Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett plays The Hall, Aviva Studios on Saturday 17 October, bringing her UK tour to Manchester. She's touring Creature of Habit, her fourth studio album, which she recorded in Joshua Tree and Los Angeles. She describes it as her most open work, one that channels restless energy and hard-won optimism.

If you're coming to this as your first Barnett gig, it helps to know where she's come from. She first got a lot of attention with 2013's The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas, then broke into the mainstream with her 2015 debut Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. Since then, there's been the collaborative album Lotta Sea Lice with Kurt Vile in 2017, the politically charged Tell Me How You Really Feel in 2018, and the more introspective Things Take Time, Take Time in 2021. She's a formidable live performer, and has played major festivals like Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera and Lollapalooza.

On the night, Body Type will be supporting her. Doors open at 7pm at The Hall, Aviva Studios on Water Street, M3 4JQ. Tickets for both the standing floor and the seated circle are £30, plus a £2.50 booking fee. There's some age guidance to keep in mind: standing is 16+ only, while the seated area is suitable for 8+, with under-14s needing to be accompanied by an adult aged 18+ and seated only.