The heart belongs at home. And this weekend, a sizable number of the best bands, singers, and rappers will make their way back there to perform at significant open-air concerts.
Along with the Courteeners, The Arctic Monkeys, Sam Fender, and Aitch will return to Manchester, Sheffield, and Newcastle to play to audiences.
As the neighborhood heroes get ready to head to the North, here is a look at what to anticipate.
For their own sakes, let's hope the guest lists are already in order.
If not, some former friends and family members will be disappointed.
Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner proudly stated that his band is from "High Green, Sheffield" when introducing his group at Glastonbury Festival in 2013—as they will do again later this month.
The now-internationally based superstars will stop by their hometown for two nights of rock 'n' roll fun 'n' games before continuing on with their current UK tour in support of their seventh studio album The Car.
The Sheffield performances will feel "like a victory lap," drummer Matt Helders recently told the Big Issue.
They will be playing in a park close to the Sheffield Wednesday stadium, so it's likely that the cries of "Yorkkkshire" that resounded as they opened Leeds Festival last summer will be amplified.
Fans may recall that Turner can be heard telling a taxi driver to go home after a wild night out in the city in the lyrics of the song Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured from their groundbreaking debut album from 2006.
The Wednesday-supporting singer once sang an a cappella version of Mardy Mum in Newcastle in honor of his idol, former Owls footballer Chris Waddle. Mardy Mum is another old fan favorite that has recently made a welcome comeback to the band's set.
Fans of the player and the band might once more find themselves strolling through a Waddle wonderland this weekend.
It's safe to say that Sam Fender is a devoted Newcastle United supporter.
After arriving straight from St James's Park, where he had joined supporters in celebrating the club's Saudi Arabian-backed takeover, which put an end to Mike Ashley's 14-year reign as owner, the rocker made an "really, really hungover" appearance on the BBC Breakfast sofa in Salford in 2021.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast while wearing a Magpies tracksuit, the man who has come to be known as "Geordie Springsteen" confirmed that when his saxophonist Johnny "Blue Hat" Davis began playing the team anthem, Local Hero by Mark Knopfler, outside the stadium, "5,000 Geordies started singing along.".
"I took 1,000 or so selfies and was properly mobbed. They gave us a lot of cans, though, and everyone was absolutely classy," he said.
Due to demand, the singer, 29, who will follow the Arctics by headlining Leeds Festival later this summer, cannot afford to have a bad hangover from his performance on Friday because he must get up and perform again the following night.
When the first gig was announced, he said that playing at the stadium of his favorite team would be "the biggest show we've ever done" and "a childhood dream come true.". ".
When former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer paid him a surprise visit in North Shields around the time his 2019 debut album Hypersonic Missiles topped the charts, the Seventeen Going Under singer and musician previously said it had been the "best day of his life.".
Although transportation officials have warned the area will be "a lot busier than usual" as a result of the concerts, it is safe to assume neither will be attending Saturday's concert by US pop star Pink at the stadium of venerable rivals Sunderland.
For Manchester's fun-loving, fist-pumping, anthemic indie rock fans, the regular Courteeners open-air show has evolved into something of a ritual since the demise of Oasis.
St Jude, the band's self-titled debut album, became their first number one this year after a historic, patient 15-year climb to the top of the charts.
Their hometown of Middleton, as well as Withington and Fallowfield, as well as a few stale city center hangouts, are all mentioned on the record.
Frontman Liam Fray told the BBC that they planned to celebrate by playing the entire album live at Heaton Park on Friday.
"Basically, we're going to base everything off St. Jude, followed by practically a greatest hits," he said in January. "I tend to put off thinking about Heaton Park until the morning of the gig because the size of it just blows my mind.
The Manchester United supporter continued, "I'll just take it easy over the next few months, play a little golf, watch a little football, and cook a little.". When that happens, I'll say, "Oh crap, we'd better deal with this now.
But it'll just be a big party, I guess. It's a tribute to all of the people who have helped us. ".
In a previous attack on the American rapper, the singer-songwriter for Not Nineteen Forever claimed that Eminem had "crossed a line" by making reference to the Manchester bombing in his lyrics.
The following night, Aitch, a rapper from north Manchester and a supporter of Manchester United, will perform as part of Parklife's Saturday lineup at the same Heaton Park location.
The 23-year-old, whose song My G, which features Ed Sheeran, was written in honor of his younger sister Gracie, who has Down syndrome, told the BBC that one of his "main goals" was about to be accomplished.
He described himself as "buzzing" and noted that it seemed a little "unreal" to be at the top of the Manchester festival lineup so soon. What happens after this doesn't matter to me; I'm content, he continued.
The actor previously claimed that he felt like "the most hated person in Manchester" after a mural of Ian Curtis was painted over with an advertisement for his album. He also appeared to poke fun at Harry Styles while winning at this year's Brit Awards.
The advertisement for Close to Home was placed over the mural of the late Joy Division singer painted by artist Akse P19 in the city's Northern Quarter for a mental health campaign in 2020. Aitch assured fans that it would be reinstated, but admitted that the error had left him "fuming.".
All will be forgiven if he destroys this weekend's performance, which festival-goers and ground staff will be happy to hear is scheduled to take place in the sunshine and now without the anticipated tram strikes in Manchester.
- On June 29–30, Jamie Webster will be at Liverpool Waterfront.
- Flo at Wireless Festival on July 8 in London.
- Manchester's Wythenshawe Park will host Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds on August 26.
- On August 26, young fathers attended the Connect Festival in Edinburgh.
- Self-esteem at Sheffield's Don Valley Bowl on September 2.
- Sheffield Arena will host The Reytons on September 30.
