Blossoms brought out Declan McKenna at an intimate Manchester gig celebrating 10 years of their debut album, and debuted playful new song ‘Additional Driver’.
The one-off homecoming show was held last night (Wednesday August 5) at the Manchester Deaf Institute, and saw the indie icons celebrate their breakthough 2016 album by playing the tracklist in full.
Recorded live on the night, the audio will released on a live CD edition of their upcoming album ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake‘. That record is due out on October 2 and available to pre-order/pre-save here.
After playing fan favourites like ‘Charlemagne’, ‘At Most a Kiss’ and ‘Getaway’ – as well as the first live rendition of ‘Onto Her Bed’ in a decade – Tom Ogden and co. played deep cuts ‘You Pulled a Gun on Me’, ‘Madeleine’ and ‘Across the Moor’, before breaking out some newer material.
After playing recent single ‘Joke About Divorce‘, Blossoms brought out Declan McKenna for another new track ‘Meet Me In Love’. From there, they debuted a currently unreleased song called ‘Additional Driver’.
McKenna remained on stage for the live debut, which is a lighthearted, tongue in cheek anthem that recalls a car crash.
“Approached the junction at the Apollo/ We’re due to play there a month tomorrow/ Woke up this morning, I was creeping the claw/ I should’ve checked,” Ogden sang in the lively opening verse, going on to take a swipe at the driver of a “Fiat Panda”.
The witty track then built up towards the euphoric chorus, as McKenna belted out “Driving around town in your new car, baby/ What you tryna prove?/ I’m an additional driver, this car’s my wife’s so/ I won’t take this from you.”
The performance also saw Ogden throw in a fitting nod to The Beatles‘ ‘Drive My Car’, encouraging the crowd to sing “Beep-beep’m-beep-beep, yeah”. Check out more footage below, along with the full setlist.
Never did we think we’d live to see the day someone wrote a song about the 192. 😅@DeclanMcKenna joins #Blossoms on stage at their special anniversary show in Manchester. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/B9xyd3BUVe
— The Manc (@TheMancUK) August 5, 2026
What a night watching @BlossomsBand at the @DeafInstitute. Debut album in full, a few deep cuts, some brand new stuff and greatest hits. pic.twitter.com/KbtMDAHeTN
— Ant Stephen (@AntStephen) August 5, 2026
At the @DeafInstitute Manchester to see @BlossomsBand in the cosiest venue imaginable to celebrate 10 years since the launch of their magnificent debut album. pic.twitter.com/1WGN131jgf
— Ant Stephen (@AntStephen) August 5, 2026
Blossoms’ setlist was:
‘Charlemagne’
‘At Most a Kiss’
‘Getaway’
‘Honey Sweet’
‘Onto Her Bed’ (First time live since 2016)
‘Texia’
‘Blown Rose’
‘Smashed Pianos’
‘Cut Me and I’ll Bleed’
‘My Favourite Room’
‘Blow’
‘Deep Grass’
‘You Pulled a Gun on Me’
‘Madeleine’ (First time live since 2017)
‘Across the Moor’
‘Joke About Divorce’
‘Meet Me In Love'(with Declan McKenna)
‘Additional Driver’ (live debut with Declan McKenna)
‘Your Girlfriend’
‘There’s a Reason Why (I Never Returned Your Calls)’
‘Gary’
Blossoms’ 2016 album scored the highest-selling debut album of 2016, beating the likes of Zayn Malik and Jack Garrett at the time. NME praised the record as seeing the Manchester indie stars leap “from their chart-bound Trojan horse as modernist rock heroes”.
As for the upcoming record, Blossoms have described ‘Songs From The Wedding Cake’ as “a collection of songs about what might seem like ordinary moments, viewed through an extraordinary lens… joking about divorce, hire cars, crying at the Kardashians” and more.
The one-off show in Manchester last night came ahead of the band hitting the road for an arena tour in November, with support from The Royston Club. Dates kick off at Cardiff’s Utilita Arena on November 26, and include shows in London, Manchester, Glasgow and more.
They’ll also be appearing as special guests at Leeds Festival on Friday August 28, marking their first R&L set since 2021. Visit here for tickets.
Last month, they brought out Rick Astley for their set at Tramlines Festival, coming together to play new single ‘Joke About Divorce’, and before then they also surprised fans with a pop-up gig from the back of a van outside 42nd Street Nightclub in Manchester.
