Streets Ahead, Miles Apart: Kiwanuka’s Divine Manchester Turn

How does it feel when a musician at the absolute peak of his powers stands before you? If you were lucky enough to be at the Manchester Apollo on Thursday 13th March 2025, for Michael Kiwanuka’s latest tour, you already know. 

Kiwanuka’s sound is a peculiar, penetrating warmth spreading through your chest. His influences are vast, and his music is where gospel meets rock, and soul bleeds into folk. It’s too epic a sound for one genre to define it, but perfectly suited to Kiwanuka’s unique voice.

For me, he’s not just a singer-songwriter. He’s the best young artist on the planet right now. A once-in-a-generation talent whose music transcends time and expectation. His 2020 album, Kiwanuka, was a masterpiece, and an album that fully deserved The Mercury Music Prize. It confirmed what long-time fans already knew: this was an artist destined for greatness. His latest offering, Small Changes, has continued that run of masterful songwriting – songs that ache with longing, hope, love, and loss, wrapped in vintage-sounding production that nods to the past while feeling immediate, contemporary, now. He would play select cuts from both tonight.

The Apollo itself, steeped in history, is the perfect venue for an artist like Kiwanuka’s – grand but intimate, stately yet full of warm energy. From the moment Kiwanuka walked out, the room belonged to him. He may be a shy performer, but there’s a quiet power in the way he plays. Michael’s presence, understated yet magnetic, is evident with his opening track, You Ain’t The Problem,. That wild, tumbling rhythm getting the crowd moving instantly. The groove-heavy Rolling followed, Kiwanuka’s silken voice in fine fettle.

There were moments of searing rock, fuzz-laden guitar solos, folky interludes, mellow incantations. I’ve seen Kiwanuka four times now, and this was another level. With just his voice and an acoustic, so intimate you could hear a pin drop, he delivered Hero beautifully. Then, of course, there were the searing, 4D gospel epics – the trio of backing singers elevating every chorus, their harmonies swelling. At times, it felt like being in church, so praise me Lord.

Songs from Small Changes nestled seamlessly alongside older favourites. Final Frame was a highlight, its slow-burn intensity rippling through the theatre, every lyric dripping with raw emotion. Piano Joint (This Kind of Love), my personal favourite Kiwanuka track,felt even more heart-wrenching live, hiss voice breaking in all the right places.

Beyond Kiwanuka himself, the band were extraordinary. They didn’t just add depth. They transformed every song, bringing a wall-of-sound gospel flavour that felt positively spiritual. By the time we reached the final stretch, the audience was utterly hypnotised, myself included. 
Cold Little Heart, the song that brought him to mainstream attention, was brooding, cinematic, a slow-building masterpiece. Even more immense, live. The room felt weightless.

After two hours of pure joy, Love & Hate, the perfect singalong closer, held us for eight minutes of pure catharsis. With strings soaring, vocals climbing, the whole room was caught in something bigger than we experience day-today. That’s what an artist of this power can do. 

A five-star masterclass from the best in the game.