If you’ve been paying attention to BBC 6 Music’s Chris Hawkins, you’ll know that his ears are very much worth trusting. He was an early champion of Sam Fender, Wet Leg and The Lathums — all now headline acts — and his Manchester showcase series Awesome Friends has been quietly building into one of the most exciting grassroots nights in the city since its relaunch in January 2026, with three sold-out dates already under its belt.
The next one is Monday May 25 at Night & Day, and the lineup is excellent. Tickets go on sale Friday April 17 at 10am via gigst.rs/AFBrogeal.
Headlining are Brògeal — a five-piece from Falkirk who are genuinely hard to categorise and absolutely impossible not to love. Celtic folk energy, indie pop harmonies, The Pogues’ rambunctiousness, Teenage Fanclub’s warmth, a bit of Oasis yearning and enough accordion, banjo, bouzouki and penny whistle to fill a particularly brilliant pub session. They’ve spent the last 18 months touring relentlessly across the UK and Ireland, supporting Paolo Nutini, The Mary Wallopers and The Lathums, and gathering fans everywhere they go — including Line of Duty actor Martin Compston, who apparently cannot get enough of them. Rolling Stone UK, NME, DIY, Clash and The Independent have all taken notice. Their live shows are, by all accounts, communal, delirious, sing-along chaos. The death of the great good-time band has been greatly exaggerated.
Also on the bill are Glasgow’s The Rooks, who have been building serious momentum in Scotland and are starting to make serious noise at a national level. Their debut EP Noise Confusion drew comparisons to Oasis and early Stereophonics, and their sold-out show at Glasgow’s Art School in December confirmed they’ve already outgrown their local circuit. BBC Introducing’s Stephanie Cheape has compared their rise to Gerry Cinnamon and The Snuts — which, if you know what that trajectory looks like, is a very promising thing to hear.
Completing the lineup are Brisbane trio Bean Magazine, whose grunge-gaze sound pulls from The Pixies, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins and Elliott Smith into something that’s entirely their own. Raw, melodic and built for a live room.
Hawkins describes Awesome Friends as having the potential to be the next King Tuts moment — the kind of night where, years from now, you’ll want to say you were there. On this lineup, he might not be wrong.
Tickets on sale Friday April 17 at 10am. gigst.rs/AFBrogeal.