Rowetta crowns our next music ‘kings’
THE city’s music queen Rowetta has annointed the ‘future Kings of Manchester’ after seeing two up-andcoming-bands play in the city at the weekend.
Rowetta went to watch Liam Gallagher’s son Gene play in his band Villanelle, supporting hotly-tipped Manchester band Pastel at the Band on the Wall.
And both bands left a BIG impression on Happy Mondays legend Rowetta. She posted after the gig that she was ‘blown away’ by both Villanelle and Pastel who she praised for their ‘raw talent.’
Pastel are fronted by Manchester raised cousins Jack and James Yates and have been building a devoted grassroots fanbase. They hit the headlines back in June 2022 when Liam Gallagher chose them as one of the supports on his epic Knebworth gigs.
Meanwhile, Villanelle formed last year with Gene Gallagher as singer and guitarist. Gene is the son of two music legends in the form of Oasis star Liam and All Saints star Nicole Appleton.
His dad Liam announced earlier this year that Villanelle would be one of the support acts on his upcoming Definitely Maybe 30th anniversary tour this summer. And it sounds like fans are in for a treat. Posting photos from the gig, Rowetta wrote on X: “Such a special night! Thank you @Pastelband & @ villanellemusic Pure raw talent! “Blown away, shocked and excited by how much soul these boys have.”
She added: “Great musicians & songwriters and really good people with good hearts! The future Kings of Manchester”.
On Instagram, she added: “I’m going to treasure tonight at @Bandonthewall as I did @fontainesband in the early days.”
Fans were quick to agree with Rowetta about Pastel and Villanelle. Windy Miller posted: “Wise words from the Queen of Mancunia. Top night.” Hallywoodz said: “Both bands rocked it!”
Julie121005 said: “Aww wow u met Gene his band is good gone be like his dad.”
Webbie73 said of Pastel: “They’ve got the old school swagger about them, proper rock ‘n’ roll.”