Thundercat beams down to Manchester with a psychedelic jazz, funk, and cosmic soul performance at the Aviva Studios
- Michael Bond
- 15 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Aviva Studios Manchester - 27th March 2026
WORDS / IMAGES MICHAEL BOND
There’s an electricity humming through Aviva Studios tonight, as Thundercat arrives in Manchester ahead of the release of his 5th studio album, Distracted. Not just to perform, but to dissolve the boundary between virtuosity and chaos. The space inside this still-new cultural monolith is packed, softened by a low-lit glow, as the crowd prepare in anticipation, for an evening of jaw dropping jazz fusion from the Grammy award winner.
From the moment the lights dip, the tone is set. A giant inflatable fills the stage, as a nod to the mythology that frames Thundercat’s entire aesthetic. It’s playful, surreal, faintly ridiculous and completely fitting. When Stephen Bruner walks onstage, draped in his now-signature otherworldly outfits, bass slung low, he doesn’t so much greet the audience as slip into a frequency that everyone else must tune into.
The opening is immediate and unapologetic. “Children of the Baked Potato” surges forward with a restless energy, its jazz-fusion complexity acts as both an invitation and a warning. Tonight is not going to be a polite run-through of fan favourites. Instead, Thundercat stretches the song into an elastic jam, his six-string bass spiralling through impossibly fast runs, showcasing the immense talent early doors.
Without a pause, the set melts into “Candlelight”, with its silky falsetto and soft-focus groove, before moving into “I Love Louis Cole”. Here, humour cuts through the technical wizardry. Bruner grins as he tosses off ad-libs and lets the band breathe. The playing is loose and almost casual, but the musicianship is razor-sharp, as his backing band, keys and drums are locked together in a telepathic sync.
“Black Qualls” lands like a centrepiece early on. The funk in this track feels thicker and heavier than the previous songs. With a bassline that rolls out like a statement of intent, as the crowd respond to the performance. Then in a moment the groove locks so tightly it feels physical, as if the entire room is pulsing along with it. From this point, the playing leans fully into improvisation. “How Sway” dissolves into “Uh Uh” in a blur of rhythmic shifts and playful detours. As noted in recent UK shows, his tendency to “indulge in jams” has the potential to divide opinion, but it also defines the experience, separating the live performance from the original album tracks.
The mood softens as “Overseas” glides in with a breezy melancholy, followed by “Wish I Didn’t Waste Your Time”, which feels almost confessional. Bruner’s falsetto here is the emotional counterweight to his technical fireworks, as they come across as fragile, disarming and sincere. Then, just as things threaten to settle, the set jolts back into eccentricity. “Pozole” is playful and oddball, while “ADD Through the Roof” is fragmented, restless, darting between ideas, as the lighting flickers and shifts, amplifying the sense of controlled chaos.
A mid-set highlight comes with “Walking on the Moon”. With a spacious, dubby groove, allowing the band to stretch out in subtler ways. The song then segues into “Anakin Learns His Fate”, a moment that underlines Bruner’s love of pop culture and cinematic storytelling. By the time “Dragonball Durag” arrives, the atmosphere has loosened completely, as its catchy hooks land, making it impossible for the crowd not to move to, as phones come out, and voices rise.
“Funny Thing” triggers the first real surge of collective euphoria. It is one of the night’s undeniable peaks, a reminder that beneath all the experimentation lies an artist capable of writing deeply infectious songs. As with other recent UK performances, this is where the set pivots from exploratory to celebratory. From here on in, the closing run is relentless. “No More Lies” hits with a glossy, modern sheen, before sliding into “Them Changes”, arguably his most recognisable track of the night so far, and the reaction is immediate. The entire room seems to exhale at once.
The encore section is less a formal leave & return to the stage and more a continuation of the same cosmic thread. “Show You the Way” shimmers, while a medley of “What’s the Use?” and “She Knows Too Much”, allows Bruner to flex his rapid-fire vocals.
What defines this performance is not perfection but possibility, as Thundercat operates in a space where songs are a starting point rather than a fixed structure. And Aviva Studios, with its state-of-the-art acoustics and cavernous flexibility, proves an ideal home for this kind of boundary-pushing show. By the end, as the final notes fade and Bruner offers a soft farewell, the feeling is less of conclusion and more of return to reality. The crowd disperses slowly, still processing what they have witnessed. This is a gig that demands patience, openness, and a willingness to follow wherever the music leads. But for those who surrender to it, tonight is something rare, a live performance that feels alive, unpredictable and utterly euphoric.
SET LIST
1. Children of the Baked Potato
2. Candlelight
3. I Love Louis Cole
4. Black Qualls
5. How Sway
6. Uh Uh
7. Overseas
8. I Wish I Didn't Waste Your Time
9. Pozole
10. A.D.D. Through the Roof
11. Walking on the Moon
12. Anakin Learns His Fate
13. Dragonball Durag
14. Funny Thing
15. No More Lies
16. Them Changes
ENCORE
17. Show You the Way
18. She Knows Too Much
19. What's the Use?
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