you are required to bring your fully charged mobile phone or smartphone. You will be required to produce a valid form of photo ID that matches the name on the tickets.
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“Accepted forms of Photo ID are – A current driver’s licence (including provisional licence), a current or recently expired passport (provided the picture is a good resemblance of the holder).”
Featured image: Publicity picture
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Beat-Herder Festival 2026 – the wonderfully weird festival we can’t stop coming back to
Emily Johnson
Another weekend done in the magical, mystical world that is Beat-Herder.
For one weekend every year, a farm in Clitheroe transforms into what the organisers describe as “a place full of beats and barminess” – and honestly, they couldn’t have summed it up any better.
Big enough to keep you discovering something new all weekend, yet small enough that you’ll keep bumping into the same friendly faces, Beat-Herder strikes the balance perfectly.
Every corner has something different going on, every stage has its own personality, and every sound system is absolutely dialled in.
Where else can you go for a swim, get a tattoo, pop into church, visit Paris and dance until sunrise? No, we’re not describing a chaotic stag-do… we’re talking about Beat-Herder.
Every stage deserves a mention, but a few really stood out this year.
Julie’s Barn, a.k.a. ‘Gay Paris’, remains one of the festival’s best-kept secrets. Hidden away in the woods, it’s worth every wrong turn trying to find it.
A glowing dancefloor, disco balls hanging from the trees and a crowd that somehow never seems to leave. We even stumbled across a secret ‘Samurai Breaks SSBB’ set that had the place bouncing all the way through until sunrise.
Credit: The Manc Group
Over at Stumblefunk At The Factory, Breakage delivered one of the sets of the weekend. The bass rattled the roof, the crowd never stopped moving, and the whole place felt like it was about to lift off.
It’s also home to one of Beat-Herder’s many weird little surprises, with hidden missions and the chance to spy on other festival-goers. If you know, you know.
The Garage is another annual favourite. DJs squeezed into the front seat of a car while everyone else danced on the bonnet of old scrapped cars, bouncing to the bass that rattled from White Noise Audio’s soundsystem. It’s those ridiculous little details that make this festival unlike anywhere else.
Then there’s Beat-Herder’s Got Talent, which has become a non-negotiable part of our weekend. The winner earns a slot on the main stage, so every act gives it everything. This year’s line-up featured everything from incredible harmonica performances and live bands to rap duos.
But one contestant completely stole the show.
She walked on stage, admitted she wasn’t sure her talent was quite as impressive as everyone else’s, and the crowd fell silent. No instrument. No backing track. You could hear a pin drop. What on earth was this contestant about to do? And then she proceeded to fit her entire fist in her mouth.
If that doesn’t sum up Beat-Herder, we’re not sure what does. The wonderful woman didn’t win the contest unfortunately, but let’s hope she can get booked for next year, ey?
One of this year’s new additions was The Dub Tub, which quickly became one of our favourite discoveries. Artists like Woody Cook swapped high-energy sets for slower, dub-inspired sessions, creating the perfect place to reset before diving back into the madness.
Oh, and of course, in true Beat-Herder fashion, the DJs were performing in a bathtub, of course.
And speaking of madness… all the classics are still there. The famous tunnel leading to hidden stages, the weird and wonderful walkabout performers, the random discoveries you’ll never find on a map, the hidden swimming pool, fancy dress costumes, and the constant feeling that you’re about to stumble across something completely unexpected.
Massive credit has to go to everyone behind the scenes. From the organisers to the volunteers and crew, everything runs incredibly smoothly, despite how wonderfully chaotic it all feels. Beat-Herder, you’ve done it again; roll on 2027.
Aitch wells up in trailer for inspiring Netflix documentary about Kilimanjaro charity climb
Danny Jones
Mancunian musician Aitch has shared a brand-new trailer for his upcoming Netflix documentary charting his inspiring charity climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Tissues at the ready.
In case you missed it, the Manchester rapper took on the incredible challenge of summiting the highest peak in Africa last year, all on behalf of the Down’s Syndrome Association.
Sharing the first true glimpse at his moving mountain voyage, the Moston-born artist looks to reveal all in this candid chronicling of his fundraising feat.
Writing in the caption, the 26-year-old said: “Gracie, this is for you and the 40,000 other beautiful people just like you. Don’t Be Afraid!”
For anyone unaware of the context, a couple of years back, Aitch – Harrison James Armstrong, to give the Manc his full given name – announced that he would be embarking on the difficult journey that only 40-60% of trekkers ever successfully reach the top.
Beloved by upwards of 3.1 million followers across his various social media platforms, Grace has become a bit of a community icon and hero all of her own.
Here he is video calling her before his most recent challenge:
They have such a lovely bond.
The inspiration for the 2022 track ‘My G’ with Ed Sheeran on his debut album, Close to Home, the song itself also ended up serving as a significant fundraiser, going on to complete a skydive over Old Sarum airfield with his dad, Mike.
A few clips have been shared on Aitch’s YouTube channel since he first confirmed he would be taking on ‘Kili’, such as his altitude training and other glimpses behind the scenes, but until now, we’ve seen very little footage from the infamous trail itself.
Set to drop later this month, Aitch’s Kilimanjaro doc, entitled Don’t Be Afraid, is releasing on Netflix on Sunday, 26 July – which also just so happens to be ‘Manchester Day‘; we’ll be making sure we don’t miss either of them.
He’s not the only local lad taking on huge obstacles for a good cause.
Daisy Jackson -
8th June 2022 
