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Florence + The Machine announce Manchester date on massive arena tour

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 18th March 2022

Florence + The Machine will play a massive gig in Manchester this autumn as part of a nationwide arena tour.

The group, fronted by Florence Welch, have announced details of a new tour in support of her upcoming album Dance Party.

A short run of intimate UK shows sold out in mere minutes earlier this week.

The larger arena tour will visit the UK, Ireland and France, including a date at the AO Arena Manchester.

Florence + The Machine. Credit: Publicity picture

£1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the charity Choose Love, which helps refugees and displaced people with everything from transport to legal advice.

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Florence + The Machine has been behind some of the biggest songs of the last decade, including You Got The Love (and You Got The Dirtee Love, in collaboration with Dizzee Rascal), Spectrum (Say My Name), and Shake It Out.

Dance Party will be her fifth studio album, and is due for release on 13 May.

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The tour of the same name will kick off in Paris on 14 November and will go on to include two nights at The O2 in London.

Read more: Iconic Manchester gig venue shortlisted as one of the best in the country

She will perform at the AO Arena Manchester on 22 November.

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You can pre-order the album here before 5pm on Tuesday 22 March to gain access to an album pre-sale, with pre-sale tickets available from 9am on Wednesday 23 March.

The general sale will be on Friday 25 March at Gigs and Tours.

Florence + The Machine, Dance Fever 2022 tour dates in full

14 Nov – Accor Hotels Arena, Paris
16 Nov – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
18 Nov – The O2, London
19 Nov – The O2, London
21 Nov – Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth
22 Nov – AO Arena, Manchester
24 Nov – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
25 Nov – First Direct Arena, Leeds
27 Nov – OVO Hydro, Glasgow
28 Nov – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
30 Nov – 3 Arena, Dublin

Featured image: Publicity picture

Audio

Gig review | KEO at the O2 Ritz in Manchester – Sometimes you just KNOW…

Danny Jones Danny Jones KEO at O2 Ritz Manchester gig review

Fontaines D.C., Turnstile, Wunderhorse, Sleep Token, Neck Deep; sometimes it only takes a few listens and a live show to KNOW that a band is going to catch fire and go on to be huge – for Audio North and KEO, it only took a few.

But having now seen KEO for a third time, collectively, we’re more convinced than ever that they’re going to be massive.

Sadly, a prior engagement meant that we just missed catching the support act, Tooth (though we did hear great things rumbling around the eager young crowd), but there was no chance we were going to miss this lot show off how very good they are at what they do.

And there was absolutely no chance they were going to disappoint us, either…

We first caught this fast-rising post-grunge outfit live in action at Kendal Calling last year, where they somehow turned a daytime slot on the Woodlands stage into a moody mid-evening mosh.

They had even less fully produced and officially released music out then, but then we had the pleasure of watching them at The Key Club in Leeds this past October, and they were even better; punchier, more graduated at their game, and their fandom seemed plenty strong already.

As it turns out, that same progression proved true in Manchester, as KEO played their biggest headline show to date, and that same cult following only appeared more fervent than ever.

They might be based down in the capital, with roots in Portugal, brothers Finn and Conor having grown up there, but they certainly know a thing or two about how to please a Northern audience.

Of course, we’re sure they go off just as hard down in the capital – in fact, we’re certain they do – but the response they got from two sold-out rooms full of Yorkshire folk and us equally discerning Mancs felt like they had well and truly passed the litmus.

With flying colours, may we add.

KEO biggest ever headline gig in Manchester
keo band o2 ritz manchester gig review
finn keogh keo band
keo logo
Everything from the raw ’90s rock feel to the aesthetic hits just right. (Credit: Audio North)

It’s also worth noting that these London lads have built up this hype like very few ever manage to do: by developing a sterling live reputation right from the off and putting top-notch shows first.

For those unaware, they only just released their first five-track EP, Siren, back in June 2025, yet they’ve been packing out venues and festival stages pretty much since day dot, with die-hards growing their love for the band via performance and initially only learning the lyrics through social clips and snippets online.

While some have questioned why they’ve been chosen to headline this year’s Neighbourhood Festival here in Manchester city centre before they’ve even dropped a debut album, you only need to hear the entire Ritz screaming back the lyrics to ‘I Lied, Amber’, ‘Thorn’ and ‘Hands’ to know they fit the bill.

Frontman Finn pours so much unbridled power and emotion into his vocals, guitarist Jimmy Lanwern didn’t even need to look to know that his riffs were ripping the roof off, and they’ve quickly moved far beyond the early Wunderhorse parallels – they’re their own beast just waiting to be fully woken.

We cannot wait to see them truly take off.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live – he’s right, we do belong together

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live - he's right, we do belong together

This is not the Harry Styles we left behind in 2023, and he seems quite keen for us all to notice that from the get-go. 

The sequin two-pieces have been packed away, the hair’s been cut into a modern mullet, and he’s into synths now. 

Harry Styles emerges onto an in-the-round stage at Co-op Live and promptly hunches over a sound desk to mix the intro of Aperture. For a horrible moment, I think it’s going to be like a Fred Again concert – but then he straightens up, picks up the mic, and starts to dance, and we collectively realise we’re about to witness something truly special.

The chance to see Harry Styles on a small (hahahahaha) stage like this isn’t likely to happen again, not when he’s selling out record-breaking runs at Wembley Stadium. 

The chance to see him after such a long hiatus, performing brand new music in full, is even less likely.

And the chance to have it all going on right here in Manchester, just days after our city also hosted the BRITs, is (and I don’t say this lightly) an honour.  

Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live
Harry Styles One Night Only at Co-op Live. Credit: Netflix

For One Night Only, we hear every song off his fourth studio album (Kiss All The Time, Disco Occasionally) in full – with a few surprises thrown in at the end for good measure. 

The whole thing has been filmed for Netflix, with a handful of cameramen chasing around after Harry on stage.

And there are definitely moments where you are conscious you’re watching a Netflix special being made, like when he ventures down the catwalk for Ready, Steady, Go and no spotlight follows him, but a camera does. 

That’s not a reflection on Harry though, who performs for the audience first and foremost. He seems taken aback at how thoroughly we’ve all studied the lyrics to his hours-old album already, welling up with emotion as he returns to the live stage for the first time in three years.

Harry Styles on stage, in the round, in Manchester
Harry Styles on stage, in the round, in Manchester

“There’s so much danger in the world,” he says. “But love is powerful and kindness is powerful. The world could use a little extra peace right now.”

Unusually, too, the show had a strict phones-free policy, with the poor venue staff doing their level best to enforce Harry’s wishes to keep cameras in pockets for one night only.

I would love more gigs to be phone free. The crowd is DARK, and present, with both hands in the air, and it lets Harry shine. I don’t believe anyone could honestly say they had a worse night for not being able to film it.

As for those new songs which had their live debut last night, Season 2 Weight Loss makes a lot more sense live, with real thudding drums, than it does on the album (I ranked it my least-favourite of the record); Coming Up Roses translates beautifully with a live orchestra; and Pop is a certified bop that’ll have those stadiums boogying.

Harry Styles One Night Only
Harry Styles One Night Only. Credit: Netflix

If you listened to Dance No More and thought it was set up for a call and response, you were correct, even if we do all clumsily tiptoe around the lyrics a bit.

Carla’s Song is a perfect closer in every setting, whether it’s in your headphones listening to the album or as one final collective moment in an arena.

It wasn’t just the new album we got at the One Night Only – Harry also dug into the archives to play a few extra treats for us all – From the Dining Table (live for the first time in almost a decade), Golden, Watermelon Sugar, As It Was, and Sign of the Times.

The show opens and closes with Aperture, the lead single from the album, and his one night only proves his point from the song – we really do belong together.

Harry Styles One Night Only setlist

  • Aperture
  • American Girls
  • Ready, Steady, Go!
  • Are You Listening Yet?
  • Taste Back
  • The Waiting Game
  • Season 2 Weight Loss
  • Coming Up Roses
  • Pop
  • Dance No More
  • Paint by Numbers
  • Carla’s Song
  • From the Dining Table
  • Golden
  • Watermelon Sugar
  • As It Was
  • Sign of the Times
  • Aperture

Read more

Featured image: Netflix

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