Support: Ankor • Solence • Catch Your Breath
Ankor — Opening Fire
Ankor opened the night with a confident blaze. Their set arrived crisp and commanding, lighting up the venue with aggressive riffs and punchy rhythms. The crowd, still filtering in, quickly found their focus as the Spanish-born group braided theatricality with heftier metal edges — a solid primer for the heavier evening ahead. Jessie Williams’ presence and vocal intensity helped carve out a fierce early groove that got the room nodding and moving even in the early starts to the show, being the first band on with only a half hour window after the doors opened is never easy everyone is cold and wet from the Manchester weather, but they without a doubt warmed up the room and got smiles on peoples faces, and seeing fists in the air and hearing conversations around me about how amazing they sounded just brings smiles to your face, knowing a band like this really brought people in with their sound.
They were an amazing opener to have for this kind of show, they brought a unique sound that had a lot of power metal elements with the vocals with a high energy performance from every member of that band. They had a vibe that had a mix of Paramore and Powermetal brought together which is an odd mix when you think about it but seeing it live you can see exactly how it works and brings the energy up!
Solence — Swedish Swagger Ignites the Floor
Next up, Solence turned up the heat with polished, adrenaline-charged rock. The Swedish outfit balanced electronic flair with muscular guitar work, linking hooks and heavy grooves in a way that drew early cheers. These guys instantly made me think of Electric Callboy but without the neon gimmick, they had such a fun sound I instantly thought of multiple people I know who would love them and become major fans of theirs just from one listen, which pretty much happened, my partner has been playing Solence in the car every single day since this gig and hasn’t shut up about them so if that tells you everything you need to know, get listening to them especially their song “Good Fucking Music” hearing that live really brought me in as a new fan, the song was electrifying it really gets your blood pumping, weird way of putting it but it makes you want to do that old Jersey Shore move and pump your fists in the air to the beat and headbang at the exact same time, weird mix but it works!
Markus Videsäter’s stage command and easy rapport with the audience pulled hands up across the room, and by the time their set exploded, the crowd was primed and ready for the deeper heaviness that followed.
The energy these guys brought with their unique sound, you don’t hear as many bands like this around so they took something that is still kind of a niche in the UK and ran with it bringing in so many people in that room.
Setlist:
- Angels Calling
- Good F**king Music – (Highly recommend)
- Where Were You?
- Blackout
- Anger Management
- Heaven
- Animal In Me
- Who You Gonna Call? (Solence)
Catch Your Breath — Energy + Emotion
By the time Catch Your Breath hit the stage, the floor had thickened with anticipation. The Texan metalcore group wasted no time diving in, unleashing tight, emotional riffs with visceral force. I’ve seen these guys before and they deliver with their performance and emotions run high whenever they play, they were in my Spotify Wrapped for this year and their album Shame On Me was one of my most played albums of 2025 because it captures your emotions and really brings you in and makes you feel things like a metalcore Taylor Swift.
Its not “She makes us all feel things” its “Catch Your Breath makes us all feel things and i’m not mad about it”
Highlights like Savages and Dial Tone saw the room illuminated with phone lights as fans sang back every word, feeding off the band’s intensity. Their performance wasn’t just loud — it was heartfelt, grilling every chorus with genuine connection and leaving the audience roaring for more.
You can’t have a Catch Your Breath set without their song Good In Goodbye which is about the guitarist’ grandmother’s passing which brought emotions right up, its one of those songs where you need to check on your friends around you during that moment because there is not a dry eye in the house.
Catch Your Breath are on the festival circuit next year, heading to Download Festival 2026 so if you don’t have any intense clashes then I would highly recommend them or ditch your other band and get a new favourite one with them.
Setlist:
- Savages
- Deadly – (My Recommendation)
- Dark
- Ghost Inside the Shell
- Perfect World
- Good in Goodbye
- Y.S.K.W
- 21 Gun Salute
- Dial Tone
- Shame On Me
Nothing More — Headliners With Heart and Fury
When Nothing More finally took the stage, it was clear why they’ve forged such a devoted following. Frontman Jonny Hawkins emerged — painted, barefoot, and immediately commanding attention — diving straight into fan favorites like House on Sand and Angel Song. The band’s set was a masterclass in pacing: explosive peaks, atmospheric dips, and moments where technical precision met pure catharsis.
The O2 Ritz, known for its tight sightlines and visceral atmosphere, proved the perfect setting — amplifying every drum hit and guitar wail while hosting one of the most engaged crowds of the night. Nothing More’s blend of emotional depth and muscular rock delivered not just volume but narrative. Tracks like If It Doesn’t Hurt and Go To War sparked palpable sing-alongs, while FREEFALL and Jenny roared back with full audience participation, turning the venue into a unified force rather than merely an audience.
I am going to say one negative thing about this performance, and it’s nothing to do with Johnny’s vocals. They were immaculate the entire evening. There are no faults with that. However, asking all the men in the audience to do ‘manly cheers’ in a deep voice but for the women to moan like they’re having an intimate moment just made me a little sick to my stomach, in fact it caused an instant stink face to appear like there was a bad smell in the room and i think it left a bad taste in my mouth from that point onwards throughout the entire show. It was just an odd thing to have in the middle of a set that separated the crowd by quite a bit, it didn’t make you feel united in a room, it actually made you feel very separate.
There was a huge moment soon afterwards for an amazing guitar solo but with a unique twist, the guitar was attached upside down to a device so the bassist, guitarist and vocalist could all play the guitar at once before swinging it around and ducking before it hit one of them in the face like a weird decapitating game. But the moment was very fun to witness, with me texting my friend who was in a different section of the room about his guitar obsession and how this is his ideal watch party.
Before jumping into Spirits the audience was allowed to choose whether it was the song to play, but even as Johnny introduced the songs that would be the decider I could hear members of the crowd saying Spirits. The choice was Spirits or Mr MTV with the song with the highest cheer being the winner.
Visually, the show was just as striking — dynamic lighting and throttling sound helped propel moments of vulnerability and explosive energy alike, keeping everyone locked in from the first note to the final encore. But before the band exited the stage and we all went home and back into the wet weather of Manchester, the boys picked up drums from the side of the stage climbed into the crowd and played the drums with the crowd holding them around them, this being a key feature of a Nothing More show this was one hell of a way to end an amazing performance!.
Setlist:
- House on Sand
- Angel Song
- Let ‘em Burn
- If It Doesn’t Hurt – (My Recommendation)
- [Bass Solo]
- Don’t Stop
- Go To War
- FREEFALL
- Jenny
- Spirits
- STUCK
- Fadein/Fadeout
- Ocean Floor
- This Is The Time (Belfast)
Final Thoughts
From the solid groundwork laid by the support bands to the headliners’ commanding performance, Manchester’s O2 Ritz was treated to a night of rock that was equal parts visceral and memorable. Nothing More and their touring companions delivered a show that balanced intensity with heart, leaving fans buzzing long after the final chord faded.
Whether you came for the anthems, the energy, or just to feel every decibel in your chest, this was a night where live rock truly lived up to its name.
Images: Lauren Allard
Words: Lauren Allard & Jacob Robinson
