The new age of clubbing has finally arrived: Raving in a box.
The minds behind La Discotheque are launching a brand new ‘socially safe rave experience’ in Manchester next month – giving the late night crowd a chance to throw shapes in the strobe lights for the first time in months.
Beginning on 7 August, Puffin Box will welcome party-lovers into the basement of Hilton House for an eight-week series of events running Thursday to Sunday.
Described as an “electrifying 90-minute mini-clubbing experience within your own social bubble”, each box will hold up to eight guests at a time – complete with a fully-stocked fridge of pre-ordered drinks, comfy sofas, a poseur table and dancefloor space.
Guests can leave their boxes for toilet or smoke breaks.
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Each event will have a maximum capacity of forty guests, with boxes thoroughly cleaned before the next slot begins.
Ticket-holders have been told to “expect the very best light, sound and music” for Puffin Box, with takeovers from local and international club brands and DJ collectives.
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Familiar names popping up across the series include Hit & Run, Kaluki, Funkademia, Joy Social vs High Hoops, Zutekh, So Flute, Ghosts of Garage, Bad Fun, Hip Hop / Hula, Love Dose and La Discothèque – with the events delivering a diverse range of disco, soul, funk, hip-hop, house and techno music,
Puffin Box say they have launched their new series to “support music, hospitality and events industry workers with paid work whilst simultaneously creating a safe environment for music lovers to come together.”
Additional health and safety measures include a one-way entry-exit system, 2m rule in queues and hand sanitiser stations around the venue.
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Co-founder of Puffin Box, Kat Warburton said: “As the spiritual home of rave, we’re so excited to launch Puffin Box in Manchester.
“While we can’t go to stereotypical raves in the city we have to adapt, so here we have a rave in a box.
“Manchester’s a buzzing city and everyone’s desperate to get back out but still stay safe, so this is exactly what we’re offering – ace music, exciting entertainment, decent drinks packages, a space for people to enjoy a mini-clubbing experience with friends in a safe and controlled environment.”
You can register online to receive exclusive pre-sale tickets on Tuesday 21 July, 24 hours before general sale goes live on Wednesday 22 July at 9am.
Olly Murs cancels Manchester gig after walking off stage six songs into huge arena show
Daisy Jackson
Olly Murs has now officially cancelled his show in Manchester tonight, a day after walking off stage just six songs into a huge arena gig.
The Heart Skips a Beat star had been performing in Glasgow last night when he abruptly stopped the show, apologised to fans, and left the stage.
The gig was cancelled around 30 minutes into his show, which is part of a huge UK arena tour that was meant to be heading to Manchester tonight.
A tearful Olly said that he was seeing a doctor last night and would update fans of the rest of his shows ‘as soon as I know anything’.
It’s now been confirmed that his gig at the AO Arena will not be going ahead.
Olly Murs said in a statement: “30 minutes into my set in Glasgow I lost my voice & unfortunately had to leave the stage midway through the show. This has never happened before and not something I take lightly.
“I’m sorry to all the fans who came out to the show last night and am forever grateful for your support.
“To everyone in Manchester and Birmingham I’m deeply sorry, but am unfortunately going to have to cancel my shows this weekend. I have contracted a respiratory infection and have been instructed to go on a strict 48 hour voice rest by the doctor to ensure no further damage to my vocal cords.
“I have been enjoying this tour so much, and am so sorry to let down my fans – but have to put my health first. I’m hoping to be fighting fit in a few days to finish this amazing 15 year celebratory tour with a bang.”
In a video he shared to Instagram last night, Olly Murs said: “Firstly I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I had to walk off after six songs and cancel the show. I’ve never done this in 15 years.
“Most of the time as singers you can kind of get through it if your voice isn’t 100% – I walked out tonight thinking my voice was great, I maybe felt a little bit run down but I didn’t think I couldn’t do the show. I wouldn’t have come out there otherwise.
“So to walk off after six songs, as I said, I’m so sorry. As you can probably hear from my voice, I just sounded rubbish and it’s unfair for you guys that spent all that money to come and see me. You deserve the best show and me being at my best, and I’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart.
“Hopefully I can recover from this.
“I’m actually going to see a doctor tonight which is great, so I’ll give you guys an update as soon as I know anything. Obviously I wanna try my absolute best to make these shows possible at the weekend.
“So yeah, so sorry for everyone tonight, apologies from the bottom of my heart. Gutted.”
Major star pulls out of Parklife festival due to ‘scheduling conflict’
Daisy Jackson
One of the biggest attractions of this year’s Parklife festival line-up has pulled out just weeks before the event.
Rising star and TikTok sensation Lola Young will no longer be performing at the huge Manchester festival.
She’s the voice behind ‘Messy’, that song you can’t get out of your head (or off your For You Page), and has already earned herself two BRIT Award nominations.
Lola Young was one of the biggest names announced on this year’s Parklife line-up, which has headline slots from Charli XCX, 50 Cent, Jorja Smith and Peggy Gou.
She was set to perform on the Saturday of the festival, taking place on 14 and 15 June.
But Parklife has now confirmed that Lola Young has dropped out of the lineup owing to a ‘scheduling conflict’.
In a post on Instagram they wrote: “Due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict Lola Young will not be performing at Parklife 2025.
“We would like to apologise for any disappointment.
“Full set times will be published at 5pm Tuesday 20th May on the PL25 App where we will also be announcing some surprise additions to the weekend in the run up to the festival.”
Parklife will be taking place next month in Manchester – you can keep up with the latest HERE and grab final tickets HERE.