Live Review - CAST skilfully deliver the old and new at the New Century Hall Manchester
New Century Hall, Manchester – 3rd October 2026
WORDS / IMAGES MICHAEL BOND
There’s something fitting about Cast playing New Century Hall. The venue’s restored grandeur, vintage wood panelling, sprung dance floor and that unmistakable psychedelic ceiling all gives the evening a sense of history. Tonight, Cast use that atmosphere to prove that their old songs still have plenty of life in them, and sit comfortably alongside the newer tracks.
Trampolene make an immediate impression with a set that feels loose, urgent and unpolished in the best possible way. Jack Jones remains an engaging frontman, balancing swagger with a vulnerability that keeps the songs from becoming mere indie-rock posturing. The band’s Welsh identity is never played as a gimmick; instead, there is a genuine sense of character and individuality in their performance. They move between poetry, melody and full-blooded guitar noise with confidence, winning over the crowd. By the time they leave the stage, they have done exactly what a good support act should: raised the temperature.
Cast arrive on stage and launch straight into Don't Look Away, and its immediately clear that subtlety is not going to dominate the evening. John Power leads from the front, while the band lock into the familiar guitar-driven pulse that has always been central to Cast's appeal. Calling Out Your Name keeps the momentum moving. With a relaxed confidence the band let their new songs breathe, letting them stand out in a live setting, from the original recordings. Power's voice sits at the heart of everything, unmistakably Cast, weathered but assured, turning the room into a singalong.
Songs from their latest album Yeah Yeah Yeah, sit naturally alongside the classics. Poison Vine brings a darker shade to the set, as the guitars provide weight without becoming muddy, and the rhythm section provides a steady, muscular foundation. It is a reminder that Cast in 2026 are still looking forward and not just relying on their past.
With Free Me, the atmosphere lifts again. The song has the directness that makes Cast so good live. With no need for elaborate stagecraft, the melody does the work, as people start dancing and singing around the hall. Sandstorm brings another change of pace. The performance has a little more bite, allowing the band to stretch their sound while retaining the melodic clarity that runs through the evening. As the hall amplifies everything, which is greeted by a collective response from the crowd.
Fine Time is one of those moments when Cast's knack for uncomplicated, infectious songwriting becomes hard to ignore. The audience needs very little encouragement. As hands go up and voices join in, the sprung dance floor starts to earn its keep, as the room moves as one. Say Something New follows without breaking the spell. With a looseness to the performance, the band are increasingly settled as the set progresses.
Birds Heading South provides another opportunity for the band to explore the more reflective side of their back catalogue. The mood becomes briefly more spacious, and the crowd listens. It is a useful reminder that Cast's appeal has never rested solely on nostalgia. Then comes Teardrops, and the room finds its voice again. The song lands with the familiarity of an old friend, but tonight it sounds less like a trip back in time than a shared memory being brought back to life. The audience supplies plenty of the vocals, turning the chorus into a massed Manchester singalong.
Live the Dream carries that sense of optimism forward. Cast are at their best when they keep things simple, and the performance is built around exactly that principle, strong melody, ringing guitars and a chorus designed to be shouted back. It is impossible not to be swept along.
Walkaway is perhaps the evening's most obvious reminder of just how durable Cast's songwriting is. The opening notes trigger an immediate reaction, and the song grows into one of the biggest singalongs of the night. As the audience take ownership of it. Free Love keeps the atmosphere buoyant. The band sound increasingly expansive but never lose their sense of restraint. There is a natural chemistry between the players, and the performance feels less like a set of individual songs than one continuous flow between Cast and the crowd in front of them.
By Tomorrow Call My Name, the evening has developed its own rhythm. The newer material no longer feels like a departure from the familiar Cast sound, instead, it sits comfortably alongside it. As the audience responds, embracing the song on its own terms rather than waiting for another old favourite. Flying lifts the room once more. There is a sense of release in the performance, with the guitars opening out and the crowd responding with renewed energy, as New Century Hall starts to feel remarkably intimate despite the scale of the noise being generated.
Guiding Star brings warmth to the proceedings. It is one of the evening's more emotionally direct performances, with Power allowing the melody to carry the song rather than dressing it up unnecessarily. Then Devil and the Deep brings the darker edge back. The guitars sound heavier, the rhythm more insistent, and the band demonstrate that their live show can still possess genuine muscle, contrasting the sweetness elsewhere in the set.
Way It's Gotta Be (Oh Yeah) feels like the beginning of the final push. The audience are fully committed now, and there is an almost football-terrace quality to the singing, but without losing the warmth that has characterised the night.
The night is then brought to a close with Alright, and few songs could better capture the spirit of the evening. The hall erupts, the chorus belongs entirely to the crowd, and Cast allow the song to stretch into a final celebration of everything that has come before.
What makes tonight’s show work is not merely the strength of the set list, it’s the way Cast balance past and present without making either feel like an obligation. The older songs arrive with all the communal energy expected of them, while the newer material holds its ground. Power remains a charismatic and instinctive frontman, and the band around him supplies the confidence and muscle to make these songs sound alive rather than preserved.
New Century Hall proves a near-perfect setting, intimate enough for every reaction to matter, yet grand enough to accommodate the volume and ambition of a band with Cast's history. By the final notes of Alright, the room is less a concert venue than a single, singing mass.
Cast didn’t just simply revisit their history tonight. They inhabit it, refresh it and, crucially, make it feel like the present.
SETLIST
1. Don't Look Away
2. Calling Out Your Name
3. Poison Vine
4. Free Me
5. Sandstorm
6. Fine Time
7. Say Something New
8. Birds Heading South
9. Teardrops
10. Live the Dream
11. Walkaway
12. Free Love
13. Tomorrow Call My Name
14. Flying
15. Guiding Star
16. Devil and the Deep
17. Way It's Gotta Be (Oh Yeah)
18. Alright
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