Manchester is known for its rich musical culture and still rivals most cities with its live scene. From iconic returns to the stage to rare performances in incredible venues, it’s all going on with Manchester gigs. We’ve truly got the low-down on the biggest gigs happening in Manchester in September, so allow us to get you all excited about what’s to come in live music this month.
Jorja Smith (album release)
Modern R&B icon Jorja Smith is set to play a very special pair of intimate shows to celebrate the release of her upcoming album, right here in Manchester. Rough Trade presents a matinee and evening outstore performance from multi-award-winning singer and songwriter Jorja Smith at New Century Hall, celebrating the release of her new album ‘What Are the Odds‘ featuring sole production from P2J and collaborations with Afrobeat star Wizkid and Grime icon Devlin.
As part of their ‘To Be Free: Live’ tour, Sam Smith is set to play two gigs at Manchester’s Albert Hall on September 3 and 4, followed by eight nights at London’s Coliseum. The residencies began around the time of Sam Smith releasing their fifth studio album, ‘Hazel Eyes’, in August following ‘Gloria’ from 2023.
Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to breathtaking venues in Manchester that have never been used for this purpose before. Secure your tickets now and discover the best works of Hans Zimmer at Manchester Cathedral under the gentle glow of candlelight.
You can expect iconic tunes played by an incredible string quartet including:
- This Land from The Lion King
- Time from Inception
- Zooster’s Breakout from Madagascar
- Supermarine from Dunkirk
- Honor from The Pacific
- A Dark Knight from The Dark Knight
- Wonder Woman Suite
- Cornfield Chase from Interstellar
- Dune Suite
- Gladiator Suite
- Discombobulate from Sherlock Holmes
- Pirates of the Caribbean Suite
Angel-voiced Daniel Caesar is finally back, and he’s bringing quite the show to Manchester’s Co-op Live this September. ‘Son Of Spergy‘, Daniel Caesar’s follow-up to his 2023 LP ‘NEVER ENOUGH’ is about reconciliation; specifically, with his father. It’s both deeply contemplative and powerful in this examination, while still honouring the most exciting aspect of Caesar’s artistry: the album is compositionally and melodically breathtaking.
His upcoming tour will see Daniel celebrate this brand new release, on his biggest tour to date, with the Manchester gig being one of just two UK dates on the entire tour.
Manchester Psych Fest
Manchester Psych Fest, the UK’s leading Psychedelic multi-venue music and arts festival returns on Saturday 5 September across various city centre venues including O2 Apollo, O2 Ritz, Manchester Academy, Projekts Skate Park, Gorilla, YES, Deaf Institute, Circle Square, Sandbar, Lass O’Gowrie, The Abbey and The Bread Shed.
The line-up includes:
- The Beta Band
- Working Men’s Club
- Gwenno
- Ghostwoman
- Freak Slug
- Night Tapes
- Floral Image
- Mleko
- Thistle.
- Lemonsuckr
- Martial Arts
- Stereolab
- Ty Segall
- Allah‑Las
- Anna von Hauswolff
- Model/Actriz
- The KVB
- Adult DVD
- Lael Neale
- The Mystery Lights
- Snuggle
- S.G. Goodman
- Sex Mask
- Annabelle Chairlegs
- Silver Gore
- Roscoe Roscoe
- Water Machine
- Rude Films
- Shaking Hand
- Pollyfromthedirt
- Honk
- Dreamwave
- Group A.D.
- Angine de Poitrine
- White Denim
- Automatic
- The Belair Lip Bombs
- Drook
- Mogan
Multi-hyphenate artist, entrepreneur, actor, and fashion icon A$AP Rocky is embarking on his 2026 tour, Don’t Be Dumb World Tour, coming to Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday 5th September. Rocky has continued to dominate the music industry by clocking over 25.7 billion total streams to date, and this 42-date world tour is set to delight fans across the globe.
Worldwide pop sensations KATSEYE are out on their WILDWORLD TOUR, a headline outing taking the global girl group to arenas across the UK, Europe and North America – including a massive show at Manchester’s Co-op Live, of course. The tour will celebrate the release of their most recent EP ‘WILD’, on which the likes of PINKY UP shows the prowess of this modern iconic girl group,
National treasure and singing sensation Jane McDonald is officially ‘Living The Dream’ as she drops into Manchester on a brand new UK tour for 2026. In support of the tour, Jane has released her new album ‘Living The Dream’.
Recorded in Nashville at the famous Blackbird Studios, ‘Living The Dream’ is Jane’s 11th studio album and presents her nod to Country unveiling her passion for the music boasting nine original songs and four stunning reworkings of Country classics, showcasing her dynamic and diverse musicality.
In the band’s first full UK/European tour since their World’s Collide Tour in 2022, Evanescence will kick off the UK leg of their tour in Leeds on September 8 followed by a show at Co-op Live in Manchester on September 10, before heading to Birmingham and London. 2025 saw Evanescence focus on creating new music, a few well-timed festival appearances and dates with the likes of My Chemical Romance, Halsey and Metallica.
Special guest Poppy and K-Flay, who features on Evanescence’s latest single, Fight Like A Girl, will support on all UK and European shows.
Primal Scream are off on a string of UK dates, including a special Manchester show at the iconic New Century. On ‘The XTRMNTR Tour’, Primal Scream will perform—you guessed it—XTRMNTR in full, marking 25+ years since the album came out.
This follows special demand for more shows celebrating the record, after Bobby Gillespie and co. played their sixth studio album (which came out in 2000) it in its entirety last year, giving air to some of their biggest hits at the incredible Aviva Studios in Manchester.
One of the defining stars of her generation, multiplatinum global icon Hilary Duff is returning to the pop world with her boldest and most self-assured project yet. After rising to fame as the titular star of the Disney Channel blockbuster, Lizzie McGuire, Duff first kicked off her music career with 2003’s 4X platinum ‘Metamorphosis’, then released her platinum-selling 2004 self-titled LP and 2007 autobiographical dance-pop collection ‘Dignity.’
Now, she’s bringing the lucky me tour to Manchester on 12 September, after the release of her new album, ‘luck… or something’. Joining Hilary Duff for each show across the world is a truly bulletproof booking in the form of La Roux! A showstopping line-up for Hilary Duff’s return to the stage.
Ezra Collective (DJ set)
British jazz quintet Ezra Collective are coming to Gorilla this month for a special DJ set. With fourth album Here Because Of Hope set to be released later this month, the hype is most definitely still high around Ezra Collective, and given their wide expanse of influences, their DJ skills are set to be off the chart.
