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IT’S a huge week for gig ticket sales with stars including Taylor Swift, The Killers and the cast of Nashville all flogging new Manchester dates. The Sounds of the City summer gig series at Castlefield Bowl also goes on sale this week, including shows from Shed Seven, Hacienda Classical, Rag’n’Bone Man and more.
And there are plenty more concerts to look forward to, from old favourites to the hottest up-and-coming acts.
Set your alarms and get your browsers poised and ready for this lot. Taylor Swift Etihad Stadium, Manchester June 9 Taylor Swift brings her Reputation World Tour to Manchester next summer for two shows at the Etihad Stadium. Tickets to the first date on June 8 sold out in minutes, prompting the country ingenue turned pop behemoth to announce a second on Saturday, June 9. Swifty also added more dates at London’s Wembley Stadium on June 23 and Dublin’s Croke Park on June 15. Tickets to the new dates go on sale at 9am today (Friday) from gigsandtours.com/tour/taylor-swift. The Killers Macron Stadium, Bolton July 13, 2018 Fresh from their Manchester Arena performance this month, Brandon Flowers and co are coming back to the region for a huge open-air show at Bolton’s Macron Stadium on July 13 next summer. Together with a date at Swansea Liberty Stadium on June 23, the shows will be the Las Vegas band’s first UK stadium appearances since they headlined a sold-out Wembley in 2013. Tickets go on sale from 9.30am today (Friday) from gigsandtours.com/ tour/the-killers. Nashville: Farewell Tour Manchester Arena - April 18 Hit country music TV series Nashville bows out after its final series next year - but not before one last live show in Manchester. Tickets go on sale at 9am today (Friday) from gigsandtours.com/ tour/nashville. Katie Melua The Lowry, Salford Quays December 2 The sultry-voiced singer will be joined on her latest tour by the Gori Women’s Choir, who featured on her acclaimed 2016 album Winter. Recorded in her native Georgia, the record commanded some of the finest reviews of her career, and she’ll be performing tracks from it alongside brand new recordings and catalogue classics at The Lowry on December 2 next year. Tickets are on sale now from gigsandtours.com/tour/katiemelua. Black Foxxes Deaf Institute, Manchester March 28 Emo-punk trio Black Foxxes release their second album, Reiði (yeah, us neither) next year, supported by their biggest headline tour to date. The record is the follow-up to last year’s critically-acclaimed debut I’m Not Well and is due out on March 16 just before their tour calls at Manchester’s Deaf Institute on March 28. Tickets go on sale at 10am today (Friday) from gigsandtours.com/tour/blackfoxxes No Hot Ashes Academy 2, Manchester March 31 After opening for Blossoms, The Amazons, Prides and Spring King as well as appearing at major festivals including Kendal Calling, Y Not, Neighbourhood and Tramlines, Stockport four-piece No Hot Ashes are about to take their brand of post-pop-disco-funk centre stage with a headline show of their own at Manchester Academy 2. Tickets go on sale today (Friday) at 9am from gigsandtours.com/tour/no-hotashes. Billy Ocean Bridgewater Hall, Manchester November 12 The Trinidadian R&B legend is coming to Manchester on a UK tour next year. The Love Really Hurts Without You hitmaker will play at the Bridgewater Hall, where fans can look forward to hits including Caribbean Queen, Loverboy and When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going. Now aged 67, the Grammy Award-winning artist has sold more 30 million records worldwide to date. Tickets go on sale at 10am today (Friday) from gigsandtours.com/tour/billy-ocean. Sounds of the City Castlefield Bowl, Manchester June 29 to July 6 Sounds of the City will take over Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl again next year for another series of summer shows. Shed Seven (June 29), The Levellers (July 1), Rag’n’Bone Man (July 4), and Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott (July 6) and Elvis Costello (supporting on July 6) will all perform during the run of outdoor shows at the waterfront venue. Haçienda Classiçal (June 30) will also be back at the bowl for a party like no other, featuring experimental orchestra and Manchester Camerata and Haçienda DJs Mike Pickering and Graeme Park, reimagining club floorfillers as classical compositions. Tickets go on sale at 10am today (Friday) from gigsandtours.com/venue/ castlefield-bowl-manchester/4750/ Dr John Cooper Clarke Bridgewater Hall, Manchester November 22 The Bard of Salford, punk performance poet John Cooper Clarke, is heading back out on tour for a string of shows including at date at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on November 22. His latest show promises a mix of classic verse, new material, ponderings on modern life, good honest gags, riffs and chat. Tickets go on sale at 10am today (Friday) from gigsandtours. com/tour/dr-john-cooper-clarke.