June gigs round-up

IN a month when the city sees a mass exodus of students, it appears that live music is arriving in abundance in Manchester this June.

With Chase & Status, Kelis and Two Door Cinema Club all heading to Parklife Festival in Platt Field’s Park on June 11 and 12 (from £35) it seems as though summer will be starting with a crash and a wallop.

Highlights at the Academy include Funeral Party on 1 June (£9.50), The Horrors on 16 June (£10) and the legendary Adam Ant bringing his post punk sound to Academy 2 on 5 June (£22.50). Also in Academy 2, TV On The Radio will be performing prior to their only other UK summer date at Hyde Park’s Wireless festival. They’ll be there playing songs from their new album ‘Nine Types of Light’ on 27 June (£17.50).

Michael Ball will be kicking off the month on 1 June when middle aged women will undoubtedly be swarming to hear him sing at the Apollo (from £32.50). Bringing different sounds to the same venue will be 70s rockers Whitesnake on 17 June (£38.50), the King of Blues B.B. King on 25 June (from £40) and Portland-based folk band Fleet Foxes on 28 June (£21.50).

The MEN Arena will be playing host to Boy George, Jason Donovan and Belinda Carlisle on Sunday 26 June for the Here & Now 10^th Anniversary tour (£36.50). Later in the month, the cast of Glee will be bringing the musical numbers from the US TV show to the MEN on 22 and 23 June (from £45). And to start the month off with some quality music, Duran Duran will return from their seven year break from live performances on 3 June (from £30).

The original acid jazz pioneer Nicola Conte (main picture) will be taking to the stage at Band on the Wall on Thursday 9 June (£15), with folk music coming from Martha Tilston on 30 June (£12.50).

Elsewhere in the city’s smaller, more intimate, venues, siblings Kitty, Daisy & Lewis will be performing at The Ruby Lounge on 10 June (£10), The Chapin Sisters head to Night & Day café on 13 June (£6) whilst singer songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich will be bringing his guitar to The Deaf Institute on 6 June (£8).