Music

Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff is often heard yet seldom seen. The 39-year-old New Jerseyan is the veiled mastermind behind some of the most acclaimed pop albums of the last decade, a recurring collaborator with Taylor Swift, Lorde and The 1975. Antonoff’s standalone project, Bleachers, is fast emerging as one of the most exciting acts from North America. What started as a one man homage to 1980s pop culture has grown to spearhead a new era of indie pop, spanning four studio albums. 

Manchester based metalcore band Atheana kick off the night with a furious set. Lead singer Soph sports…

Feeder have never looked to reinvent the wheel. The only discernible difference between their latest material and their earlier output is familiarity. Each new album has a modular nature that means you could interchange, say, the fifth and eighth track on any LP and barely notice the difference. That doesn’t quite translate to the live setting, though; as solid as recent single ‘ELF’ is, it’ll eventually settle lower in the pecking order than its current curtain-raiser status.

There hasn’t been such a dense concentration of chequered Vans trainers in Manchester for at least 20 years. Then again, The Movielife shows are a rarity here, and an opportunity to relive 2003’s Forty Hour Train Back to Penn in full is the perfect excuse to raid the old wardrobe. The fans’ hair dye is more restrained these days, jeans rest above the hips, and most of the earlobe plug holes have healed, but their enthusiasm is as rabid as ever.

Featured image and gallery: Josie Hunt Middlesbrough-born James Arthur makes his return to Manchester’s AO Arena, the…

South Arcade kick off their set, amping up the energy with ‘Silverlight’, showcasing lead singer Harmony Cavelle’s vocals. Like Avril Lavigne crossed with Christine Aguilera, Cavelle has a confident stage presence and the vocal power to back it up, fronting the Oxford-based band with Cody Leigh on drums, Harry Winks on guitar and Ollie Green on bass. 

Skindred have established themselves as icons in the UK metal scene, with appearances at Slam Dunk and Bloodstock festivals under their belt. Their notoriety has recently extended toward younger generations around the world through TikTok and tonight, they make their return to Manchester to awaken something feral in the horde.

Hoards of fans and punters alike cram themselves wall to wall in the hope of getting an unobscured view of Yard Act’s James Smith. The Manchester born frontman is frantically scrambling at the many dials atop a mixing desk under the watchful eye of bandmate Jay Russell. The crowd continues to grow until faces begin to peer in from the windows at the back of the room, eager to be involved in the chaos inside. It’s a beautiful, sweaty, hot mess in celebration of Yard Act’s all day residency across the city. The plot twist; this is only the afterparty. 

Following the abrupt announcement of an impending hiatus, Doncaster-based alternative rock band The Blinders have a lot to prove at their conclusive headline show. The New Century Hall show marks ‘one last spin, one last dance’ for the band, who recently returned after four years with their third studio album, Beholder.

Featured image: Esther Roberts Crimson lights bathe the crevices of The Castle’s wooden vaulted ceiling and two…

Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall Alaska-based Medium Build, aka Nick Carpenter, opens up the evening with…

Fans have converged to witness the raw intensity of Knocked Loose, who have returned to the UK to play their biggest headline show to date alongside hardcore genre up-and-comers, Deafheaven and Headbussa.

Featured image and gallery: Gracie Hall Peter Xan opens the evening in YES’s Pink Room, delivering an…