Middleton band Courteeners have announced that they will be playing a gig in Middlesbrough on May 27th – their first of 2022. It’ll be happening at Middlesbrough Empire and tickets shall be available from this Friday at 9 am and can be accessed via this link. The band’s frontman, Liam Fray, was obviously beside himself, tweeting “UP THE FUCKIN’ BORO. Little warm up. Tix onsale Friday. HWFG.”
UP THE FUCKIN’ BORO
Little warm up.
Tix onsale Friday. HWFG.
https://t.co/SUj6nftyiG pic.twitter.com/CzEvHD4pZL— Liam Fray (@What_Liam_Said) May 3, 2022
The gig will be a good warm-up for the band, who will be following it up with an appearance at Neighbourhood Weekender 2022 the very next day. Courteeners will be appearing alongside the likes of Kasabian and Blossoms (whose latest music video you can read about here). Tickets can be gotten here. The band are a big part of Neighbourhood Weekender’s history, having headlined at their inaugural edition back in 2018.
Courteeners headline @NBHDWeekender, Victoria Park, Warrington on Saturday 28th May 2022. Tickets are on sale now from https://t.co/Bv83MtcCFJ #NBHDWKND22 pic.twitter.com/jhszGDjcrn — Courteeners (@thecourteeners) February 3, 2022
Aside from this, they also have an appearance due for Y Not Festival in Derbyshire on July 30th, tickets for which can be gotten here. Among the other acts appearing alongside them include Stereophonics and Manic Street Preachers.
Courteeners headline @YNotFestival, Pikehall, Derbyshire 29th – 31st July 2022. Tickets are on sale now from https://t.co/uIfAw5P3xH #SummerIsComing pic.twitter.com/PZWdKWeNqg
— Courteeners (@thecourteeners) February 22, 2022
Last year the group shared their 2019 performance at Heaton Park on their YouTube channel. The event had them performing to 50,000 people in Manchester, being supported by Mancunian rock band James, Australian three-piece DMA’s and indie rock group Pale Waves (who’ve recently announced the upcoming release of a new single).
NME said of the Heaton Park gig that “As [Courteeners] depart to mass euphoria and a flurry of Carlsberg bottles tossed in the air like mortarboards at a graduation, you feel Liam’s annus horribilis has been cathartically washed away.”
Among some of the more unusual news concerning the band, last year saw Fray announce his new restaurant – The Smithfield Social. You can find out more on the website here. If you fancy an assortment of cocktails, brunch and small plates, Fray’s your guy.
The band, which formed back in 2006, consists of Fray on vocals/guitar, Daniel Moores on guitar and Michael Campbell on drums. They haven’t had much in the way of new music lately, with their most recent studio album being 2020’s More. Again. Forever. – their sixth studio album.
The album got its own fair share of positive reviews, with NME awarding it four stars and saying “‘More. Again. Forever’ strikes a mature balance. It’s escapist in its sound but humane in its approach to the world. It’s experimental but familiar, and tests what the band are capable of while proving to be their most focussed work to date.” The album reached number 2 on the UK Albums Chart and number 1 in Scotland.
Despite the lack of new music, you’ve got all their live dates to make the most of before the band pop out another single or album, so you might as well get ticket hunting while you still can.
