BETTER JOY - SELL OUT NIGHT AND DAY - MANCHESTER
- Isobel Eve Scott
- Apr 8
- 4 min read
Night And Day Manchester April 4th 2025
WORDS AND IMAGES ISOBEL EVE SCOTT
Another Friday night in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, and the Night And Day Café is already buzzing with the energy of a crowd ready for live music. The venue is steadily filling up with excited gig-goers, many arriving early to secure a good spot for Better Joy’s sold-out headline show. Currently mid-way through a UK and Europe tour, Better Joy are riding high on the momentum of their debut EP, "Heading Into Blue" , and Manchester clearly showed up for them tonight.
The lineup this evening is a bit of a mixed bag, in the best way. First to take the stage is solo singer-songwriter Blossom Caldarone, who sits behind a piano to deliver an enchanting opening set. The support acts on this tour have varied from city to city, and I feel pretty lucky that Manchester’s stop ended up with her. Her performance is understated and deeply moving—her vocals and piano working together to cast a quiet spell over the room. The usually chatty venue falls silent, with the entire audience fully tuned in. She closes with the yet-to-be-released ‘Beautiful’, another intimate piano-led track that highlights her songwriting skills and emotional range.
Next up is Harvey Jay Dodgson, another singer-songwriter—but this time flanked by a full live band. From the very first track, there’s a noticeable shift in energy. Their sound is bigger, louder, and lands somewhere between indie grit and stadium ambition, calling to mind bands like Catfish and the Bottlemen and The Snuts. Harvey, full of confidence and charm, mentions the six-hour drive from Portsmouth to play the gig—adding a touch of commitment and underdog spirit to the set. His recent single, ‘Embers’, is a particular highlight; it stands out immediately and seems to resonate deeply, with even the people chilling at the back of the venue nodding along. It’s clear that this is a track people will go home and look up. Harvey Jay Dodgson is set to play his own headline show on May 30th in Brighton, and based on tonight’s performance, it’s one to watch.
SETLIST
1/ Kids on the Firing Line
2/ Marilyn Rose
3/ Embers
4/ Caroline
5/ Freedom
6/ Love Hurts
7/ Tell Me
8/ For The Love Of It
As the clock nears half past nine, the atmosphere in the room intensifies with anticipation. Better Joy take to the stage, greeted by warm cheers and eager applause. The band—formed in late 2023 and fronted by Bria Keely—are a Manchester-based alternative pop/indie four-piece that are making waves in the scene. Their newly released debut EP heading into blue marks a significant moment for them, and this show is both a celebration and a statement.
Interestingly, this show was originally scheduled for the YES basement, a beloved but smaller Manchester venue. But after selling it out, the gig was upgraded to Night and Day, and then sold out again. It’s always affirming to see Manchester audiences show up for rising independent artists, and tonight is no exception.
Better Joy open with ‘Situations’, one of their earlier singles, setting the tone with confident delivery and tight instrumentation. They follow it up with ‘Couldn’t Run Forever’, a dynamic and infectious track that Bria introduces as an upcoming release. There’s already a sense of polish and ambition in their performance—it feels like a band punching well above their weight this early into their journey.
As the set progresses, things only continue to build. For the stunning ‘Quiet Thing’, there’s a surprise twist—Andy Dunlop from Travis joins them on stage to play guitar, an unexpected but hugely welcome addition that visibly excites the crowd. Before the buzz has even died down, Better Joy launch into a cover of New Radicals’ ‘You Get What You Give’, which electrifies the room. The crowd erupts, singing along in full voice—it’s a euphoric moment that hits all the right notes.
Given that the new EP only came out a couple of weeks ago, much of tonight’s setlist consists of songs being played live for the first time. It can be hard to predict how new material will land in a live setting, but Better Joy handle it like seasoned pros. One track in particular—‘Carnival’—gets such a strong reaction that it’s played again in the encore, much to the audience’s delight.
It’s overall an incredibly enjoyable gig, packed with surprises, great performances, and a strong sense of connection between the artists and the audience. It’s the kind of night that reaffirms your love for independent music and the venues that support it.
Better Joy will continue their headline tour across Europe and are also set to appear at The Great Escape Festival in Brighton next month—a perfect next step for a band on a fast and exciting rise.
SETLIST
1/ Situations
2/ Couldn’t Run Forever
3/ This Part Of Town
4/ Quiet Thing
5/ You Get What You Give (New Radicals Cover)
6/ I’m There
7/ What A Day
8/ Plugged In
9/ Carnival
10/ Waiting on Time
11/ Steamroller
12/ Dead Plants
ENCORE
13/ Carnival
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