The Last Dance in the Underworld: Melanie Martinez Crowns Her Radical New Era at Manchester’s Co-op Live
Co-op Live on Saturday, 12th September 2026.
WORDS / IMAGES BILLY SEAGRAVE
Melanie Martinez brought her conceptually dazzling Hades: The Sacrifice Tour to an explosive, emotionally charged conclusion at Manchester’s Co-op Live on Saturday, 12 September 2026.
As the final curtain came down on a gruelling global run, the evening felt less like a standard arena pop show and more like a monumental, career-defining coronation inside the UK’s largest indoor entertainment bowl
Opening the night was the London-based electronic alt-pop duo IDER. Armed with sharp, emotionally raw synth landscapes and their signature, impeccably woven vocal harmonies, the pair delivered a brief but deeply atmospheric masterclass. Their ethereal opening set offered a brilliant, melancholic contrast to the main event, effectively priming the cavernous arena and setting a perfectly moody tone for the theatrical underworld yet to come.
When Martinez finally emerged, she completely hijacked Co-op Live’s cutting-edge acoustic design to construct a dystopian, fantasy-laden hellscape. Having spent the last few years systematically retiring the pastel-hued "Cry Baby" aesthetic that defined her early career, this tour was the ultimate, unfiltered realization of her new creative identity.
Remarkably, the live execution of Hades surpasses the studio record. On stage, Martinez's vision is razor -sharp, executed with breathtaking precision alongside a troupe of flawless backing dancers. The venue's floor plan was weaponised to perfect effect, dividing the conceptual narrative between the towering, visual-heavy Main Stage and a more intimate, fan-facing B-Stage positioned deep in the crowd.
With Hades, her fourth studio album, Martinez has woven together complex dystopian themes that aggressively challenge power structures, control, and corruption. While her studio work is undeniably sharp, it is on stage where this highly charged political narrative truly breathes. As with her previous records, Hades is built on an intense theatricality that translates brilliantly to the live arena, pushing the boundaries of what a modern pop concert can be. Martinez operates as a progressive world-builder, linking all four of her albums into a grand, continuous narrative structure.
SET LIST
A Stage
GARBAGE
IS THIS A CULT?
POSSESSION
DISNEY PRINCESS
B Stage
GRUDGES
MONOPOLY MAN
AVOIDANT
MONOLITH
WEIGHT WATCHERS
A Stage
THE PLAGUE
BATSHIT INTELLIGENCE
GUTTER
UNCANNY VALLEY
THE VATICAN
HELL'S FRONT PORCH
CHATROOM
ENCORE
THE LAST TWO PEOPLE ON EARTH
CONNECT WITH MELANIE MARTINEZ
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