With the marking of the summer solstice last week, one can hope that there’s only more sunshine, warm weather, and good vibes to enjoy from here on out.
However, even if the weather isn’t quite delivering, the Manchester music scene certainly is, with news of a number of exciting live shows planned to delight audiences across the city this summer and beyond.
From the likes of Hacienda Classical and Rizzle Kicks this July all the way through to Pale Waves in October and The Prodigy next spring, you won’t want to miss out. Read on for further details…
Pale Waves – O2 Ritz, Manchester
October 16, 2025
Pale Waves have announced a UK headline tour for this October, including a show at Manchester’s O2 Ritz. The tour comes after their latest album release, ‘Smitten’, last September.
Pale Waves are a four-piece band from Manchester made up of Heather Baron-Gracie, Ciara Doran, Hugo Silvani, and Charlie Wood. The latest album ‘Smitten’ is Pale Waves at their realest and most grounded. The songs sparkle with an intense emotional resonance that was only possible to express from a place of relative calm.
Tickets are now on sale here.
The Prodigy – Co-op Live, Manchester
April 16, 2026
The legendary The Prodigy are returning to the UK and Ireland in April 2026, with very special guest Carl Cox.
The electronic punks are reuniting for a tour of straight-up ruckus that sees The Prodigy blast through their headline set, performing tracks from across their seven UK number one albums, whilst Carl Cox returns to his genre-breaking three-deck vinyl setup for a two-hour set from doors each night.
The announcement comes just ahead of The Prodigy’s highly anticipated and emotionally charged return to Glastonbury – their first performance at the festival after cancelling in 2019 following the sad passing of Keith Flint. This will be their fourth performance at the festival, bringing the weekend to a close on The Other Stage on Sunday.
This is just one of The Prodigy’s key festival headline shows across the world this summer, from the Californian desert at Coachella through to Tokyo stadiums at Summer Sonic.
Tickets are on sale here from 9am today (June 27).
Hacienda Classical – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
July 5, 2025
Manchester’s iconic celebration, Hacienda Classical, is set to make a triumphant return to the historic Castlefield Bowl on Saturday, July 5 – marking its record-breaking ninth appearance at Sounds of the City.
A groundbreaking musical project, Hacienda Classical fuses the spirit of the legendary Hacienda with the timeless sounds of classic dance tracks. Resident DJ Graeme Park has carefully curated a selection of iconic anthems from the late 1980s and early 1990s, which are then reimagined with orchestral arrangements by the Manchester Camerata Orchestra.
The result is a not-to-be-missed experience featuring powerful vocals and special guests as the voice of M People Heather Small joins the show, along with house legends K-Klass performing a full live set. DJ Paulette and Tom Wainwright will also join as resident DJs for the nightm, whilst Hacienda co-curator Graeme Park also takes to the decks pre-show.
Limited tickets are available here.
Joy Crookes – Manchester Academy, Manchester
November 12, 2025
South London singer-songwriter Joy Crookes has unveiled the news that her second album ‘Juniper’ will be released on September 26, ahead of an exciting UK and Europe headline tour.
A stunningly candid and fearless body of work, the new album reaffirms Joy as one of the UK’s most vital and original voices, delivering a record that is emotionally raw and sonically rich; humorous, heartbreaking, and profoundly human.
Following the success of her 2021 debut ‘Skin’, which earned BRIT and Mercury Prize nominations, reached top five in the UK charts, and drew critical acclaim, Joy set out to make an album that pushed her further both musically and personally – and ‘Juniper’ is the result.
Joy Crookes is set to play Glastonbury’s Other Stage this Sunday at 3pm.
Tickets are on sale here now.
The Black Keys – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
July 9, 2025
Grammy award-winning rock duo The Black Keys will play a mix of large-scale outdoor headline shows and festival dates for their upcoming UK and European tour, with support from Miles Kane.
The Black Keys’ European dates come just a year after their last overseas shows, which Mojo praised as an “electrifying testament to the power of rock’n’roll,” and the Daily Telegraph described as “a thrilling clash of the indie rock titans.”
The upcoming dates will mark the band’s first visit to Europe since the release of their Grammy-nominated ‘Ohio Players’ last year. ‘Ohio Players (Trophy Edition)’ – an expanded version of that album – was nominated for ‘Best Rock Performance’ and ‘Best Rock Song’ for “Beautiful People (Stay High)”, bringing their career total to an impressive 18 nominations.
Tickets are available here now.
Rizzle Kicks – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
July 11, 2025
Iconic British duo Rizzle Kicks – made up of Jordan Stephens and Harley Sulé – are set to play a massive headline show at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl on Friday, July 11.
The announcement followed their incredible sold-out KOKO headline show last November – the duo’s first in nearly a decade. Mixing classic anthems like ‘When I Was A Youngster’ with new offerings ‘Javelin’ and ‘New Sport’, the crowd went wild at the high-energy show, which Daily Star hailed as “pandemonium”.
It also follows the announcement of their new studio album, ‘Competition is for Losers’, to be released on February 14 – with their latest single, ‘Vice’, out now. Their forthcoming project sees them return to the pop music space sober, both in love and equipped with life lessons, self-awareness and self-development they’ve built on separately – all the while retaining their sense of humour that has always set them apart.
Tickets on sale here.
The Amazons – Albert Hall, Manchester
October 25, 2025
Following their powerhouse collaboration with Royal Blood on ‘My Blood’ and the recent release of ‘Love is a Dog From Hell’, The Amazons are back with their brand new album, ‘21st Century Fiction’ – which is out now.
The band’s fourth studio album is their darkest and most heartfelt to date, marking a triumphant return to form. A powerful, rock-forward record, ‘21st Century Fiction’ is the Amazons at their most furious.
These were the songs that Thomson says he needed to write, not just to lift himself from the doldrums, but for a generation of young males with the same struggles. ‘21st Century Fiction’ signals the emergence of The Amazons’ bold new sound – still loaded with riffs and roaring with aggression, but packed with a whole new level of introspection, energy and grandiose. With three huge Top 10 records and sold-out shows across the globe under their belts, The Amazons are facing their futures: fired up and ready to go.
The band will be hitting the road in autumn 2025 for a run of UK headline dates, including a show at Manchester’s renowned Albert Hall.
Tickets are available here now.
Basement Jaxx – Castlefield Bowl, Manchester
July 12, 2025
Basement Jaxx will play a major outdoor show at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl this summer on Saturday, July 12.
After 10 years away from the main stages of the world, the duo are excited to bring back their legendary euphoric energy-filled live experience. While many of their electronic contemporaries have looked to technology to make their gigs a compelling experience, Basement Jaxx have always embraced a maximalist approach, combining a dizzying and ever-growing array of singers, MCs, musicians and eventually whole troupes of dancers to turn any stage into a life-affirming cavorting carnival of music.
Tickets are on sale here.