This weekend two Manchester arts venues are holding special nights to raise funds for the Disasters Emergency Committee HAITI Appeal. Read more
Music Preview: Queer Noise
Manchester is often thought of as the queer hub of the North; with it’s own ‘gay village’, the Queer Up North International Festival, and the annual Pride celebrations. Its gay music scene, however, is often below the mainstream radar. Queer Noise: The Hidden History of Manchester’s Gay Music Culture, a one-off celebration of gay music in Manchester, is seeking to change this.
Music Preview: MULE fundraiser with punk from the other Manchester
On Thursday 14 January three local punk bands will dominate the stage at Satan’s Hollow. The event is a fundraiser in support of MULE and features War Coma, Nephew Huzzband and Cash For Your Stories, who will also be launching their EP on the night. In anticipation of a night promising great local music, Alex Gallas reflects [...]
Music Review 15 Dec: Jazz and the Civil Rights Movement
The intimate, dimly lit Music Box was the perfect setting for a night of Jazz-based performances complimented by a talk from seasoned author and activist Martin Smith. He offered a thought-provoking insight into the genre, its connection to the black civil rights movement and its cultural legacy in shaping politics today.
Music Preview: Exodus Live Winter 2009
This summer the Exodus Summer Festival brought together the city’s diverse refugee and asylum seeker communities in a celebration of arts and culture. This week the festival returns with an impressive and eclectic line up of musical acts, demonstrating the myriad talents of these socially marginalised and misrepresented communities.
Music Review: Funk, Jazz and Lighting Up in the Northern Quarter
Rachel Jackson, who covered the reopening of Band on the Wall in October, paid a return visit to find Breakestra and Polar Bear getting into their grooves before the appreciative crowds and anticipation growing for the city’s newest installation in praise of music, a Giant Graphic Equaliser for Ancoats.
Review: Cool Runnings – The Club Night that Cares?
For the past few months The Corner, a new bar in Fallowfield, has played host to an interesting club night experiment. Cool Runnings is a free dub and reggae night which seeks to combine politics and partying within a single space.
Manchester Welcomes Back Band On the Wall
Whether you’re in to hip-skanking dub, smooth jazz grooves, bouncing African soukous or contemporary English folk music, you’re bound to find something to tickle your fancy at the newly re-opened Band On The Wall. After five long years of extensive renovations and re-thinks, the venue which previously played host to scores of local legends, [...]
Preview: In the City
Established by the late Anthony Wilson, Madchester’s famous music maestro, In the City (ITC) has been one of the world’s leading music conventions since 1992. Not just a showcase for local and UK up-and-coming acts, it prides itself on assembling ‘emerging talent, music fans and young entrepreneurs’. From Sunday 18 to Tuesday 20 October, ITC [...]
Speech Therapy
Odds-on favourites fell by the wayside on Tuesday 8 September as Speech Debelle was named Mercury Music Prize winner 2009. Kyle Soo took a moment to assess the importance of the award itself.
Music Review: Josephine Steals the Show
Deaf Institute: Gideon Conn, Caulbearers and Kathryn Edwards Friday 21st August When Gideon Conn rang his bell for the second time no one imagined what was to come. He introduced Josephine. Slight in build, unassuming and smiling nervously, she crept onto the stage. Her entrance couldn’t have been in starker contrast to her performance. Confident, soulful and [...]