Johnny Marr’s Manchester Triumph: A Homecoming That Proves the Smiths’ Legacy Endures

In a city that has long prided itself on its musical heritage, Johnny Marr delivered a performance that reminded Mancunians why the Smiths remain an enduring part of Britain’s cultural fabric. The guitarist, now 62, played his biggest solo headline show to date at the Castlefield Bowl on Thursday evening, treating a sold-out crowd to a set that blended new material with the classics that defined a generation.

The event was part of the Sounds of the City summer series, and the golden sunshine that bathed the industrial backdrop of the bowl seemed almost too perfect for a city known for its grey skies. Devotees queued eagerly from early afternoon, securing spots on the steps that double as,