The Black Keys at Manchester's new Co-op Live arena - rescheduled date, ticket information and support act

Rock icons The Black Keys have had their date at Manchester’s new Co-op Live pushed back.

At one stage the band were set to be the first official act to perform at the 23,500-capacity venue after Peter Kay’s opening gigs were put back due to an electricity supply issue. There were due to play to a reduced capacity of 10,000 on April 27. This was however scrapped 24 hours before with a new date of May 15.

The Black Keys have been a force in music for many years, releasing their debut album ‘The Big Come Up’ in 2002. The duo from Ohio have been nominated and won a BRIT Award and Grammy Awards over the years.  The Co-op Live gig comes just weeks after the release of their 12th studio album ‘Ohio Players’ which dropped on April 5. 

Co-op Live’s opening season will see the arena feature more than 30 artists across over 50 shows, including a seven-night Take That residency, a five-night UK exclusive residency as part of The Eagles’ final ever tour, Barry Manilow's only UK arena show and Eric Clapton’s first Manchester performance in 10 years. But the opening has been beset by problems since a test event headlined by Rick Astley - with executive director and general manager Gary Roden resigning.

What have Co-op Live said about The Black Keys gig?

When announcing Peter Kay’s planned opening gigs would be delayed from April 23 and 24 to Monday, April 29 and Tuesday, April 30, Co-op Live said: “We will still be hosting The Black Keys on 27 April in the lower bowl with 10K fans as planned, and will continue to test the resilience of the venue and its operations."

However the day before Co-op Live issued a further statement outlining that the gig would now take place on May 15.

Who is supporting The Black Keys at Co-op Live?

The Black Keys have had Liverpool band Circa Waves as their support for the UK shows on their tour. Whether the rearranged date impacts a Manchester appearance is unclear.

Formed in 2013, Circa Waves have five studio albums to their name with the most recent 'Never Going Under' being released in January 2023. The band has plenty of classic tunes, with 'T-Shirt Weather' being perhaps the most familiar and one of their catchiest.