Sabrina Carpenter has finally announced the European leg of her Short n Sweet world tour, including a massive show in Manchester.
The pop star – arguably one of the biggest and most popular names in the industry right now – will be heading to the UK in spring next year.
The 25-year-old Espresso singer had teased the tour date announcement by plastering huge lipstick marks on the side of the new Co-op Live arena, as well as the OVO Hydro in Glasgow and The O2 in London.
Sabrina Carpenter had also already announced a huge tour of the USA, selling out huge arenas instantly – and now it’s finally the turn of Manchester.
She’s announced the tour off the back of runaway chart success with her new single Please Please Please, plus her existing songs like Feather, Nonsense, and Because I Liked a Boy.
She has released six studio albums, including this year’s Short n’ Sweet, which the tour is named after.
Sabrina rocketed even further into the spotlight with her stint supporting Taylor Swift on The Eras Tour last year.
The star, often compared to a real-life Polly Pocket, has also found viral fame by customising the outro to her single Nonsense for each city she’s in – sometimes with not-very-PG results…
Sabrina Carpenter will be performing at the Co-op Live on 13 March 2025.
Tickets are on sale from Tuesday for Co-op Live members, and the general sale begins at 10am on Friday 26 July.
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | July 2025
Danny Jones
Hello again, it’s us: The Manc, or more specifically, our Audio North arm – back to talk about the music coming out of Greater Manchester that we’ve been listening to over the past month.
If you’re new here, it really is as simple as that, and whether they’re revered veterans of the region’s music scene or what we think might be the next up-and-coming thing, as long as it’s from ’round our way, we’ll give it a chance.
Five native artists, three recommended tracks from each and hopefully hours of exciting new listening if you play your cards right.
Headphones and playlists at the ready. Here’s what we had on in July.
Manchester music we’ve been into recently
1. poor effort
We’re kicking things off with an experimental project from Salford-born and Manchester-based musician and writer, Matty Dagger, whose new outing in the spoken word space immediately caught our attention when it came down the grapevine. It’s a bit alternative, a bit punk and very Manc. We love it.
Some might say it’s reminiscent of Yard Act and Sleaford Mods, which would be fair, but more specifically, our first listens gave us Stockport’s very own Hello Cosmos with a sprinkling of Oldham’s Seb Lowe (both previous monthly picks). The lyrical/vocal delivery is charmingly casual and anecdotal.
Dagger’s poor effort couldn’t be anything less than; there seems to be a very considered approach to the more electronic style of spoken word and poetry-driven music. You can complete the discography already, but we’d start with ‘you’re wrong, i’m right (symphony)’, ‘HMRC’, and then ‘City of Hope’.
Cool visual aesthetics going on too.
2. Victoria Jane
Next up is a big knee-jerking turn in genre and overall temperament, as if Dagger has been making us pay microscopic attention to every word and Greater Mancunian reference, this local musician hooked us in with her somewhat quieter but inviting timbre of voice and smooth, almost sleepy melodies at times.
Victoria Jane may have been born in London, having previously collaborated as part of the Vibbar collective, but having moved to 0161 as a kid and falling in love with Man United, she’s always immersed herself in the Northern way. The R’n’B act also presents BBC Radio 1 ‘Future Soul’ show.
Her work really hits all the notes you want, from smooth and soulful singing, to not quite voice cracks but soft, intentional breaks that often feel nigh on agonising – as if she’s into you and welcoming you to slump back the other way. ‘The One’, ‘Voicenote Freestyle’ and ‘On My Own’ are our picks.
Number three is, admittedly, another big whiplash when it comes to overall experience, but it’s one of the most unique musical discoveries we’ve made in a hit minute. This musical duo is called Phellotape, conceived by double bassist Alice Phelps and multi-instrumentalist producer Thomas ‘Twem’ Twemlow.
They met while playing in the queer alt-rock outfit, The Irrepressibles, but this project could be branded as anything from alternative and/or experimental to maybe even art pop. All we know is the multi-talented mix of instruments within almost every section, and pulling from numerous styles is pretty staggering.
Rather fittingly, there are only two recorded tracks to their name so far; ‘Rain’ is a quiet, atmospheric song that puts you in mind of London Grammar with a mix of the xx and Massive Attack, while ‘Hungry Ghost’ is quite easily one of the most interesting tunes we’ve heard in the past decade. No exaggeration.
4. 10cc
Fancing something more familiar for number four? Well, as a born and bred Stopfordian myself, every now and again I go back and admire some of the incredible names that recorded at the town’s famous Strawberry Studios – one of which is Stockport‘s very own 10cc. Great name, great band.
The moment I heard my then-teenage brother play ‘Donna’, I was baffled as to why he was playing what I then just dismissed as “old music”, before it quickly got stuck in my head. Is it their best tune? No. Does it still hold a special place in my head and heart? Yes. Do they have other standouts? Absolutely.
For the record, while most people recognise the likes of the controversial ‘Dreadlock Holiday’, I’d argue ‘Good Morning Judge’ is their best track and the first time I listened to it, I thought it was one of the coolest sounding intros ever. Still do. ‘I’m Not In Love’ with them, but they are a core childhood memory.
A hugely undercelebrated of Greater Manchester music history (Credit: AVRO/Dirk Annemans (via Wikimedia Commons)
5. Oasis
Speaking of legends who evoke nothing but feelings of hometown pride, legacy and pure admiration, it’d be the most see-through lie ever to pretend that we haven’t spent most of this last month listening to the almighty Oasis amid their comeback tour.
We had the pleasure of being there at Heaton Park and up on ‘Gallagher Hill’, which now has its own precious place in British music history, and July as a whole still feels akin to a fever dream and similar to what we imagine Glastonbury is like for those nearby when it takes over their entire universe.
July 2025 really was “biblical” and we don’t think we’ll ever get over it, so, last but not least, we’d thought we’d give a special shout-out to some of our favourite tracks that didn’t make the setlist. ‘Don’t Go Away’, ‘Shock of the Lightning’, ‘Round Are Way’. Done.
As The Masterplan proved, everything from the so-called ‘filler’ album tracks to those B-sides is better than most other bands could dream of. As you were x
Britain’s beloved Bongo’s Bingo is coming to Kendal Calling for the very first time
Danny Jones
One of the UK’s biggest, silliest and best nights out, the almighty Bongo’s Bingo is making its festival debut at Kendal Calling 2025.
The crazy, comedy-driven mix of traditional bingo, dance-offs, rave intervals, crowd participation and all manner of shenanigans began over a decade ago, and has genuinely grown into a cultural phenomenon.
Be it a random weeknight or peak Friday-Saturday pint time, Bongo’s Bingo venues all over the country pack out with people ready to make a fool out of themselves in hopes of winning random prizes – even the completely pointless ones.
In case you’ve never seen it for yourselves before, here’s a little glimpse at the standard and frankly chronic level of chaos:
To be honest, this is still a pretty tame teaser trailer…
Sorry, why would you go to normal bingo when you can go to one where drinks and dancing are compulsory, and you can leave not just a life-sized Gary Barlow cut-out but even a Henry Hoover all in the same night?
Personally, we’ve been going to Bongo’s Bingo since pre-pandemic, as we’re sure lots of you also have; it’s now in over 50 locations, having recently tested the waters across the pond in the US, and they’re only planning to expand further this year.
Come 2026, we’re betting on them going well and truly global.
Founded by Jonny Lacey (a.k.a. ‘Jonny Bongo’ himself) and Joshua Burke back in April 2015, fast forward to the present day, and you’ll find a soul who hasn’t at least heard of the ridiculous bingo-themed party, if not experienced the madness for themselves.
With Kendal Calling promising plenty of other live entertainment and activities that quite literally cater to just about everyone, we think it’s the perfect place to make some noise and leave a mark, not to mention create another Northern stronghold.
Lowther Deer Park isn’t the only festival location on their list either: Bongo’s is also set to make a splash at BeatMasters Festival in Norwich and Oxford this summer. Speaking ahead of the festival debut, host Jimmy Sweets said, “Bongo’s Bingo is ready for Kendal Calling.
“We’re bringing the magic and mayhem for a special festival set this weekend, packed with bangers, classics, and hands-in-the-air madness as the UK’s most talked about night out comes to Cumbria.
“There’s nowhere else like Bongo’s Bingo to be immersed in pure escapism and nostalgia – this is going to be wild. Myself and Rich Furness are DJing back to back both nights, so come and get involved this Saturday and Sunday at The Soapbox. We can’t wait to see everyone.”
Bongo’s Bingo will be taking place this Saturday and Sunday, 2-3 August, from 11pm until gone half past midnight at The Soapbox tent. You can read our full Kendal Calling 2025 festival guide HERE, and we’ll see you in the fields – or at the very least in the bingo hall.
Just a glimpse of how nutty the audiences inside Albert Hall get on a regular basis. (Credit: Supplied)
Daisy Jackson -
18th July 2024 
