Sounds of the City is back at Castlefield Bowl with a packed programme of outdoor live shows – and next on the agenda is Hozier.
Irish singer-songwriter Hozier will take to the stage in Manchester on 5 July, as part of his Unreal Unearth Tour 2023.
The Take Me To Church singer is back from a four-year hiatus, releasing EP Eat Your Young on St Patrick’s Day, which also happens to be his birthday.
His third studio album, Unreal Unearth, is due for release in August this year.
After his Castlefield Bowl gig, Hozier will embark on a further tour in December – but won’t be back in Manchester on that one.
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The stage is set canal-side in Castlefield, with other headline performances from Blossoms, Two Door Cinema Club, and Bastille still to come, as well as shows from Pulp and The Lathums already finished.
Here’s everything you need to know about Hozier at Castlefield Bowl.
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Who’s supporting Hozier?
Sounds of the City at Castlefield Bowl. Credit: Sam Neill
Hozier has two support acts joining him at Castlefield Bowl tonight.
One of which will be The Teskey Brothers, an Australian blues rock band from Melbourne.
They have three albums under their belts – Half Mile Harvest, Run Home Slow and The Winding Way – and will also be doing a signing at HMV Manchester from 5pm.
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Also joining Hozier is Victoria Canal, a rising star from Germany who has already supported some other big names, including JP Saxe and Emily King, on their tours.
Estimated stage times
Stage times haven’t yet been announced for Hozier, but based on The Lathums gig – which had the same number of support acts – these will be the rough times.
5.30pm – Doors and DJ 7pm – Support act one 8pm – Support act two 9pm – Hozier 11pm – Curfew
Tickets
Tickets for Hozier are, sadly, totally sold out.
They were initially priced at £45 including booking fee – a bargain in today’s world of concert prices.
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If you’re desperate to go, keep an eye on resale sites but make sure you’re buying from a trustworthy seller so you don’t get ripped off.
Weather forecast
Castlefield Bowl is an outdoor venue, with only a very small amount of cover by the amphitheatre seating.
The wet weather is set to mostly take a break for Hozier’s Sounds of the City gig on Wednesday night, thankfully.
Temperatures are set to peak at 18 degrees, with a low of 13 degrees, according to the Met Office.
There’s a 30% chance of light rain at 6pm, but otherwise things are looking dry if cloudy.
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Expected setlist
A previous Sounds of the City gig at Castlefield Bowl. Credit: FAC51 The Hacienda
The below is the setlist Hozier used for his gig at Piece Hall in Halifax last week.
Eat Your Young Jackie and Wilson From Eden To Be Alone Dinner & Diatribes Francesca Cherry Wine Like Real People Do All Things End Would That I Someone New Almost (Sweet Music) Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene Movement Take Me to Church Unknown/Nth Work Song
About Castlefield Bowl
Castlefield Bowl is an amphitheatre-style outdoor venue in the city centre.
Although all tickets are billed as unreserved standing, if you’re quick you can take a seat on the large concrete steps that curve around the stage.
Many people also take a perch up on the grassy banks at the back of the venue too.
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Castlefield Bowl is located at 101 Liverpool Road in the city centre.
The closest tram stop is Deansgate-Castlefield, which is only a six-minute walk away.
You can also walk it from the major train stations, or use the 101, 197, 255, 256, 41, 50 or X50 buses.
From drone shows to free ice lollies – what went down at Parklife 2025
Daisy Jackson
It’s been a few days since Parklife 2025 wrapped up, and now that we’ve all caught up on sleep we’re looking back on some of the highlights you might’ve missed.
With such a stacked line-up of live music, it would be impossible to have seen everything – from that sizzling final set from Charli XCX to Morgan Seatree’s emotional hometown show, plus viral sensation Interplanetary Criminal filling Matinee and D.O.D. getting the whole Big Top dancing.
One moment that you couldn’t possibly have missed if you were on the ground at Parklife festival was a surprise drone show which dazzled overhead on Saturday night.
As rap legend 50 Cent wrapped up his huge headline set on The Valley stage, and The Hangar came alive to the sound of Pawsa, fans got an extra special treat way up in the skies.
Hundreds of drones came together in an impressive, illuminated aerial display, starting with a 10-second countdown that stopped festival-goers in their tracks.
The drones then flew in formation to create iconic shapes like a yellow JD Sports duffle bag, an adidas shoebox, and the shape of a slowly-rotating Climacool trainer – and what a trainer it is.
The adidas drone show on Saturday nightadidas handed out Climacool-branded lollies and slushies50 Cent on The Valley stageadidas handed out Climacool-branded lollies and slushies
That wasn’t the only bit of attention the Climacool footwear got at Parklife either – thankful fans were treated to free Climacool branded ice lollies and slushies on their way into the festival on Saturday.
As the sun beat down on Heaton Park (bar the odd brief downpour, classic Manchester), adidas and JD Sports arrived in an ice cream truck with the coolest drop at the festival.
There was a helping hand from social media sensation Yombo to hype up the crowd before the festival had even got started.
The Climacool has a textile lining and upper work, with a perforated midsole to allow airflow and keep your feet fresh – perfect for any city adventure (and pretty perfect for a day at Parklife, we discovered).
If the Climacool trainers have caught your eye – either in the sky, at the Climacool ice cream truck, or on social media – then the good news is you can now shop them for yourselves.
First Look: Fitzpatrick’s – Stockport’s new Irish Bar gets off to a stunning start
Danny Jones
Stockport has a brand new Irish bar as the growing Greater Manchester trend continues, with Fitzpatrick’s officially debuting to the public on Thursday, 19 June.
Taking over the former Bask site just outside the train station, Fitzpatrick’s is the borough’s answer to American sports bar meets an Irish pub and grill, with live music, a wide array of food and more.
We had the privilege of walking in on opening day, and the place was absolutely packed to the rafters from the off, and we didn’t even stay until the end. More fool us…
We had a grand auld time seeing @fitzstockport open their doors yesterday evening. ☘️
As you can see, it hasn’t taken them any time at all to get an atmosphere going; good weather on their inaugural day, but the free-flowing beer, classic pub food flying out of the kitchen, and musicians reeling off classic Irish folk music did most of the heavy lifting.
Plus, that beer garden and covered outdoor terrace area are pretty perfect in any weather, to be fair.
The scran on their maiden evening mainly consisted of pizza, chips and other easy-to-serve-up plates as they gradually ease into the first week or so of service, but with a full menu of burgers, pies, breakfasts and even Sunday roasts to come, we’re very excited to try the full gamut.
Regardless, the staff were pulling pints like pros, John himself had plenty of involvement greeting people and getting behind the bar, and the atmosphere was buzzing from minute one.
ln fact, that was arguably the best part about it all: there was that genuine feeling of a new community cornerstone being born, with the well-known Stopfordian reeling off names and recognising what seemed like almost every face that walked through the door.
You don’t get that everywhere.
A lay of the land at Fitzpatrick’s Stockport. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Although this was their first proper day of trading, they had already gauged the kind of crowds they could expect by soft launching with friends and family last week.
That being said, as mentioned, there was a real tight-knit, community feel to the place, full of County kits, young families and older couples alike, all of whom seemed to be dovetailing together as if the pub had always been around.
SK is often dubbed one of those places where everyone kind of knows everyone, even despite how big the town is as a whole, and this definitely felt like proof of that perception.
Of course, there is some familiarity with the space having previously been Bask, but the location of the stage, a newly decked out bar and the large jumbo-tron style TV set-up for live sport in the centre of the room (providing prime viewing from virtually all angles) have made a big difference.
Based solely on the hordes of people that piled into the place the second the doors opened, we can’t wait to see what the gaff is like once it’s in so-called ‘full swing’. John and his team might just be on to something big here.
Speaking to The Manc, he said: “As a local lad, I wanted to put something into the space that reflects a lot of my history and culture. Music, food, sport and a great atmosphere are all things I love, so I wanted to reflect that in this gorgeous space.”
Open 4-11 from Tuesday to Thursday, 2pm until late on Fridays, and the same only from 1pm at weekends, we can imagine Stockport punters are about to be spending a lot of time in Fitzpatrick’s.
Daisy Jackson -
5th July 2023 
