Oliver Pinder at Castle Hotel, Manchester | Live Review

The Map Is Plotted Tour

October 8th, 2026 saw Oliver Pinder set his co-ordinates to Manchester and the Castle Hotel, for a gig on his The Map Is Plotted Tour.

Who Is Oliver Pinder?

Oliver Pinder, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Born in Queensbury, Bradford and now living in Wakefield, Oliver Pinder has been around the music scene for some time, albeit dipping in and out of things with regards to his musical output and gigging.

Musical Output to date

Oliver Pinder’s musical journey can be split into three main phases.

Early years (2015-2017)

Oliver Pinder’s musical output can be traced right back to 2015, the Island Rain EP collating some of his earlier offerings (“Dear”, “Bruise”, “The River”. “Darling”) channelling some acoustic based Bon Iver-styled introspection over the course of its four tracks.

It was followed by “Suffocating” recorded in 2017 at Cellar of Dreams Bradford.

2022-2024

Returning to the musical scene in 2022 saw the release of single “Stressed” and a further “Beautiful Second” in January 2023, and “Late July” March 2023 which made their way onto the Potential, I Guess EP May 2023 (together with “Breathe In”, “Way Too Much To Mind”, “Walking Away” and “CLOUDY”)

Further releases included the “Pretty Faces” single in November 2023 and “Never Ever” in July 2024.

The 2025 re-invention

A reinvention after an artistic hiatus saw his sound move from its dark, indie-folk roots into an eclectic mix of guitar-driven alternative anthems.

Too Late To Tell You EP in 2025, cemented this new direction, its six track offering (“Lonely Together”, “Never Ever”, “Dog Outside”, “Love Of My Life”, “Millionaire”, “Haunted”) laying down a new path into a bolder territory. It became his first vinyl pressing.

The momentum headed into 2026: “Such An Angel” and “Monster” singles mining further into the new sonic seam with the alternative indie-rock output recalling the work of Arcade Fire and Bleachers amongst others.

To capitalise on this new beginning and wider musical palette, Oliver has engaged on a full band UK four date tour titled The Map Is Plotted, which included a date at the Castle Hotel in Manchester.

The Castle Hotel

Situated on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter of Manchester, the venue played host to the second night of the tour. With different support acts for each tour date, tonight saw Harry Huxley and the duo remote accompany Oliver.

The Stage Is Set for Oliver Pinder and Guests, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Harry Huxley

Opening the evening, 18-year old Chester based singer songwriter Harry Huxley took to the stage as the room at the back of the Castle Hotel began to fill up.

Having played gigs within the North West, including a spot at the Manchester Deaf Institute supporting Billy Lockett, as well as Deva Fest and The Cavern Club, Harry is honing his live craft, ensuring an already impressive body of songs gets the reaction from audiences they justly deserve.

With influences and inspiration from artists such as Noah Kahan, Myles Smith and Cameron Whitcomb, he is already garnering attention in his own right—airplay on BBC Introducing Merseyside helping spread the word.

The 30 minute set illustrated his talent well. Appearing unfazed for what he described to me afterwards as one of his biggest gigs so far, he confidently worked through his set doing his songs much justice.

He has so far released three singles; the sparky “Juliet” opened things, with the wistful “Broken Over You” and “Lonely Like Me” forming the bedrock of his set.

Other standouts included “I’ll Leave The Light On”, “Talk To Me” and “Parallel” and there was even space for a cover of “Stargazing” by Myles Smith.

A strong voice, Harry coloured his songs with equally capable acoustic guitar playing which an attentive audience eagerly lapped up.

Overall, Harry Huxley delivered a compelling set of honest folk-pop that got the evening off to a flying start.

He is most definitely an artist to keep an eye out for as he develops both his song craft and musical performances (he teased a possible expansion to include other musicians for his live act, which sounds like a great development).

Setlist:

remote

Manchester-based duo remote are made up of singer and guitarist Alex and drummer Ruben. They first came together in February 2020 and the need to write and record separately due to the pandemic, spawned the name remote. Blending indie-pop/ alternative introspective songwriting with shimmering in-house production that already have a burgeoning collection of music to their name, which has also attracted wider attention (Radio X’s John Kennedy, BBC Introducing and many others).

By the time they took the stage the venue was packed full and it was abundantly clear that many of their local and growing fan club were in attendance.

Alex of *remote*, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

The vibrant set drew on much of the singles and EPs making up their current catalogue of music. Recent single “Living The Lie” rubbed shoulders with 2025’s “The Party” and “So Wrong”, all demonstrating the delicate pop-infused songwriting.

Both artists clearly relished the occasion, Alex continuing to blossom in the spotlight of lead vocalist and Ruben’s energetic playing, which consistently laid down a firm back beat to underpin the upbeat songs.

Crowd favourite and singalong “Souvenir” from 2024 is one of their most streamed songs and it was clear why that was the case as the strains of “S-O-U-V-E-N-I-R” rang around the hall, complete with crowd waving from the audience.

After 2025 EP cut “Two Weeks” got an airing, another recent single “Nothing Means Something” hit home with vengeance.

Ruben of *remote* gets ready to lay down the beat, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

By the time “What Am I To Do?” rounded off the set, a sense of euphoria swept the room, both crowd and band united in the belief that the bar had now been elevated—the confident and exalting set more than proving its mettle.

*remote* enjoying themselves, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Setlist:

Oliver Pinder

The pervading sense of euphoria from remote, gained even more momentum as Oliver Pinder’s band made some final tweaks to the stage set up before they were joined by the man himself.

With typical Yorkshire affability, Oliver practically blasted into opening song “Washing Machine”, the full band on top spin cycle.

With a full band in tow, the set focused on the newer wider-screen guitar-focused material, including recent EP Too Late To Tell You (“Never Ever”, “Love Of My Life” with its quiet/loud opening and “Haunted”) and new singles “Such An Angel” and “Monster”, there were still plenty of opportunities to dip into some older songs (“Beautiful Second”, “Stressed”), albeit given the full band anointment.

It was a performance that never stopped delivering. After an opening night in London, where he was still recovering from illness, he shook off any shackles in Manchester and delivered an epic collection of guitar-driven songs that a rammed, sold-out audience simply couldn't resist.

Noting he is in the throes of recording a debut album (with some eye watering costs bandied around) it was clear that he is extremely comfortable in his new artistic vision—palpably thriving with the addition of the tight and talented band he has assembled.

The band well and truly played a key role within the performance—the powerhouse dynamic of Joey Leyland on Drums and Michael Tuck on Bass meshing seamlessly with Morgan Lindley on Guitar, the Keys and Guitar of Max Lilley and all supplemented by Oliver Pinder’s acoustic and electric guitars.

As song “7:08” triumphantly brought the two song encore and hour-long overall set to a close, its “Not Everyone’s Going Home With Someone Tonight”enthralling a dancing and jubilant crowd as they signified their “Hey, Hey” approval.

Max Lilley, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Morgan Lindley, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Michael Tuck, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Drummer Joey Leyland shines a light, Castle Hotel, Manchester, 8th October 2026 *(Image: Damien Wilkinson)*

Setlist:

Locking In the Coordinates

Oliver Pinder has clearly set his compass, locked his coordinates and is heading full throttle. He is a man clearly on a mission, whether it is making up for lost time, righting wrongs or just clearly enjoying band life on the road, he is most certainly on the right path.

On a tour titled The Map Is Plotted it was appropriate that both Harry Huxley and remote had also clearly studied the map too. Whilst their paths may follow a different route to Oliver’s, they are not just sat in the side-car—they are confidently piloting their own direction with some engaging and powerful music, as well as the audience, to accompany them.